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REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 5 

action even then until after the election had been held, and delegates chosen 
from unrepresented districts. This time could not arrive until after the third 
of September ; but it was deemed safer by the parties who were opposed to the 
agitation or discussson of either of these questions to interrupt at once the pro- 
posed convention. 

THE RIOT. 

The riot and massacre of citizens, members of the convention and others, 
white and colored, occurred at and near the hall of the Mechanics' Institute, on 
Dryades street, commencing on Canal street, at or near the corner of Burgundy 
street, between eleven and twelve o'clock on the morning of July 30. 

It is difficult to give iu their true order a narration of events as they occurred 
between that time and the time when the convention had been dispersed and 
the last murders in and around the hall had been committed and the military 
arrived upon the ground. This was at about three o'clock in the afternoon. 

The first shot was fired in the street at a procession of colored men who were 
on their way to the Institute. This was a procession of friends of the conven- 
tion. They had a drum before them and a United States flag, which they were 
carrying to the hall. M#ny of them had canes and walking-sticks, but were 
otherwise unarmed. The procession was joined on its march by many who fell 
into the ranks with their working- clothes on. They entered upon Canal street 
from Burgundy street, and soon after reaching Canal street a "car-boy shoved 
one of the negroes in the procession." ***** <<As he shoved him the 
colored man fell.. He got up and struck the carman. As he did so the car- 
man fired at him. Then another shot came from the other side, ***** 
and was fired at the procession." This carman was a young man, then and 
afterwards employed as a special officer. His name was Anthony Elmore. 
Some confusion was occasioned by this affair, and one of the colored men was 
arrested; but the procession moved on toward the Institute. At and near the 
door of the hall there was a renewal of the disturbance, and some shots were 
fired by police and some " brickbats," found in the street, were thrown by 
colored men. 

At twelve o'clock the convention was called to order, and twenty-six mem- 
bers answered to their names. A prayer was offered by Reverend Mr. Horton, 
and a recess was ordered, to enable the sergeant-at-arms to summon absent 
members who were within the city. 

Soon after the recess was ordered, other shots were heard in the street. 
There were at this time in the hall, it is estimated by some of the witnesses, 
between one hundred and one hundred and fifty persons. No preparation had 
been made by the members of the convention or those in the hall at that time to re- 
sist an attack. An attempt to arrest, on legal process, would have been sub- 
mitted to at once. Indeed, the evidence is controlling that up to this time, 
although, as will be hereafter shown, threats had been made and warnings given 
of designed attack, it was not believed by the members of the convention then 
present that an attack would be made upon them. It was believed by some 
that an arrest might be attempted, and arrangements to obtain sureties had been 
made by them. At this time the procession before referred to, which had 
entered on Dryades from Canal street, had reached the Institute. The president 
of the convention, Hon. R. K. Howell, went down the stairs leading from a 
lobby outside of the hall to the street. Judge Howell went into the governor's 
room, which is on the floor below the hall. As he passed down, the United 
States flag which had been borne in the procession was being carried up stairs. 
Judge Howell had here an interview with Captain Caziarc, one of the officers 
on General Baird's staff, who had been sent by Brevet Major General Baird to 
ascertain if the convention, which he had believed would meet at 6 p. in., was 



b NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

then in session. Judge Howell states that "lie," Captain. Gaziarc, "asked me 
when we were going to meet. I told him we had met and adjourned." He 

said, ''don't you meet al 6 o'clock." I replied "that we would not; that if 
we were to assemble so late in the afternoon it might encourage some disposition 
to disturb us ; that we would not sit later than three o'clock ; that Ave expected 
to assemble again about half past one o'clock, and before three would adjourn 
till the next day. The crowd at this time was increasing in front of the Me- 
chanics' Institute building, but Captain Caziarc and I parted under the im- 
pression that there would be no disturbance at all." * * "I immediately returned 
to the ball up stairs, but bad scarcely got into the room when the firing was resumed 
immediately in front of the building, and apparently continued for two or three min- 
utes. A good deal of consternation appeared in the room where we were; the room 
was about one-third full, I suppose. 1 determined to go to the governor's office and 
sic if we could devise any means to prevent the disturbance from extending. I 
went through the back way, and as I passed the platform I saw the corpse of a 
negro lying on the opposite side of the street. When I got into the front room, 
occupied by the governor's private secretary, the street was entirely clear in 
front of the building down nearly to Canal street. There was amass of persons 
who seemed to lie kept back by a line of policemen, while in the other direction 
on my left was another crowd, headed apparently by a larger number of police- 
men than on my right. The governor was not there; he had left at 11 o'clock. 
I sat down to write to General Baird, informing him of what was going on; 
but I had scarcely written three lines when this crowd on my left began to 
move simultaneously on the building, and commenced firing into the windows. 
They seemed to be shooting into the side as well as at the front windows. I 
moved from there, of course, and the crowd from below at this moment began 
to move up. There was general confusion and excitement. I was advised by 
the governor's son to take my position with some others in his father's room, 
which occupied the lower floor, immediately under one side of the hall. He 
remarked that if they saw me in there they would certainly shoot me. I wa3 
not an eye-witness to anything more that occurred after that, as to attacks in 
the building. I remained in the governor's parlor during the whole day. Mis- 
siles of various kinds, brickbats, bullets, &c, frequently came into the room 
where we were. There was an open lot just at the side of the building, and I 
could occasionally see, through the curtains, what was going on there. Thi 
was an almost uninterrupted firing and yelling in that lot for some time. The 
lot, I learned afterwards, was occupied hy a family of negroes." 

After the streets had been cleared in front of the hall, as Judge Howell stated — 
Dr. William H. Hire, a member of the convention, gives the following nar- 
rative of what took place within bis sight in the hall : 

There was some confusion in the hall ; many shots were tired in the hall, through the win- 
dows, during this time and afterwards; tin; windows were down. When the .street was 
cleared, Mr. Culler, finding some confusion in the hall, said " Sit down directly!" Dr. 
Dostie Galled out, "Do as yon are told — sit down; if you have not chairs sit down on the 
floor, everybody !" I believe that was what he said. After the str< et was el, an d there was 
a period of silence, and the attention of everybody was directed to the doors. Presently the 
doors opened ; I looked around and saw some police and citizens make their appearance. 
Following a death-like silence, there was a volley tired, from the door, upon those inside. 

705. By whom was that volley tired/ 

By people from the door; the door was pushed open, and policemen and citizens tired. I 
want to he particular in that statement, for et erj bodj in the hall would know whether what 
I am stating is conect or not. It appeared to me that they discharged their four or six- 
shooters as rapidly as possible. As soon as this was done, those in tiio hall seemed to rise 
simultaneously on their feet, took their chairs, or whatever they could lay hold of, and drove 
them back. 

Toti. Were these members of the convention or other persons who were there ? 

I cannot exactly tell you who. I suppose members of the convention, colored men and 
all, rushed to the door. 1 did not go, tor one. When 1 found that pistol-shots were being 
tued, not being armed in any way, I fell ou the floor, so that tiie shots might pass over nig. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 7 

Tho citizens and police were repulsed. It seemed ridiculous to mo that men should, with 
chairs, battings, and pioces of railings, contend againsl an armed force, regularly orj 
lzed. This went on until I believe they were repulsed some four or five times. 1 belii 
was the fifth time that they got possession of the hall. This lasted, ! suppose about an hour 
It was the opinion of those in the hall that military assistance would soon arrive. It ap- 
peared in nu' that to go was death, and thai to remain was certain death. I said to <! >v- 
ernor Elahn, We had better go, I *would state that after each volley Hied, and the pi 
driven back, some people left the hall. I spoke to Dr. Dostie about the third or fourth fire, 
and he said: "They will kill me; they are bound to kill me." That seemed to lie the 
prevailing opinion of all id' us, especially of those who were known to Be Union men. 
About the Httli attempt, as I said, the police held possession of the doors of the Institute. 
Governor Halm went out first. I was going with him. when a policeman pointed his re- 
volver at me, and said, stop. Governor Hahn went out. aud I was kept out in this way. 
I did not see Governor Halm again until I saw him in the lock-up at the station-house. I 
should state that the Rev. Mr. Horton called out, while he was waving a handkerchief, 
" Stop firing ; we surrender ; we make no resistance." While he was thus entreating them he 
was shot in the arm. Afterwards, the Rev. Mr. Horton went out with a white handkerchief 
as a flag of truce ; and Mr. O'Connell, at another time, went out with his handkerchief as 
a flag of truce; at another time Mr. Alfred .Shaw undertook to go out with a white hand- 
kerchief as a flag of truce. When I wanted to leave the hall, a policemen pointed his re- 
volver at me first, hut after a time seized me by the arm, and called to a policeman on the 
other side, to come and take charge of me. I would here mention that the whole action of 
the police and the people co-operating with them was of a most brutal character. None but 
men accustomed to acts of blood could be guilty of such brutality. When the policemen 
got to the door each time, they commenced firing. At one time I saw a colored man kueel 
down ami pray to go out; the only reply the policeman made was, the click of a pistol 
discharging a shot into his bowels. I saw men shot in this way by policemen several times, 
and without provocation. I would state also that when Mr. Horton called out, " We sur- 
render — we make no resistance," there was a rush by policemen, and the reply was made 
by a mau in a gray coat, " God damn you, not one of you will escape from here alive." 
That remark, I believe, was made directly to Mr. Fish, who was trying to get out. I saw 
the policemen outside the hail, and in fact on both sides the hall, discharging their re- 
volvers towards the hall, reloading and tiring agaiu and again. .Some fell on their faces ; 
other.- dropped from the windows, and were shut in falling. When I came out of the hall, 
with a policeman on each side of me, somebody called out, "That is Dr. Hire — a member of 
the convention." The policemen who assumed charge of me said to me, "Are you Dr. Hire, 
of the convention ?" I said, " Yes." I may state further, that in goiug out I met an old po- 
...ui who had been under some obligation to me; I had been attending his family as a 
' asked turn to take charge of me; this other man who assumed the charge of 
sue said, "No, God damn you, he will not; I will take charge of you." While on the way 
down stairs, the policeman whom I had told who I was, when about three steps down, took 
hold of me with his left hand, swung his club around, and struck me on the head. I 
! .as doue for; but I felt that to succumb was death, and I endeavored to bear 
up, ;; be blow stunned me. I cannot tell how many times I was struck after that; 

I was struck many times. At the bottom of the steps, as I came into the street, I was met 
by five or six parties, each of whom struck at me, some with staves aud others with pie : is 
of chairs ; but no blow was like that I received from the policeman as I was passing down 
the steps. I can only characterize the whole treatment as the most fiendish conduct I ever 
knew. Although I have been here twenty-one years as a practicing physician, I never im- 
agined that such things could happen. No man not accustomed to deeds of blood could 
have been so fiendish in his conduct. After escaping from the blows heaped upon me, a 
pistol was fired, the ball passing through 1113 lingers, and I discovered when I was a few 
Is from the Institute that I had been stabbed in the region of the heart. 

707. How did you discover it ? 

By the blood; I 3id not know when I was stabbed. I presume that when I was struck 
four or five blows I was stabbed at the same time, and that ihe reason why I was not 
seriously injured was that in trying to dodge the blow the knife glanced off, and went on 
the external side of the rib. When I got to the corner of Common and Dryades, a young 
druggist whom I knew called out, "Here is Dr. Hire, the great abolitionist;" upon which, a 
set was made on me from behind. I was driven into the gutter: when the policeman let go 
of me I fell with my head against the stones in the gutter, and I thought I certainly should 
be finished then. I was nauseated, sick, and weak from the loss of blood. I was taken to 
the lock-up at the station-house. 

The account given by Mr. Stephen S. Fish, an intelligent witness, not a mem- 
ber of the convention, is as follows : 

On the 30th, before 12 o'clock, the hour for the meeting, I was at the Institute, sitting there 
a few minutes, conversing with different members of the convention and with others who 
were their friends, who happened to be present, and then went away back to my office ami re- 
mained there till nearly 1 o'clock, when I started over again to the Institute. On the way there, 



8 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

on St. Charles street, I saw a negro arrested, or being conducted through the streets between 
two policemen, and a crowd following. I should say that, ordinarily, the arrest of a negro 
creates no excitement in this city ; on this occasion it created a crowd. The public mind 
seemod to be burdened with some expectation, and it occasioned great commotion. I did 
not, however, give this matter any serious thought, and went down towards the Institute. 
On Common street I overtook Mr. Davis and Mr Stauffer, two members of the convention. 
This was after the recess was taken, and I went back to the hall with them. On the corner 
of Common and Dryades streets there was a large number of white citizens, many of them 
dressed in grey. They were talking excitedly, and appeared to be excited about something, 
and demonstrative. But even after seeing this I could not realize that there was to be any 
serious difficulty, except the arrest of the members of the convention by the sheriff and posse. 
And I had heard the police were massed at the different stations — there are four police stations 
in the city — about a quarter being at each station. There was a large body of negroes in front 
of the Institute, friends of the convention, I suppose, and there were quite a number in the 
hall ; and any demonstrations that I saw were made by them. They were peaceable and 
quiet, and seemed to be simply in expectation of hearing the speaking, gathered together as 
men ordinarily are at a public meeting. I went into the hall and very soon afterwards the 
firing commenced. Immediately the Rev. Mr. Horton, who had opeued the meeting with 
prayer, and who was afterwards murdered, and Mr. Cutler, stepped upon the rostrum, and 
in aloud voice called upon all persons in the hall to take seats inside of the bar and be quiet, 
and above all things to keep away from the windows, and to fire nothing from the windows, 
and to close the windows, which was done. The assembly who were in the hall did come in, 
and all sat down that there were chairs for" A rally on the hall was heard after the firing 
had been going on some minutes, and the body outside had begun to fire, and many inside 
had a disposition to go out: but the more influential men inside exerted themselves to keep 
those present quiet, to be seated, and to remain inside the bar and away frem the windows. 
There was not, to my knowledge, any firing from the hall, except at the door, which I will 
speak of afterwards. If there was any firing at all from the windows outside, there were not 
more than three or four shots. The windows were closed, and there were no ball-holes through 
the windows except high up, so that they could not have been fired from the inside; but 
many balls'passed through the hall. We could hearthem whistle through. 

Upon the first entrance to the hall white handkerchiefs were waved, and the police were 
called upon by Mr. Horton, members of the convention, and others, not to fire; that no in- 
sistence would be offered. They came in and commenced firing. The instant they com- 
menced firing those inside could not be restrained ; they rose and drove them out. There 
were a few among the negroes who had pistols. I did not see a pistol in the hands of any 
white man; and but few in the hands of the negroes. There were probably not more armed 
on this occasion than on ordinary occasions. Quite a number of persons in this city carry 
arms, both white and black. With chairs and pistols — the few whotfcad them — the police 
wire driven out, and the doors were closed and barricaded with a large pile of chairs before 
the doors; there were two sets of double doors. The doors unfortunately opened outwards, 
and they could not be fastened. The second time the police rallied Mr. O'Connor and some 
one else stepped to the door and spoke with the head man of the police. As the police found 
they could not get in they (the police) raised a. white handkerchief, remarking that lie 
wanted those inside to surrender, and that he would protect them. Mr. O'Connor asked him 
if he was sincere, and he said he was, and Mr. O'Connor took the policeman's hand in token 
of sincerity — that he would arrest those inside and protect .them. On this O'Connor and 
others assisted them in taking away the chairs, so that, they could come in and arrest them. 
When they came in they formed a line in front of the chairs and opened a fire. I think at 
this entrance of the police Mr. Horton was on the stage. He had a large handkerchief 
and tied it upon a staff, a little staff on which had been one of the little flags hung up in the 
room. He had this handkerchief tied on this staff, and waved it to the policemen for them 
not to fire, stating that no resistance would be made ; that they desired to be arrested and 
protected from violence, and that they were unarmed ; but they emptied their revolvers, and 
continued to fire after they had agreed not to fire. They were driven out a second time, for 
the people were exasperated, and almost every man grasped a chair, and wrenching off a 
leg for a weapon they drove the police down stairs and closed the doors again. Nearly all 
these policemen have ben put upon the force since the close of the war. There was no 
attempt to restrain the firing on the part of either citizens or policemen. I am not certain 
whether I saw any citizens or not at the third and fourth entrances. At each time the doors 
were opened by the police many went out. Dr. Dostie, 1 think, went out the first time. 
Many went out the second time, and some went up into the gallery, and some out the 
second-story windows, while others hid themselves in little ante-rooms of the hall. At every 
entrance the police were requested not to tire, and no firing was made upon the police until 
after they had begun tiring, nor was any violence offered them. At the time of the fourth 
entrance there were not a great many in the hall. There had been one or two ineffectual 
attempts to enter. There were more than four rallies on the hall. Once or twice they did 
not succeed in getting in. They entered four times, and the last time the doors were not 
ed upon tin in. At the time of the fourth entrance 1 stood near the southwest comer of 
the hall. Colonel llahn was there with me. Rev. Mr. Jackson, who was wounded the 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. \) 

same day, was there at this time. Mr. Horton was still in the hall, but not in the corner 
when' I was. Mr. Horton, I think, was wounded at the second entrance, when he was on the 
stage with his white handkerchief, which he waved, and with which he advanced, and was 
deliberately shot at by the police that stood in line in the hall. Persons inside had helped 
the police to gain an entrance, on supposition that they would be protected. 

434. Did you see Mr. Horton shot? 

I did, and saw him immediately afterwards, and I should judge it was nearly an hour be- 
fore he left the hall. I am not certain whether he was hit in the arm or side, but his arm and 
Bide were bloody. It was probably only a flesh wound, as it did not seem to disable him. 
Dr. Hire was there. None of the parties I have named were wounded, except Mr. Horton; 
but there were others whose names I do not know. There were but few of us there then, 
and we felt that there was no use in attempting to drive them out; there were not enough of 
us, and we were not. armed. I thought I would choose the lesser' evil ; there was a possi- 
bility of escaping if I got out, but there was none inside. At the door I met a young man, 
a stranger to me. I have not been able to recognize him since, though I have seen one I 
thought was the same. I asked him if he, being a leader of the party and head of the po- 
liceman — I asked him if he would arrest me and secure me from personal violence. I will 
state here, what I told him at the time, that I had taken no part in the resistance, or in 
driving the police out of the hall ; that I had been perfectly passive, except urging those in- 
side to keep quiet. When I asked this man for protection, to arrest me, he said, with an 
oath, "No, sir; none of you can get out here alive." He had a club, formed apparently of a 
rough piece of wood three inches wide, one inch thick, and three feet long. As I attempted 
to run by him he struck at me with this board, but I dodged him. Going through the door 
I met a policeman in uniform ; I offered myself to him, but he would not arrest me. Going 
down stairs I passed two other policemen. At the time I passed them they had a negro in 
charge, and were knocking him down the stairs with their policemen's clubs, pounding him 
over the head, he at the same time begging that they would spare him. They did not turn 
their attention to me. As I arrived on the second floor, I was seized by two citizens. One 
of them was a "rough " — one of the low order of Irishmen, I should think ; the other was 
what appeared to be one of the chivalry — a well-dressed person, of middle age. They both 
seized me by the collar and commenced striking me with their fists in the face. I shook them 
oft* without any^ serious injury, at least to myself, and went on. Going out of the door I met 
on the steps another policeman. I offered myself to him. I had a large white handkerchief 
in my hand, and held it up. It was in my right hand and held up .when I met this police- 
man on the steps. I asked him to arrest me and protect me. His reply was, "Yes, damn 
you, I will give you protection," drawing out a large revolver, bright and new. I judge it 
was one of Colt's 8-inch revolvers. He drew that up and knocked me down on the landing, 
and stunned me for the time being. The blow did not cut the flesh at all, for I had 
on a thick plaited straw hat, and my hair at the time was quite thick, but it left a 
large lump on my forehead. I gathered myself up as well as I could and staggered 
to another policeman in the middle of the street, and asked him, as well as I could, 
being considerably confused by the effects of the blow I had received, but I had not 
quite got to him, when he drew up his revolver and shot at me. I was not more than 
three or four feet from him at the time, but his ball did not take effect. I darted from him, 
ami started towards Carondelet street. There were a great many people, and though my 
head was whirling all this time I could hear the firing as though it was an irregular mus- 
ketry tiring. It sounded to me like the second firing of a company as I have heard it on the 
battle-field. I had no very distinct idea of what was going on, but I saw clubs raised, and 
I heard revolvers firing. I was going on all fours part of the time, and replacing my hat 
when I could, but this I might have done intuitively. I got half way to Common street be- 
fore an} r policeman would arrest me and take me in charge ; then I was arrested by a man 
only partially in - policeman's clothing. He had on a policeman's coat, but had not the hut. 
He told me that he was an extra policeman, that came out wten the alarm was given, He 
went a little way, as far as Common street; the crowd thickened there, and appeared to be 
very threatening, calling out "Kill the Yankee nigger," "Shoot the nigger son of a bitch," 
"There goes another nigger," "There goes another damned Yankee." Such expressions as 
these I heard, and a great many others of like import. This policeman, or fireman, called 
auother to his assistance, and the two together seemed to make great exertions to keep the 
crowd off till I got to the police station. I went through Common street to Carondelet, and 
up Lafayette to the first district station. When I arrived there I was much exhausted from 
exertion and loss of blood. I stated to the man at the desk in policeman's uniform, a short, 
stout man, that I was very weak, and begged him to send me wherever I was to go to. 
" You will be weaker before you get through with this," said he, very gravely. After some 
delay he sent me into a back cell, the southwest corner cell on the lower floor of the station. 
There were one or two persons in the cell when I got there. Other persons who were in the 
hall when I got there were soon brought in. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Horton were soon 
brought in. Mr. Horton was partially conscious when he was first brought in. He begged 
me to take him to the Carrollton depot, that he might get home. I told him I could not do 
more than he. Soon Mr. Waters, a member of the convention, was brought in, and a num- 
ber of others who were in the hall when I went away. I had, with the assistance of some 



10 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

persons in there, got upon a shelf in the cell, and lay there, and pot my coat off. Mr. Waters 
took off his undershirt and wetted it. I ha«i to wash the blood off to cool my head. How 
long I remajned there I do not know. Mr Horton soon after came in and began to talk 
wildly, and 1 have Keen informed never had his senses afterwards. I never savy him after I 
was taken from the cell. 

Mr. J. D. O'Connell, who was in the hall during a part of the time, gives a 
clear narrative of what he saw. One statement in his testimony is very import- 
ant. While the murders were being committed by the police, Mr. O'Connell says : 

I suggested that we barricade the hall, and hold it until the military should come. It was 
the only chance we had. I succeeded in getting the chairs placed against the doors. The 
doors, however, opened into the lobby, and the fastenings outside were very soon torn off. 
We had no protection except the chairs, and they constituted very little, as it was easy to 
fire through between tjiem. The police made another attack, and entered the hall, when 
those. inside took the chairs and drove them out, and this they did two distinct times. On the 
fifth attack they entered again, headed by an officer who seemed to be a sergeant, from his 
uniform. He came to the door with a white handkerchief, opened it suddenly and waved 
his handkerchief. I supposed they had become human again, and that this meant that they 
were willing to give us protection. I went to the door and found Mr. S. S. Fish in the hall 
close by the door. I asked him to assist us in taking the chairs away. I spoke to this police- 
man and a^ked him if they meant to give us protection against the mob, who would kill us. 
He said " Yes, we'll protect you." I asked him if he was serious about it to let me have his 
hand, which he did. I, of course had confidence then that he would do as he said, and 
afford us protection. I pulled the chairs down and drove the colored people from the door, 
so that their presence should not provoke the police to any further acts of violence. They 
very submissively went toward the other end of the hall. As the police entered the hall, one 

in the rear of the one I had spoken to advanced, calling out, "Yes, you G dd d sous 

of bitches, we'll protect you." I had confidence that they would protect us, but when they 
entered the hall, even this man wh* had tendered me his hand rushed forward with the others. 
discharging their pistols indiscriminately. One of the police, pointing his pistol towards me, 

said, "So you mil surrender, you G — d d d son of a bitch," and discharging his revolver 

towards my head, said, "Take that and go to hell, will you ? " I was standing close to him, 
and had the presence of mind to throw up his hand, and the ball passed through my hat both 
in front and rear. I retired towards the door, and another policeman approached me with 
a long knife and shuck at me. I defended myself against him with the leg of a chair and 
got back into the room. Those inside again rallied with broken chairs and whatever they 
could gel hold of, and drove the police out. I suppose this was about twenty-five minutes 
of three o'clock. , 

These statements, which give a substantially correct account of what trauspired 
within the hall, tire corroborated by other witnesses. 

It would lie impossible to give a connected account of what was at the same 
time and afterwards occurring in the street. 

The committee examined seventy-four persons as to the facts of violem 
bloodshed upon Unit day. It is in evidence that men who were in the hall, ter- 
rified by the merciless attacks of the armed police, sought safety by jumping 
from the windows, a distance of twenty feet, to the ground, and as they jura] 
were shut by police or citizeus. Some, disfigured by wounds, fought their 
way down stairs to the street, to be shot or beaten to death oirthe pavement. 
Colored persons, at distant points in the city, peaceably pursuing their lawful 
business, wen- attacked by the police, shot, .and cruelly beaten. Men of char- 
acter and position, some of whom were members and some spectators of the con- 
vention, escaped from the ball covered with wounds and blood, and were pre- 
served almost by miracle from death. Scores of colored citizens bear frightful 
sears more numerous than many soldiers of a dozen well-fought fields can show 
— proofs of fearful danger and strange escape ; men were shot while waving 
handkerchiefs in token of surrender and submission; white men and black, with 
arms uplifted* praying for life, were answered by shot and blow from knife and 
club ; the bodies of some were " pounded to a jelly ;" a colored man was dragged 
from under a street-crossing, and killed at a blow ; men concealed in outhouses 
and among piles of lumber were eagerly sought for and slaughtered or maimed 
without remorse ; the dead bodies upon the street were violated by shot, kick, 
and stab ; the face of a man "just breathing his last " was gashed by a knife 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. ' 11 

or razor in the hamls of a woman ; " an old, gray-haired man," peaceably walk- 
ing the Street at a distance from the Institute, Mas shot through the head ; ne- 
groes were taken out of their houses and shot; a policeman riding in a buggy 
deliberately fired his revolver from the carriage into a crowd of colored men; 
a colored man two miles away from the convention hall was taken from his shop 
by the police, at ahont four o'clock on the afternoon of the riot, and shot and 
wounded in side, hip, and hack ; one man was wounded by fourteen blows, shots, 
and stabs ; the body of another received seven pistol balls. After the slaughter 
had measurably ceased, carts, wagons, and drays, driven through the streets, 
gathered the dead, the dying, and the wounded in " promiscuous loads," a po- 
liceman, in some cases, riding in the wagon, seated upon the living men beneath 
him. The wounded men, taken at first to the station-house or " lock-up," were 
all afterwards carried to the hospital. While at the station-houses, until friends 
found them with medical aid, they were left to suffer. When at the hospital, 
they were attended to with care and skill. But this was done at no cost to the 
city or to the State. Without asking permission, so far as the committee learned, 
those wounded men Avere carried to the hospital under the care of the Freedmen ! s 
Bureau, and shelter, surgical treatment, and food were furnished at the cost of 
the United States. . , 

There was evidence before the committee that, in some cases, policemen 
acted to save and not to destroy life. Without doubt some members of the con- 
vention owe their lives to the protecting care of the officers who arrested them, 
or who accepted their surrender. The life of Mr. W. R. Fish was probably 
saved in this way. Governor Hahn was protected in passing to the prison from 
the hall, although he received many blows and severe injury from other officers 
of the police before he fell into the hands of those who saved^him. There were 
some other cases where evidence was given of kindness shown by the police. 
These were exceptional cases which we are glad to name. But with these ex- 
ceptions, f»r several hours, the police and mob, in mutual and bloody emulation, 
continued the butchery in the hall and on the street, until nearly two hundred 
people were killed and wounded. The number was probably much larger than 
this ; but of that number the names and residences are known. Some 
were injured whose friends conveyed them at once quietly away. There is 
evidence tending to show that some who were killed were privately earned 
away and buried. One witness testified : " I saw a dray taking five or six of 
those who were wounded awa^. I heard a drayman say, ' Where will I take 
them to V And a policeman said, ' Throw them in the river.' " Several wit- 
nesses testify that the killed and wounded exceed two hundred. One witness 
says th#t he saw from forty to fifty killed. Another states that he saw from 
twenty to thirty carriage loads of killed and wounded. Dr. Harris, of the Freed- 
nien's hospital, shows that one hundred and eight were brought wounded to. his 
hospital, of whom fourteen died there and one died after removal. A. V. Ward 
3aw twenty-seven dead bodies taken from the workhouse. How many were 
killed will never be known. But we cannot doubt there were many more than 
are set down in the official list in evidence. . 

KILLED AND WOUNDED. 

The names of killed and wounded, so far as ascertained, are given by Dr. 
Albert Hartsuff, assistant surgeon United States army. 

Dr. Hartsuff was examined by the committee, and produced and verified the 
report made by him to General Baird. His report is as follows : 



12 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



New Orleans, LdH August 13, 1866. 
General : I hare the honor to furnish the following- summary of killed and wounded in 
the riot July 30, 1366: 







& 


(A 














— 


H 


t3 


to 


CO 








> 

CO 


"» 


13 

3 


13 
P 

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to 






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13 


3 

o 


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* 


a 
o 






13 


13 


fc 




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a 






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a 


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H 


P-, 


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i 

2 


4 
4 


4 
5 


8 
9 


4 
3 


1 
2 


3 




4 




24 


40 


79 
10 


119 

10 


44 

7 


30 
1 


45 




2 




1 





















Believed by me killed and wounded, of whom I could not get absolute facts — killed, 
(colored,) 10; wounded, (colored, ) 20. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant. 

A. HARTSUFF, 

Assistant Surgeon U. S. A. 
Official copy : 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 

coroner's report. 

July 31, 1866. — ChJrles Johnson, (colored,) 30 years, a pistol ball penetrating' theperitoni- 
teum of the small intestine; James Nelson, (colored,) 28 years, a pistol ball penetrating' the 
right lung, at the basis thereof; Collins Page, (colored,) 28 years, a pistol ball in the brain 
and two in the body; Constant Soup, (white,) 36 years, stabbed with a dirk or knife, caus- 
ing a wound three inches in length, cutting the intestine of the liver ; E. H. Cenas, (white, ) 
22 years, a pistol ball which cut the carotid artery on the right side. 

August 1, 1866. — Wilson Johnson, (colored,) 40 years, a pistol ball in the right lung, and 
several wounds inflicted on the head with a blunt instrument. 

The foregoing is a list of the bodies on which I have made a separate inquest, while en- 
gaged at that duty. Notice was left at about 10 o'clock a. m. at my office, requiring me to 
proceed at once to the workhouse to make inquest on the bodies of twenty-two (22) negroes 
who were killed in the riot of July 30, last. My deputyJJr. S. Barthe, without delay, com- 
plied, and found 22 bodies enclosed in coffins, arouncrwhich a hot fire had been lit for 
protection against the arising stench and purification of the air. Not a solitary person was 
found on the spot to identify the bodies ; and, as it was of the utmost urgency to have the 
bodies removed, (as. the workhouse contained a population of 450 persons,) my deputy was 
constrained to make a general inquest in the presence of a jury, who found that trre 22 per- 
sons in question bad come to death by pistol-shots and stabbings, done during the riot of 
July 30, 1866. 

Your most obedient servant, 

C. DELERY, Coroner. 

Official copy : 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 

1. John Mass, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of head. 

2. Fuller Loulong, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

3. George Cooper, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of body. 

4. Ann Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

5. James Sumersville, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face. 

6. Alexander Taylor, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head. 

7. Adam White, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

8. Achil] Smith, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

9. William Griffin, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of nock and 

groin. Died .July 31, 1866. 

10. Stephen Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

gunshot wound of head, severe. 

11. Reuben Hobbs, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of the right thigh, 

severe. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 13 

12. Warren Washington, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion ofhead. 

13. Henry Nichols, Marine Hospital, New Orleans. Louisiana, pistol-shol of neck. 

14. John Chester, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of abdomen, severe. 

15. Stephen Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

16. William Bloom, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of occipital bone, 

severe^ 

17. William Harris, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of left lung. 

Died August 2, 1866. 

18. Jim Moss, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

19. Elijah Smith, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of leg. 

20. John Domingo, Mariue Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

severe. 

21. Bill Williams, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left thigh. 

22. John Rollards, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

23. Peter Crocker, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound ofhead. 

24. Alfred Meyo, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of neck and 

head, severe. 

25. Dick Hobert, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of leg. 

26. Gill Pecko, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

27. Frank Edwards, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of right fore-arm, 

back, and head. Died August 1, 1866. 

28. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion ofhead. Died August 

1, 1866. 

29. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound ofhead, severe. 

30. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left lung, severe. 

31. Thomas Buse, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion. 

32. Nat. Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of neck. 

33. Osborn Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of back, 

severe. 

34. George Lisle, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of fore-arm. 

35. Henry Robinson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of fore-arm. 

36. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of knee, head, and 

frontal bone. Died August 4, 1866. 

37. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of left knee and side. 

38. Charles Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of head and 

fracture of condyles of left knee, severe. 

39. Gilbert Reynolds, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

severe. 

40. Henry Murray, Maine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

41. Gerel .Scott, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of left lung. 

42. Leon Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, sprain of left knee. 

43. Charles Wallace, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of right fore- 

arm. 

44. John Sparrin, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wounds of fore-arm and 

head. 

45. Elias Young, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

46. George Fitzhugh, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head, 

severe. 

47. George Burke, Mqfine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of right thigh, 

severe. 

48. Aaron Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

49. John Gibson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of left thigh, severe. 

50. Frank Smith, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of right knee. 

51. James Roffin, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face, severe. 

52. Lewis Campbell, Marine Hospital, New X>) leans, Louisiana, pistol wound of leg, severe. 

53. Edward Francis, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right thigh. 

54. Saul Coleman, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left knee. 

55. William Dangerfield, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion ofhead. 

56. Peter Green, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right lung, severe. 

57. Nat. Frazier, Marine Hosj ita ; , New Orleans, Louisiana, stab of left lung, severe. 

58. Mark Thompson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion ofhead. 

59. Battice Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

severe. 

60. James H. Taylor, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound. 

61. Hypolyn Varrett, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

62. Isaac Crop, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right thigh. 

63. James Lewis, Marine Hospital, New Orleans^ Louisiana, incised wound of back, severe. 

64. Peter Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans', Louisiana, pistol-shot of leg. 

65. James Washington, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of abdomen; 

Died August 6, 1866. 



14 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

66. Robert Ballard, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of spinal col- 
umn, severe. 

67. Charles Farrar, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left lung, se- 
vere. 

68. Sylvester Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of right 
fore-arm. , 

69. William Woden, Marine Hospital, Now Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of left thigh, 

severe. 

70. Marshall Simon, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face. 

71. Ludain Nora, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of left thigh. 

72. Anthony Nash, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of left fore-arm. 

73. Jeremiah Blackstone, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, injury of legs. 

74. Oscar Bellevere, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound efface. 

75. Eugene foster, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion. 

7li. John Harrison, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of abdomen, se- 
vere. 

77. Emanuel Thompson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head and 
face. 

78. Samuel Butler, Sparine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, se- 
vere. 

79. Eugene Gorden, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of right arm. 

80. Charles Hughes, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

81. Gabriel Toroby, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of leg, se- 
vere. 

82. Jacob Milton, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of neck. 

[83. Charles Jordan, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, stab over region of loft cla- 
vicle, severe. 
84. William G. Guiellotte, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of thigh. 
S5. Joseph Claiborne, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of thigh. 
86. Thomas Valson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, sword-cane wound of left 
lung, severe". 
87. Jule l'efers, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

88. Robert Easly, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp and 

injury to feet, severe. 

89. Albert Green, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head and face. 

90. Benjamin Palbot, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incision of feet and con- 

tusion of head. 

91. John Sidney, Marine Hospital, New Orleans. Louisiana, injury of head. 

9 - J. John Bush, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, injury of feet and head. 

93. Bill Sparks, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

94. George Wells, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face. 

95. Adolph Albaria, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

severe. 

9f>. John Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

97. Samuel Jones, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of face and legs. 

"98. Philip Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, sword-cane wound. 

99. Hayden Stewart, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of left 

thigh, severe. 

100. John Babtish, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

101. Peter Sanville, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, cut of scalp. 

102. .lames Aron, Marine Hospital, New Orlean .;, Louisiana, pistol wound of face. 

103. Charles Fisher, Marine Hospital, New Orleans. Louisiana, pistol wound ofleft thigh. 

104. Antoine Raymond, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound ofcheek. 

105. Antoine Johnston, Marine Hospital, New Orleans. Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

106. Victor Laboraux, Marine Hospital, New Yhleaais, Louisiana, contusions of head and 

abdomen. . 

107. Daniel Bidwell, Marine Hospital, Now Orleans, Louisiana, complicated dislocation 

of left arm joint, with protrusion of bones, severe. 

108. John Patrick, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of right tenure, 

upper third-, severe. 

109. Stephen Johnston, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of 

head. Died JuU 30, 1866. 

110. Allied Mayo, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head and 

neck, severe. 

111. Victor Lahoraux, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

112. Brazille Kemp, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head, 

severe. 

113. Benjamin Hoyt, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of arm. 

114. Sam Jones, Marine Hospital, New Oilcans. Louisiana, contusion offore-arm. 

115. Frank Haskins, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of neck. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 15 

116. Thornton James, Marino Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, bruises of head. 

117. Thomas, Corner, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana., bruise of hand and arm. 
116. John Henderson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of thorax, 

severe. 
119. Rev. Mr. Horton, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshol wound right arm 

and band, contusion let'! side, and fracture of head by club. Died August 5, 1866. 
1-20. Owen Reams, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture, severe. 

121. Michael Hiekey, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of ankle, 

severe. 

122. Lyman Money, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of thigh, 

severe. 

123. M. Sokalski, No. 190 Basin street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of groin; police- 

man. 

124. J. W. Henessy, 268 Common street, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head ; police- 

man. 

125. Owen Keenan, 390 Lafayette street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot wound of 

head ; policeman. 

126. Hiram Howry. Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, shot in the foot; policeman. 

127. M. Smith, 3^9 New Levee, New Orleans, Louisiana, shot in the right thigh ; policeman. 
126. Dan Harrigan, 81 Front Levee street, New Orleans, Louisiana, struck on the leg ; 

policeman. 

129. Michael Hahn, Sedgwick Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head. 

130. Alfred Shaw, Sedgwick Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of back and 

bruise. 

131. A. P. Dostie, Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of spine, andsword- 

thrust of stomach. Dead. 

132. S. S. Fish, Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head and back, 

severe. 

133. Rev. Mr. Jackson, Calliope street, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot penetrating wounds 

both lungs. 

134. George Howes, , New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions^f body. 

135. C. W. Stauffer, No. 97 Magazine street, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion. 

136. M. Waples, with Judge Waples, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 
1^7. M. Duffey, Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

138. C. B. H. Duplessis, No. 252 Johnson street, between barracks and hospital, New Orleans, 

Louisiana, gunshot wound of face and neck. 

139. Eugene Sties, 236 St. Philip street, New Orleans, Louisiana, ankle broken, severe. 

140. George Ross, 46 Montegut street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right arm ; 

■man. 

141. William Lamhias, 133 Magazine street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left leg; 

policeman. 

142. James Brooks, 99 Spain street, New Orleans, Louisiana, stabbed in the right hand ; 

policeman. 

143. William Heard % , New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left hand ; police- 

man. 

144. H. Hurst, Old Magazine street, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of left shoulder, 

left fore-arm and right side. 

145. Dr. Hire, corner Poyfarre and Magazine streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound 

of hand and contused wound of side, severe. 

146. Lieutenant Smith, , New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of right arm. 

147. J. M. Leclere, 147 Dauphin street, New Orleans, Louisiana, deep cut over left eye; 

general contusions of body. 

148. Charles Azeretto, corner of Ursuline and Old Levee streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, 

incised wound of scalp, severe 

149. L. J. P. Capla, corner barracks and St. Cloud streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised 

wound over left eye. 

150. Alfred Capla, comer Barracks and St. ClouS streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol- 

shot destroying left eye ; extensive contusions of head. 

151. Manuel Camps, 245 Dumaine street, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head; 

punctured wound of back ; extensive contusions of head and face. 

152. Jules Lavater, comer Claiborne and St. Ann streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, exten- 

sive contusions of head ; pistol wound of right thigh ; pistol-shot of left knee ; incised 
wound of left shoulder. 

153. Martin Self, 250 St. Philip' street, New Orleans, Louisiana, -pistol-shot in breast, ball 

remaining; pistol-shot in right hip, ball remaining, and pistol-shot of hark. 

154. S Rock, 189 St. Cloud street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of head; extensive 

contusions. 

155. Captain C. Loup, , New Orleans, Louisiana, stabbed in the abdomen. 

Killed. 
Official copy: 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 



16 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Headquarters Department of Louisi \\\, 

New Orleans, Louisiana, AuguU 14, 186R. 
SiR: The. commanding general desires a little explanation of the difference existing- in the 
report of the number of police wounded on the 30th ultimo, as given in your report (ten) and 
as stated by the chief of police (about twenty-two.) He desires to be informed what circum- 
stances have come to your knowledge tendiug so greatly to diminish the number given by 
the city authorities. 

Please answer by bearer. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



Asst. Surgeon A. Hartsuff, U. S. A., 

Sedgwick Hospital. 
Official copy : 



L. V. CAZIARC, 

Brevet Captain, A. D. C. 



GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 



Sedgwick General Hospital, 

Greenville, Louisiana, August 14, 1866. 
Respectfully returned. I called on the chief of police and obtained a list of the names of 
■wounded policemen, which I believe was twenty-two. 1 then visited the several policemen 
wounded at their residences, and some of the twenty-two I found were not injured, and 
others were on duty. The day following the riot, I found only ten injured. 

A. HARTSUFF, 

Assistant Surgeon U. S. A. 
Official copy: 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 

One remarkable fact should be stated in this connection. Only one "citizen" 
was killed. He was a young man named Cenas, a medical student or young 
physician, and he was killed, as it appears in proof, by accident, and not by 
any of the friends of the convention. Only ten policemen were wounded, and 
none of them severely, and no one of them was slain. 

If the convention had been armed, or if the colored citizens had been called 
upon in advance to come armed to protect and defend the convention, this could 
not have been the case. 

THE RIOT NOT AN ACCIDENT, BUT PRE-ARRANGED. 

This riotous attack upon the convention, with its terrible results of massacre 
and murder, was not an accident. It was the determined purpose of the mayor 
of the city of New Orleans to break up this convention by armed force. 

We state one fact in this connection, significant both as bearing upon the 
question of preparation and as indicating the true and prevailing feeling of the 
people of New Orleans. Six months have passed since the convention assem- 
bled, when the massacre was perpetrated, and more than two hundred men 
were slain and wounded. This was done by city officials and New Orleans 
citizens. But not one of those men has been punished, arrested, or com- 
plained of. These officers of the law living in the city, and known to that 
community, acting under the eye of superiors, clothed with the uniform of 
office, and some of them known, as -the proof shows, to the chief officer of po- 
lice, have not only escaped punishment, but have been continued in their office. 

The gentlemen who composed the convention have not, however, been per- 
mitted to escape. Prosecutions in the criminal court under an old law, passed 
in 1805, were at once commenced, and are now pending against them for a 
breach of the peace. These facts tend strongly to prove that the criminal 
actors in the tragedy of the day were the agents of more criminal employes, 
and demonstrate the general sympathy of the people in behalf of the men who 
did the wrong against those who suffered it. 

But the evidence establishing the fact of determination to suppress the con- 
vention, and preparation for attack upon the members and those friends, who- 



EEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 17 

ever they might be, that should attend its meeting, is derived from many wit- 
nesses. 

Before the day arrived there was general denunciation of the convention in 
different circles and in casual meetings on the streets ; wishes were expressed 
and expectations declared that it should be dispersed; anonymous letters of 
warning and threatening violence were sent to several of the members and 
their friends ; a funeral notice, announcing in advance the death of the con- 
vention, was posted in the streets on Sunday ; declarations were made that the 
"niggers and half niggers should be wiped out;" members of one of 'the fire 
companies absent from the city on Sunday declared that they must return and 
be on hand the next day. They said, "Hays's brigade will all be there, and 
will clean out those damned Yankees." One man remarked, " I have spotted 
Dostie myself." (6375.) It was freely said, " We are going to hang Halm and 
Dostie;" that ''No man should cofne out of the convention alive;" that ''We 
will show you what will happen to-day;" that " You will see fun to-day;" that 
" It is no sin to kill a nigger." 

Fire engines were brought out, one of which had pistols in the box. Fii'e 
companies gathered near the Institute at the same time from different parts of 
the city. In the early morning a man was ascertaining the names of tlfcose who 
were willing to aid in suppressing the meeting. A school was dismissed because 
there was to be a riot; badges of different kinds were worn by "citizens" in 
the street; men were seen buying pistols and cartridges; citizens encouraged 
the riot in different ways; there were crowds of citizens at different parts of the 
street ; they cheered and shouted for Jeff. Davis, and for Mr. Johnson. When 
the wounded men were brought into the " lock-up," members of the city council 
cheered the policemen " in their bloody work," and, finally, no one of the rioters, 
either policemen or citizens, has been complained of or punished. 

On Sunday night the police were withdrawn from their stations, that they 
might rest until Monday morning, when they were ordered to report at their 
different headquarters. Early on Monday the whole police force, numbering 
between four and five hundred, were massed at their different stations ; they 
were oidered to come armed, and arms were furnished to those who were with- 
out them ; the greater part of the police was kept at the station-houses until 
the time arrived when their work should begin. Soon after noon an unusual 
" alarm" was given — such as had been used when federal armies were investing 
the city — and then the combined police, headed by officers and firemen, with 
their companies, rushed with one will from different parrs of the city toward 
the Institute, and the work of butchery commenced. In these acts of violence, 
police and fireman and -citizen acted in concert. Diffwent " badges" were 
worn on the streets; many policemen had their hat bands reversed so that their 
" numbers" could not be distinguished. No effort was made by the mayor or 
the chief of police to control or check these men. but the slaughter was permitted 
until the end was gained. Facts of this description were put in proof with other 
circumstances, demonstrating, as we judge, that the slaughter of these men was 
determined on by the chief executive officer of the city, and was prepared for 
by him on the night before the meeting was held. 

RESPONSIBILITY OF STATE OFFICERS. 

It is made the duty of the committee to inquire and report to the House whejher, 
and to what extent, the members of the organization claiming to be the govern- 
ment of Louisiana are responsible for the atrocious acts of violence committed 
on the day of the massacre; and to that end, a brief statement of facts which 
occurred before the convention met is necessary. It was determined' by the 
mayor of the city that this convention should not assemble. The lieutenant 
governor of Louisiana, and the attorney general of the State, united with the 
H. Rep. Com. 16 2 



18 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

mayor in that determination. On the 25th of July, the mayor notified the com- 
manding officer that the proposed convention was an " unlawful assemblage ;" 
that its " object in meeting was to subvert the State and municipal governments," 
and that he " intended to disperse it by arresting the members thereof, and 
boding them accountable to, existing municipal law, provided they met without 
the sapction of the military authorities." No request is made lor military aid, 
but notice is given that the convention is to be suppressed by arrest of its mem- 
bers, unless the convention was sanctioned by the military. 

In reply to that communication, General Baird stated that the military com- 
manders had "held themselves strictly aloof from interference with the political 
movements of the citizens of Louisiana," and he proceeded to say : 

" If the assemblage in question lias the legal right to remodel the State government, it 
should be protect! i in so doing. If il lias not, then its la hois must be looked u\ as harm- 
less pleasantry, to which no one ought to object. \a to your conception of the duty imposed 
by your oath of office, I regret to differ from you entirely. I cannot understand how the 
mayor of the city can undertake to decide so important and delicate a question as the legal 
authority upon which a convention, claiming to represent the people of an entire State, base's 
its action. 

"This doubtless will, indue time, be properly' decided upon by the legal branches of the 
United gtates government. At all events, the governor of the State would seem to be more 
directly called upon to take the initiative in a step of this kind if it was proper and necessary. 
What we most want at the present, time is the maintenance of perfect order ami the sup- 
pression of violence. If, when you speak of the projected meeting as one calculated to 
disturb the public peace and tranquillity, 1 am to understand that you regard the number of 
persons who differ in opinion from those who will constitute it as so large, ami the lawless- 
ness of their character so well established, that you doubt the ability of your small force of 
police to control them, you have in such cases onbj to call upon me and 1 will bring to your 
assistance, not only troops now present in the city, but, if necessary, the entire force which it 
may be in my power to assemble, either upon the land or upon the water. Law less violence 
must lie suppressed, and in this connection the recent order of the Lieutenant General, de- 
signed for the protection of citizens of the United States, deserves careful consideration. It 
imposes high obligations for military interference, to protect those who, having violated uo 
ordinance of the State, are engaged in peaceful avocations."' 

On the 28th of July the mayor, accompanied by Lieutenant Governor Voor- 
hies, called upon General Baird to inform him that the design of an interference 
by the police had been abandoned, and that, on an indictment "by the grand 
jury of the parish, process would issue to the sheriff to make the arrests." Upon 
objection being stated to this course, and an understanding that each should 
communicate with the authorities at Washington, the interview closed . General 
Baird was informed that any writ, of arrest that might be issued would be sub- 
mitted to him before service. And it was believed by him that all danger of 
violent interference^ith the convention had been removed. General Baird tel- 
egraphed to the Secretary of War and said : 

"Aconvention has been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to meet here on Mon- 
day. The liont. mm; governor and citj authorities think it unlawful, and propose to bieak 
it up bj arresting the delegates. I have given no orders on the subject, but bave wt 
tin- parties that J should not countenance, oj permit such action without instructions to that 
effect from the President. 

" 1 ; lease instruct me by telegraph." 

No reply was made to this, and General Baird was left to act upon orders 
then in force, and according to instructions then existing ; and he had pre- 
viously informed the lieutenant governor and the mayor in what way he deemed 
that ho was required to act unless otherwise instructed. No request had been 
maBe either by the lieutenant governor or the mayor "for troops or military 
aid." No doubt had been suggested id' the inability of the mayor to execute his 
process, or of the sheriff to serve his writs. It was desired only that General 
Baird should not interfere. And when the teh gram was received from the 
President in reply to that of Lieutenant Governor Voorhies that " the military 
would be expected to sustaiu, and not to obstruct or interfere Avith the proceed- 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 19 

inga of the court," it was taken to be a decision of the President in favor of the 
parlies who wished to breakup the convention, and against the convention itself. 

But as General Baird had received no instructions, he did not feel authorized 
to act in opposition to what he deemed to be the instructions then in force. 

When he so slated to Governor Voorhies if, was agreed that no arrests should 
be made without the approval of General Baird, and "that the convention 
should he permitted to proceed." 

But up to this time it had been hoped that General Baird might be induced to 
interfere with his troops .to aid in the suppression ot the convention. 

On Monday morning, after the proposition had been made for calling the 
police from their "beats" and arming them for violence, and at or about eleven 
o'clock, the lieutenent governor called again upon General Baird, and was with 
him until nearly twelve o'clock. Governor Voorhies was aware of the position 
of the military force, where the troops were, and how long it would take to have 
them on the ground. But he did not then ask for them, nor did he express a wish 
to have them in readiness, according to General Band's statement, until General 
Baird himself proposed, as a measure of caution, to send for some of his force. 
This suggestion by General Baird was satisfactory, and an order was at once sent 
by General Baird to that effect. It was now nearly twelve o'clock. General 
Baird had been led to believe that the convention did not meet until six p. m. 
But although two hours would be required to get the troops, and although it was 
clearly impossible to have them there at or near twelve o'clock, nothing was said by 
Lieutenant Governor Voorhies as to the true time when the convention met, and 
when the interview came to an end General Baird remained under the belief that 
the convention Avould not meet until six p.m. He at once sent for the troops, 
according to his own suggestion to Lieutenant Governor Voorhies, and then rode 
to the residence of Judge Howell to see him in reference to the convention. But 
Judge Howell had already gone to the convention, and within an hour the 
massacre was in full progress. In his testimony before the committee Governor 
Voorhies and General Baird differ as to the time of this interview; and it is im- 
portant to detei mine which is right. Governor Voorhies fixes the time at early 
after breakfast. His statement is as follows : 

" On Monday morning, the 30th, the day of the riot, early after breakfast time, I called upon 
General Baird and handed him the despatch of the President, of which he tooka copy. The 
general then informed me that he had telegraphed to Mr. Stanton, but that he had received 
no reply. I then inquired of the general whether he would have troops in the vicinity of 
the Mechanics' Institute, that day being the day of the meeting of the convention. The 
general answered that applications had been made by members — he did not say the members, 
hut by some members of the convention — to have troops there to keep order, had 

declined to allow troops for the purpose; that he did not wish to have the appearance of 
siding with either party. Then I suggested, it' both parties made the same application would 
j want it? That, he said, would change the question materially. Then I asked him to 
sewl troops there to keep order and quiet. 1 did not mention the number, or what troops I 
desin-d. I asked him generally to send troops there, and left the matter of selection to his 
discretion. 1 stated to the general that if a small body of troops appeared on the steps with 
the police, there would be no danger of a riot being commenced on either side. The general 
was very well pleased, from what I saw, with my proposition. " 

If that was correct, it would have been possible that the troops which General 
Baird had volunteered might be had in readiness soon after the assembling of the 
convention at twelve o'clock. General Baird states that the interview did not 
close until nearly twelve. 

Captain Caziarc corroborates General Baird ; but both he and General Baird 
say that upon Governor Voorhies's leaving the office General Baird went to the 
house of Judge Howell. That was just about twelve o'clock, as is proved by 
Mrs. Howell. 

Governor Voorhies stated that he sent two notes to General Baird on Mon- 
day, one "at about half past ten o'clock," and one "at about noon." If these 
timi'S were correctly stated it would follow that his interview with General 



20 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

Baird was before half past ten, and not between eleven and twelve, as General 
Bairtl states; and Mr. Martin Voorhies, his brother, corroborates the lieutenant 
governor, and testifies that he carried both of those notes, and saw General 
Baird ; and that one was between ten and half past ten in the morning, and 
the other between twelve and one o'clock. (4113,4116.) Mr. Voorhies after- 
wards said that the second note was between eleven and twelve. (4121.) This 
difference is important when the question is one of time. The interval between 
the two notes did not probably exceed one hour. 

General Baird states that he received both these note's. He does not fix the 
time of the first, but says " it could not have been half an hour " before the sec- 
ond was sent. But General Baird produced the original of the second note, and 
the note itself is dated " one and, a half o'clock" and he states that he received 
it at "just about that time." This evidence is conclusive. Governor Voorhies 
did not write the note before "half past one," and, therefore, did not send it, as 
he swears he did, at "about noon." But Captain Caziarc incidentally, but 
strongly, corroborates the statement of General Baird, for he received from Mar- 
tin Voorhies the first note and delivered it to General Baird ; and he says it 
was " very shortly after my return from the Institute, and after I had reported 
the facts to the general." But Captain Caziarc did not go to the Institute 
until about half past twelve, (after General Baird had returned from Judge 
Howell's house,) and he met Judge Howell in the governor's room during the 
recess of the convention, so that the time must have been as late as half past 
twelve when he returned, and when the first note was sent to General Baird. 

We have no doubt that General Baird is correct, and that the time of the 
interview was between eleven and twelve o'clock. Lieutenant Governor Voor- 
hies knew that troops could not be brought up in less than two hours, and that 
their arrival could not be looked for until about two o'clock. Whether Lieuten- 
ant Governor Voorhies had or had not knowledge of what had been done by 
Mayor Monroe to aim and prepare the police for their work we do not know. 
It is not proved by positive evidence that he did. He and the mayor had been 
acting jointly. Apparently they were in harmony, or had been, so far as it 
appears in their proposed action, bj r arrests to be made by police or on civil 
process by the sheriff. At what time Mayor Monroe determined upon his own 
action does not appear. Mr. Voorhies knew or he did not know that General 
Baird was acting under some error as to the time the convention was to meet. 
In either case he knew that troops could not be procured in season ; yet he did 
not, as we believe, at that time ask for troops himself; and when offered by 
General Baird he did not suggest that they could not be in readiness before the 
convention assembled. We believe that be did know that no troops could sea- 
sonably arrive. We believe that he did know that the meeting of the conven- 
tion would be interfered with by the mayor. We believe that lie did fee^hat 
the sympathy of the President was in his favor and against the convention. 
But there is no proof that he anticipated what did occur, or that be is otherwise 
implicated in the slaughters that then were about to take place. When M^.yor 
Monroe made his appearance " hurriedly" at the headquarters of General Baird, 
alter two o'clock p. m., and while the work of "suppressing" the convention 
was going on. he asked " when the troops the general proposed to bring up 
would arrive?" and wanted "white troops'' to "act along with the police." If 
such aid had been rendered as Mayor Monroe then wanted, our soldiers would 
have shared with the mayor the responsibility of the day's work. 

THE MEETINGS ON FRIDAY EVENING — THE RIOTS NOT CAUSED BY THEM. 

It is charged as a prominent and direct cause of these riots that incendiary 
and turbulent meetings were held on Friday evening, July 27. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 21 

On Saturday morning, July 28, Lieutenant Governor Voorhies and Attorney 
'^General lierron sent the following telegram to the President: 

New Orleans, July 28, 1866. 
President Johnson, Washington, D. C. : 

Radical mass meeting composed mainly of large numbers of negroes last oight, ending in a 
riot; the committee of arrangements of said meeting assembling to-night. Violent and in- 
cendiary speeches made; negroes railed toarm themselves. You bitterly denounced. Speak- 
ers Field, Dostie, Hawkins, Henderson, Hiestaud, and others. Governor Wells' arrived last 
night, but sides with the convention movement. The whole matter before the grand jury ; 
but impossible to execute civil process without certainty of riot. Contemplated to have the 
members of the convention arrested under process from the criminal court of this district. Is 
the military to interfere to prevent process of court? 

ALBERT VOORHIES, 

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. 
ANDREW S. HERRON, 

Attorney General of Louisiana. 

The committee inquired carefully into the alleged facts upon which this tele- 
gram was founded. There were three meetings upon this evening. One was 
held within the hall of the Institute, one outside the hall at the same' time, and 
one at the City Hall, in the street, after the close of the former meetings. 

The meetings at the Institute were held upon public notice to consider the 
questions which would ultimately come before the convention. They were 
called by parties friendly to the objects of the convention, and the speakers 
were well known as identified with the Union or radical party in Louisiana. 

The following is substantially the testimony as to the character of these 
meetings : 

Judge Hiestand : '' On the Friday night previous to the convention there 
were public meetings in the city of New Orleans. Nothing was said or done 
at either place which, in my estimation, would authorize a magistrate to bind 
the party over to keep the peace. I know of no disturbance during that 
night." Answer 8. 

James L. Andem : " I reported the speeches made in the hall on Friday 
night, but those made outside of the building I did not report. The speakers 
inside made no call for the negroes to come armed to protect the convention, or 
anything of the kind ; on the contrary, they were advised to be patient, and 
keep quiet, and not urge the matter too strongly." Answer 181. 

Ruf'us Waples : " In the hall (on Friday night) everything was well-beh ived ; 
no disturbance whatever, and no unusual excitement." Answers 285 and 292. 

E% King Cutler : " The meeting in the hall was perfectly orderly, and on the 
outside, when I went out, it was the same." Answers 395 and 399. 

S. S. Fish: "I never heard of any armed aid, (to the convention,) but had 
heard it spoken of that caution should be used not to have armed men there ; 
and I know, too, that Dr. Dostie, who nearly always carried a revolver with him, 
that day took it from his persnn and left it with a barber in this city, by whom 
he was accustomed to be shaved." Answer 442. 

" I heard the speaking inside and nearly all outside the hall on the 27th of 
July. I heard of no statement, as has been asserted by one of the other side 
before the military commission, or request by any of the speakers in the hall 
for anybody to come there armed. 1 heard the speeches of Governor Halm, 
Colonel Field, part of Mr. Waples, also the remarks of Mr. Cutler and Mr. 
Dibble. I was present when the meeting was dissolved, and afterwards went 
with the procession up to the front of the hall, and was there when Dr. Dostie 
made the speech that is said to be inflammatory. I did not hear much of the 
speaking outside from the stand in front of the Institute. I was at the hall 
during the continuation of the meeting until it adjourned. It was orderly, so 
far as anything I saw. If there had been any disturbance I should have known 
it. Nothing was said by Dr. Dostie as to the employment of force. Towards 



22 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

the close of Lis speech he used this language. I will repeat one sentence 
almost word for word, and this was the language that looked most toward vio-« 
lence or incendiarism of any that I heard there. They were mostly negroes 
there. It was a procession formed of negroes. They had come to the meeting, 
and Dr. Dosti<e liked to make a demonstrative speech. He took pleasure in 
doing it. In his speech he called them brethren and so forth. * 

" Near the close of his speech he said: 'Now, friends, go home, peaceably, 
quietly; make no noise; distuib no person;' but, said he, 'I learn' — which 
was true, too — ' that there are prowling bands of armed men out to waylay you. 
As you separate, go home. If you are insulted by any of these bands of men, 
pay no attention to them; go home, right by them, without saying a word to 
them ; but if they strike you, kill them.' That was the substance of his last 
sentence, and nearly word for word." Answers 442 and 452. 

Charles S. Souvinet : "All the time I was up stairs (Friday night) the meet- 
ing was orderly. I heard the speech of Mr. Waples: it was only a short one — 
a few remarks. I also heard part of the remarks of Judge Field. As well as 
I can remember, the purport was that they would support the convention when 
it should meet. It was composed, he said, of loyal men, and they would ex- 
tend the right of suffrage to the loyal men, the colored people." Answer 534. 

Judge Howell testifies : "On Saturday evening preceding the meeting (of the 
convention) several gentlemen came into my house and told me that the general 
effe t of the meeting of Friday evening was favorable to quiet." Answer 575. 

Dr. Win. II. Hire : "I heard the speaking at City Hall and Institute on Friday 
night, the 27th July. There was speaking inside and outside the hall. Our 
friends spoke in the most radical way. I will state to you that I heard Dr. 
Dostie distinctly say, ' Now, my friends, go peaceably home ; go orderly ; do 
not disturb anybody; but if anybody disturbs you, kill him.' Answer 718. 

"The speeches were not calculated to excite violence on the part of those 
to whom they were addressed. On the contrary, it was only in the event of 
being attacked they were advised to 'remember Fort Pillow.' " 

Charles W. Gibbons called on Dr. Dostie and warned hiin on Monday morning 
(July 30 ) that " I had heard one policeman say to another, in a little grocery on the 
corner of Custom-house street, on Sunday night, that ' By G — d, we are going 
to hang Dostie and Halm.' Dr. Dostie made the remark to me, ' I am going 
unarmed ; I know they want to take my life, but I think it a good cause to 
die in ; if they want to take my life they can do so.' Said I, you can do as you 
please. I thought it my duty to call and tell you, as, in your remarks at the 
meeting on Friday night, you told the people to come out and attend the Con- 
vention. He said on that night, 'Go home — go quietly — go orderly — behave 
yourselves, and if there is anybody, white or black, that disturbs you, protect 
yourselves.' " Answer 1789. 

Mr, Richard L. Shelley, an intelligent witness, makes this conclusive state- 
ment : 

I went out to the meeting held in front of the Mechanics' Institute, and after Rev. Mr. 

ii had delivered his speech, standing on the platform, within a few feet of Dr. Dostie, I 

i <: attentively to the speech he made. There was nothing whatever in the remavks of 

Dr. Dostie which could be said to excite or invite in any way acts of hostility upon the part 

of the colored people againsl any of the white citizens of New Orleans. After the meeting 

had adjourned at the Mechanics' Institute a procession was formed with torch-lights and a 

of music, and proceeded down Canal street to St. Charles, and then into Camp street 

lie City Hall. On the route to the City Hall some of the men comprising the pro- 

(t ssion were a tacked by some w hite persons and maltreated. < >n arriving at the City Hall 

a short speech was delivered by 1 »r. Dostie. Among other things, he told them be felt very 

much pleased with the quiet and orderly manner in which they had conducted themselves, 

and regretted to loam that the procession had been attacked by a body of evil-dispqped men. 

He recommended them to return quietly to their homes, and that if they were assailed and 

their lives put in jeopardy, he recommended that they should defend themselves to the extent 

ot their ability. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 23 

f>79f?. Except at that time, was there anything in Dr. Dostie's speech calculated to excite 
animosity or hostile action ! 

No, sir, there w is not. 

(iT'.M. At the meeting outside of the Mechanics' Institute, did Dr. Dostie say to the men 
to whom he was speaking that thoy all ought to fight for their votes ; that they ou 
armed to the convention, and that no cowards were wanted ; that the stones of the streets 
were crying out for the blood of rebels, or any expressions equivalent to these, or anything 
like them ' 

I can swear that he made no such remarks. 

This miss of evidence is materially contradicted only by Mr. F. W. Tilton 
and Mr. B. Brady, who were among the witnesses furnished by a committee of 
citizens of New Orleans. 

F. W. Tilton : 

On Friday there was a meeting consisting, as-far as I could see, principally of negroes? 
held at the Mechanics' Institute ; there was a meeting outside as well as inside. 

There was a large platform, and a hand of music, and torchlights ; the platform was sur- 
rounded by a large crowd of negroes, and there were white persons on the platform. 

y * ' '# # * * # # * * 

There were about four persons making speeches ; the only ones I knew were a man of the 
name of Dostie, and another by the name of Henderson, and I think Mr. Dibble made a 
speech, but I am not certain. 

5520. What was tin 1 character of the speeches? 

I would not call them speeches; they were haranguing the multitude and trying to excite 
them in relation to their political rights; and they were denouncing everybody round about, 
and telling them they must do this thing and the other thing. At the distance I was from 
the meeting I could not distinctly understand : the only ones I understood were Dr. Dostie 
and Mr. Henderson, for they spoke very loud. 

5522. Did they make any reference to the convention that was to assemble on the follow- 
ing Monday? 

Yes, sir; I remember Dr. Dostie called upon them, as they were going to meet in that hall 
on the following Monday, to come armed, to come prepared to fight and vote, to vote and 
fight. I could only understand portions, of the speech; then there would be portions in a 
lower tone which I could not understand ; this was between ten and eleven o'clock at night. 

5523. What kind of effect did that kind of exhortation have upou the multitude ? 
Screaming and yelling. 

fj.324. Did Mr. Henderson utter anything of that description? 

I cannot say. I understood Dr. Dostie very well. I heard one say that every man, every 
woman, and every child in New Orleans was a rebel and ought to be hung. One speaker, I 
think it was Dr. Dostie, I heard say that the stones of the streets of New Orleans called for 
their blood, and cried for their blood. 

Mr. B. Brady : 

The immediate cause of the riot, I'believe, was the speeches made on the Friday preceding 
the meeting of the convention. On that night a meeting was held opposite the Mechanics' 
Institute, in the street. A platform had been erected, and speakers addressed the multitude 
from the platform. The assemblage was chiefly composed of negroes. The speakers advised 
the negroes to insist upon their rights, and it' they did not get them to make the streets of 
New Orleans run with the blood of the rebels, and other language of similar character. 
One of them insisted that the rebels should he put down at any cost ; that they were hell-born 
and hell-bound scoundrels, (I think that was the expression,) and that the streets must run 
with their blood unless the rights of the negro were secured. 

4416. What speakers did yon hear make use of such language? 

A man by the name of Dostie, the last speaker, used that l&nguage. I do not know any- 
thing personally of those who preceded him; I have forgotten their names. I recollect I 
heard their names at the time as they were called by the multitude. 

4417: What kind of a crowd were assembled there? 

Several hundred negroes, and perhaps thousands. The street was pretty well crowded. 
It was about eight or nine o'clock- when it began, and the meeting lasted till ten or half-past 
ten. The multitude became excited as the speakers addressed them from the platform, and 
would respond "We will, wc will," to those.speakers who advised them to come to the hall 
Monday morning. 

Mr. Tilton saw no negro knocked down except when he assaulted a police- 
man, and, so far as be could judge, be bad no hesitation in saying that the police- 
men did all they could to preserve the peace. A witness so false in such ma- 



24 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

terial statements is not worthy of credit, and the proof, taken as a whole, is 
controlling that the meetings on Friday evening were orderly and temperate, 
and that although the speaking was earnest and emphatic, there was nothing 
Baid that could excite any just apprehension of violence from any quarter or 
could excuse or palliate the crimes that were committed against the convention. 
The facts proved do not sustain the truth of the telegram of July 28. 

NOT CAUSED BY THE RADICALS IN CONGRESS. 

Another "cause" has been assigned as follows : In a public speech delivered 
at St. Louis, on the 8th of September, by President Johnson, the following 
charge was made : 

" The time has come when it seems to me that all ought to be prepared for peace — the rebel- 
lion being suppressed, and the shedding of blood being stopped, the sacrifice of life being 
suspended and stayed, it seems that the time has arrived when we should have peace ; when 
the bleeding arteries should be tied up. [A voice : ' New Orleans ; go on.'] 

"Perhaps if you had a word or two on the subject of New Orleans, you might understand 
more about it than you do. [Laugditer and cheers.] Aud if you will go back [cries for 
Seward] — if you will go back and ascertain the cause of the riot at New Orleans, perhaps 
you would not be so prompt in calling out New Orleans. If you will take up the riot at 
New Orleans and trace it back to its source, or to its immediate cause, you will find out who 
was responsible for the blood that was shed there. 

"If you will take up the riot at New Orleans and trace it back to the radical Congress 
[great cheering and cries ot 'bully,'] you will find that the riot at New Orleans was sub- 
stantially planned — if you will take up the proceedings in their caucuses you will understand 
that they there knew [cheers] that a convention was to he called which was extinct, by its 
powers having expired; that it was said, and the intention was, that a new government was 
to be organized ; and in the organization of that government the intention was to enfran- 
chise one portion of the population, called the colored population, who had just been eman- 
cipated, and at the same time disfranchise white men. [Great cheering.] "When you begin 
to talk about New Orleans [confusion] you ought to understand what you are talking about. 

"When you read the speeches that were made, or take up the facts, (on Friday and Satur- 
day before that convention sat,) you will there find that speeches were made, incendiary in 
their character, exciting that portion of the population, the black population, to arm them- 
selves and prepare for the shedding of blood. [A voice, 'That's so,' and cheer-;.] You 
will also find that that convention did assemble, in violation of law, and the intention of that 
convention was to supersede the recognized authorities in the State government of Louisi 
which lunl been recognized by the government of the United States, and every man en . 
iu that rebellion — in that convention, with the intention of superseding and upturnin 
civil government which had been recognized by the government of the United States — 1 say 
that he was a trailer to the Constitution of the United States, [cheers,] and hence you will 
find that another rebellion was commenced, having its origin in the radical Congress. These 
men were to go there, a government was to be organiz id, and the one iu existence in Louis- 
iana was to be superseded, set aside, and overthrown. You talk to me about New Orleans ! 
Aud then the question was to come up, when they hail established their government — a ques- 
tion of political power — which of the two governments was to be recognized; a new govern- 
ment, inaugurated under this defunct convention, set up in violation of law. and without the 
consent of the people. And then, when they lied established their government, and extended 
universal or impartial franchise, as they called ii, to this colored population, then this radi- 
cal Congress was to determine that a government established on negro votes was to be the 
government of Louisiana. [Voices, 'Never,' and cheers, and 'Hurrah for Andy.'] 

"So much for the New Orleans riot ; and there was the cause and the origin <>f i he blood that 
•was shed, and every drop of blood that was shed is upon their skirts, and they are responsi- 
ble forit. [Cheers.] I could brace this thing a little closer, but 1 will not do it here to- 
night. But when you talk about New Orleans, aud talk about the causes and consequences 
tiiat resulted from proceedings of that kind, perhaps, as 1 have been introduced here, and 
you have provoked questions ot' this kind, though it don't provoke me, I will tell you a few 
wholesome things that has been done by this radical Congress. [Cheers."] 

Such charge from any other source would not have been considered, But 
the high position and public character of President Johnson have made it right 
to examine the grounds on which it rests, 

Before the 30tb of July Judge Howell, president pro ton. of the convention, 
had been at Washington. While here he had conversation with several mem- 
bers of Congress in regard to the proposed meeting of the convention. During 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 25 

his visit here there was a caucus held of the republican members of Congress. 
The testimony of Judge Howell discloses all the encouragement he received 
from Congress, and fall proof has been given that at the caucus referred to no 
action concerning the convention was taken or proposed. 

Judge Howell states that his interviews at Washington were not as satisfac- 
tory as he had desired or expected ; that he had thought there were congress- 
men who had suggested the reassembling of the convention, and that its action 
should be submitted to Congress for its acceptance, but did not find that to be 
the case. 

This witness further states that by letter and personally the request was 
made for some congressional action to be had to encourage the meeting of the 
convention — but it was not clone — " some action, some resolution, or something 
to encourage the meeting of the convention, but they declined it as not belong- 
ing to the action of Congress." "A despatch was sent by the president of the 
convention to the chairman of the Reconstruction Committee, stating that he had 
the power to re-convene the convention of 1864, and desiring to know if that 
ci invention should assemble and should adopt universal suffrage and some other 
amendments, which I do not recollect, and if the constitution thus amended 
should be ratified by the people, whether Congress would admit representatives 
from the State elected under it." The chairman of the committee stated to me 
that he had received the despatch, but said he considered it a foolish inquiry, 
and that as he would have to send an answer which might not be agreeable — be- 
cause they thought it a foolish inquiry — or no answer at all, they therefore con- 
cluded not to notice it, and did not reply. 

The only other evidence bearing upon this point and tending to sustain the 
charge made at St. Louis was from Eugene Tisdale, who testified that he had 
been told that " instructions had been received from two members of the Recon- 
struction Committee to assemble the convention at all hazards;" (answer 3S03 ;) 
that in the letter they said, " We are too far distant to designate the manner in 
which it should be assembled, but you must go ahead and trust the conse- 
quences;" (answer 3S04 ;) that the letter "was written in answer to a letter 
sent from here asking advice as to what to do." 

All the members of the Reconstruction Committee have been examined as 
witnesses, and they deny that any such letter was written by them to any person 
in New Orleans, or that any letter was written by them or any of them giving 
instructions or advice concerning the convention. 

When President Johnson felt it to be his duty to make the charge above 
stated, the official report of Brevet Major General Baird to the Secretary of War 
had been laid before him, and the testimony taken before the military commission 
over which Brevet Major General Mower presided had been closed, and the report 
of the commission had been made. Congress was not in session at the time of 
the massacre. Its members were at their respective homes, and the committee 
fail to discover any grounds upon which so grave a charge should be made. It 
was an unwarranted and unjust expression of hostile feeling, without pretext or 
foundation in fact. 

ACTION OF THE PRESIDENT. 

But it becomes important, in this connection, to bring into one view certain 
other facts. 

At and before the time when Lieutenant Governor Voorhies and Attorney Gen- 
eral Herron sent the telegraphic despatches of July 27 and July 28 to the 
President, one or more persons were at Washington who had been commissioned 
by parties ia Louisiana to communicate with the President to obtain from him 
aid in suppressing the obnoxious convention. J. Adolphus Rozier testifies : "I 
left here on the Wednesday or Thursday previous to the riots. I arrived at 



26 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Washington, T think, on Friday. I went to Washington at the request of 
members of the legislature hero, also at the request of certain citizens, to see 

tli'' President of the United States relative to the convention of 1864." (Answer 
3306.) He further states that he saw the President and conferred with his friends 
in New Orleans by telegraphy (answer 3342 ;) that his object in going was to see 
how the convention should be prevented ; (answer 3343 ;) that his idea was to 
represent to him (the President) "exactly the state of things here — what this 
convention of 1864 was; that its effects had been injurious to the interests of 
the State and the general government; that the men who wished to reassemble 
this convention were a revolutionary body; and I endeavored to impress upon 
the President my views that the civil authorities constituted the only legal body 
to take charge of this affair, and, after proper indictment, to arrest the members 
of this illegal convention, and that, after their arrest, in accordance with the 
usual forms of civil law, our supreme court would decide whether that convent 
tion was a lejjal body or not." 

The President was apprised, when these telegrams were received, of the exac- 
state of things at New Orleans. He knew that Hon. R. K. Howell, president 
pro tem. of the convention, had issued a proclamation for the reassembling of 
the convention. He knew that Governor Wells, the acknowledged chief ex- 
ecutive of the State of Louisiana, had issued writs of election to fill the vacancies 
in the convention, and that certificates of election were to be forwarded to the 
office of the secretary of state. He knew that these writs of election could not 
be complied with until after the 30th of July, when the first meeting was to take 
place, and that some time must elapse before the convention could be full and 
the whole State represented. He knew that Governor WeWs was at New Or- 
leans, and that he concurred and was co-operating with Judge Howell in assem- 
bling the convention. He knew that it was contemplated to arrest the members 
of the convention upon criminal process; and being asked, "Is the military 
to interfere to prevent process of court ?" the President replied by telegraphic 
note, not addressed to the governor of the State, but to the lieutenant governor, 
as follows : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 28,^866. 
To Albert Voorhics, lieutenant governor of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana: 

The military will be expected to sustain and not to obstruct or Interfere With the proceed- 
ings of the court. A despatch on the subject of the convention was sent to Governor Wells 
this morning. 

ANDREW JOHNSON. 
« 

The effect of this despatch was to assure Lieutenant Governor Voorhies and 
those acting with him that they would have the support of the President in their 
proposed action. 

It is maintained by the President that Louisiana is a political Slate within 
the Union in the same sense in which Massachusetts and ( )hio are. But he 
knew that the governor of Louisiana was at his home in New Orleans; that the 
legislature was not in session, and that his own power under the Constitution was 
upon the application "of the executive" to protect the *' State" against "do- 
mestic violence;" and yet he, overlooked the governor of the State, known to 
be loyal, and communicated directly with the lieutenant governor and attorney 
general, known not to be in sympathy with the governor, and by his action 
gave such directions as, if carried out as understood by the parties who received 
them, would have arrayed the military power of the United States on the side 
of Mayor Monroe's police in their proposed arrest of the members of the con- 
vention. 

The President knew the condition of affairs in Louisiana in July last. He 
knew that "rebels" and " thugs " and disloyal men had controlled the elec- 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 27 

tion of Mayor Monroe, and that such men composed, chiefly, hia police force; 
he knew that Mayor Monroe, then an unpardoned rebel, had been alter hie elec- 
tion suspended from discharging the duties of bis office by military order; be 
knew that be himself had subsequently pardoned bitn ; he must have known 
the rebel antecedents of Albert Voorhies and A. S. Herron; he knew that riot 
and bloodshed were apprehended ; he knew what military orders were in force; 
and yet, without the knowledge of the Secretary of War, or of the general of 
our armies upon whose immediate responsibility those military orders bad been 
issued, he gave directions by telegraph which, enforced, as it was intended they 
should be, would have compelled our soldiers to aid the rebels against, the men in 
New Orleans Avho had remained loyal during the war, and sought to aid and to 
support, by official sanction, the persons who designed to suppress by arrest on 
criminal process and under color of law the meeting of the convention ; and 
that although this convention was called with the sanction of the governor and 
by one of the judges of the supreme court of Louisiana claiming to act as presi- 
dent of the convention. 

The effect of the action of the President was to encourage the heart, to 
strengthen the band, and to hold up the arms of those men who intended to 
prevent the convention from assembling. 

In their disclosed intention to arrest, by police or sheriff, the members of 
the convention, they were assured of his support and aid. And it was believed, 
with good reason, that whatever steps tiie mayor should take, in bis office and 
under color of law, to suppress the meeting of the convention, would have the 
sanction of the President. 

If the telegram of General Baird to the Secretary of War, of July 28th, 
had been communicated to the President, we know from the telegraphic message 
which he sent on that day to Governor Voorhies, that such directions would have 
been given as would in fact have required General Baird to sustain by military 
force what was called the civil authorities — that is to say, the mayor and his 
police. 

If, then, the armed police had engaged in the work of slaughter which de- 
stroyed the convention, the soldiers of the army of the United States would 
have been charged with the responsibility of the act. 

GENERAL BAIRU'S DESPATCH. 

The fact that the telegram from General Baird had not been communicated to 
the President has been the subject of comment, and we give in this connection 
the statement made by the Secretary of War in relation to that matter. Mr. 
Stanton says : 

"That on the forenoon of Sunday, the 29th of July last, I received at my residence in this 
city a telegram from General Baird, commanding at New Orleans, a copy •>{' which is hereto 
attached. °Tkis telegram was the first information communicated to me that a conyention 
was to be held at New Orleans, or that there was any difference or con ■ Q the sub- 

ject uf a, convention or assemblage to be held there. From the telegram of General Band it 
appeared that the convention was to meet with the sanction of the governor of Louisiana, 
that its legality was questioned by persons who proposed to break it up by arresting the 
members, and 'that General Baird had warned the citj ies that he y\ -•unit 

this to be done without instructions from the President, and he applied to me ions. 

There was no intimation in the telegram that force or violence was threatened by Lhose op- 
posed to the convention, or that it was apprehended by General Baird. ration, 
it appeared to me that his warning to the city authorities was all that thi ■ quired, 
for I saw no reason to instruct him to withdraw protection from a » tioned by 
the governor, and in the event of any attempt at arrest, General Baird's interference would 
bring up the case with all the facts for such instructions as might he pn 

time, under his general authority, he would take measures to maintain the peace within his 
command. On Tuesday, the 31st of July, the morning papers continued telegraphic de- 
spatches in respect to the occurrences at New Orleans, and on the same day 1 was informed of 
the communication that had passed between the, President and Governor Wells, Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhies, and Attorney General Herron." 



23 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Mr. Stanton had hoard nothing of the convention ; had no knowledge of Mr. 
Rozier's presence in Washington or interviews with the President; had not been 
informed of the President's telegraphic correspondence, and saw no reason why 
General Baird should have new instructions, or why conference with the Presi- 
dent was required. 

THE RIGHT OF THE CONVENTION TO ASSEMBLE. 

Had the citizens who were members of the convention of 1864 a legal right 
peaceably to assemble on the 30th July, 1866? 

Judge Abell, of the first district court of New Orleans, denies their right, 
and in his charge to the grand jury on July 3, 1866, he says: 

"I charge you that the constitution adopted on the — day of July, 1864, and submitted 
to and ratified by the people on the 1st Monday of September of the same year, is the con- 
stitution of the State, which all her officers have sworn to support. 

"I further charge you that the constitution makes no provision for the continuance of the 
convention of 18(54; and I further charge you that there is no convention in the State of 
Louisiana known to the constitution and laws of the State; that the resolution offend by 
Hon. R. King Cutler, by which the defunct convention claims the right to reassemble, is 
neither a part of the constitution nor laws of the State, and furnishes no legal pretext for its 
pretensions, and that any effort upon the part of that defunct body to assemble for the pur- 
pose of altering or amending the constitution is subversive of good order and dangerous to 
the peace of the State, and that any overt act tending to subvert the constitution by any 
officers of the State who have sworn to support it renders them liable to the criminal laws 
of the State for misdemeanor in office and perjury. 

"Gentlemen, these are grave considerations, and require great deliberation and moderation. 
But it is my duty, your duty, and that of every lover of his common country to firmly oppose 
factional usurpation and stand by the reconstruction policy adopted by the President of the 
United States, which proposes at once to unite the country and make it great and prosperous." 

The President denies their right, and states that " every man engaged in 
that convention * * * was a traitor to the Constitution of the United 
States." 

Obviously, the question of the legality of the convention could not be properly 
raised until the convention should have assembled and assumed to act. Under 
the guarantee of the Constitution these persons might Avell claim and exercise the 
right to meet. If, being assembled, action in the nature of legislation should be 
bad, thataction and all their doings would be open to legal inquiry and judicial 
decision. And if the intention had existed to make this objection operative and 
available, such course would have been taken as to bring to judicial judgment, 
peaceably and according to the due course of law, the action of the convention. 
But the truth is, as we believe, that not the assigned illegality of the convention, 
but the declared or assumed purposes sought to be ultimately attained by the 
convention through the action of that body and the subsequent ratification of 
that action by the people, formed the real objection to the reassembling of the 
delegates. The recent proceedings in the legislature of Louisiaua p»ove that 
something more than "usurpation of power," or illegality of a convention, is re- 
quired to excite indignation or arouse hostile opposition in that community. 

That legislature was chosen under the provisions of the constitution of 1864. 
That constitution provides a mode of revision and amendment. Article 117 is 
in these words : . 

" Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the senate or 
house of representatives; and if the, same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members 
elected to each house, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their 
journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon. Such proposed amendment or amendments 
shall !>'• submitted to the people at an election to be ordered by said legislature, and held 
within ninety days after the adjournment of the same, and after thirty days' publication ac- 
cording to law ; and if a majority of voters at said election shall approve and ratify such 

at or amendments, the same shall become a part of the constitution. If more 
one amendment be submitted at a time, they shall be submitted in such manner and form that 
the people may vote for or against each amendment separately." 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 29 

No power is given to the legislature to submit in any manner to the people 
the question whether another convention shall be held. 

The sp< cific amendments must be proposed in either house or senate, and, 
being duly agreed to and entered on the journal, must be submitted to the 
people for their direct affirmative or negative action. 

But in the legislature, at its session in January, 1866, a bill was introduced 
to take the sense of the people on the expediency of calling a convent ion to form 
a constitution, and to provide for the election of delegates, and for the holding 
of the convention. 

Although this bill was a palpable violation of the constitution, and although 
any convention called pursuant to its provisions would be an " unlawful assem- 
bly " for the same reasons urged against the convention of 1866, the rules of 
the house of representatives were suspended by a two-thirds vote, and the bill 
was debated and ordered to be engrossed for a third reading by a vote of sixty- 
two yeas to twenty-one nays. The bill then went to the senate, over which 
body Lieutenant Governor Albert Voorhies presided, and pending a motion 
there that the bill be read a third time and passed, a telegraphic communication 
was laid before the senate as follows : 

Washington, March 8, 1866. 

To the Hon. Albert Voorhies, president, of the senate, and Hon. J. B. Elam, speaker pro tern. 

house of representatives : 

We have had a long and agreeable interview with the President to-day, which was 
evidently pleasing to him likewise. Our coming here was opportune, and may avert great 
embarrassment. We also had an interesting interview with the Secretary of State, and are 
to have another interview with the President on Saturday by appointment. 

W. B. EGAN. 

D. S. CAGE. 

J. B. EUSTIS. 

At the same time two other telegraphic communications were read as fol- 
lows : 

Washington, March 8, 1866. 
To Hon. James McConnell, house of representatives : 

After an interview with the President and Secretary Seward, we advise no action favor- 
able to a convention. 

D. 8. CAGE. 
J. B. EUSTIS. 

Washington, March 8, 1866. 
To Hon. A. L. Tucker, house of representatives : 

After interviews with the President and Secretary Seward we are thoroughly convinced 
that further agitation of the convention question will seriously embarrass the President's re- 
construction policy. 

P. S. CAGE. 
J. B. EUSTIS. 

These communications were ordered to be spread upon the journal, and the 
bill was laid upon the table subject to call. But no "call" was afterwards 
made. 

The bill therefore did not become a law. But it failed, not because the pro- 
posed convention would be illegal and its members subject to police arrests or 
Judge Abell's anathemas, but because the agitation of the question would se- 
riously embarrass the President's reconstruction policy. But no popular ex- 
citement was feared because of that proposed Rmrbintion, although it would be 
clearly revolutionary, and would seek to change the existing government. The 
objects then sought to be attained were in harmony with the disloyal sentiment 
of the majority of the legislature and of their constituents. 

•If the convention of 1866 was such an "unlawful assembly" as it was 
charged to be, and its members subject to arrest as criminals, the house of 



30 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

representatives was itself, by its own showing, an "unlawful assembly" also, 
and fairly exposed to the action of Monroe and his police. In the bill which 
was passed by that house it is found and declared in the preamble that the 
constitution of 1864, under which the legislature was chosen, "was ike creation 
of fraud and violence, and not in any sense the expression of the will of the people 
if the State." If that was true, as the heu.se declared it to be, then the consti- 
tution itself was not entitled to respect as law, and the house of representatives 
was usurping the powers of legislation. 

But the right of these citizens to assemble must be settled in view of facts 
then existing. It is not necessary to determine what the rights would be of 
" citizens," or of "authorities," when in cases of "rebellion or invasion" the 
public safety might require "suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.'''' 

Undoubtedly occasions do arise, during war or invasion, when meetings for 
discussion merely may be prevented or controlled by military order if such dis- 
cussion would endanger public safety. 

But the question now considered does not call for examination of rights 
in such cases. No military authority, as such, assumed to prevent the citizens 
who claimed to be members of the convention from meeting. Nor did facts 
exist to warrant such interference. What was proposed to be done, and what 
was done, was by and in behalf of the civil authorities acting as in time of 
peace. 

The rights of all parties, therefore, must depend upon the provisions of the 
first article of the Amendments of the Constitution, which prohibit Congress 
from making laws "abridging the right of the people peaceably to assemble and 
to petition the government for a redress of grievances." 

It is not material to inquire what were the ultimate purposes of the citizens 
who proposed to meet. Such purposes could not affect their right peaceably to 
assemble. If, having met, such purpose should result in acts, and if those acts 
brought the assembly within the legal definition of "unlawful assembly," "riot 
or rout," then the civil authorities should intervene, and could do so rightfully. 

Judge Abell, in his charge to the grand jury, August 2, 1866, (Evidence, page 
279,) gives a sufficiently accurate definition of these offences : 

"An unlawful assembly is said by Serjeant Hawkins to be any meeting of great numbers 
of people with such circumstances of tenor as cannot but endanger the public peace and 
raise fears and jealousies among the king's subjects. A rout is any motion of such unlawful 
assembly towards the consummation of the unlawful act designed • a riot comprehends l>>>ih 
an. unlawful assembly and a rout, and must consist of three persons or more ; the meeting 
must lie unlawful, or lawful and executed in an unlawful manner, and must he accompa- 
nied with acts of tumult or violence, and must be under circumstances calculated to terrify 
the people." 

Now the great body of the testimony taken by the committee shows, beyond 
reasonable doubt — 

First. That the meeting of July 30 was a meeting of quiet citizens, who came 
together without arms and with intent peaceably to discuss questions of public 
concern. They met under no "circumstances of terror," hut with prayer and 
soberness of heart sought to take counsel together. This was no "unlawful 
assembly" within the meaning of the law. 

Second. Having met, no act was done saving an act of prayer and the re- 
sponses made upon the call of names of persoas present. 

Third. No act of tumult or violence was committed or designed, and no cir- 
cumstances whatsoever exratecPwhich could "terrify the people" The riot of 
the (hi}- was not the act of these members of the convention or their friends. 
It was the purposed attack by the police force of the city upon the convention, 
and the slaughter of men, white ami colored, within the hall that made the 
"riot" there, within the exact definition of Judge Abell's charge. In our judg- 
ment these citizens had a right to meet as they did, and to do what was done 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 31 

by tli em. It cannot be maintained if the act desired finally to be done was to 
change the constitution; and if that act could not be legally dune in the way 
proposed, that therefore the meeting was or became unlawful, in the language 
of criminal law; because that is not such act as the law contemplates. The 
"act" which makes a meeting "unlawful" must be an act of physical viol* 
or force. And the class of men among whom were the authors and defenders 
of the acts of the 30th of July have given proof that they so understood the 
law. The action of the house of representatives has been referred to: Mayor 
Monroe was in office, yet he did not deem the house an "unlawful assembly," 
nor did Judge Abell charge the jury in view of their indictment. 

But tliis action of the house of representatives by the disloyal element, which 
also originated and now excuses or defends the riot of July, is an estoppel upon 
the rebel element of Louisiana in all logical and moral aspects of the matter, 
because — 

First. This legislative action proposed and began to effect the same revolu- 
tionary change of the government in disregard of the requirements of the con- 
stitution of 1SG4, which, it is alleged, made the dispersing of the convention 
by violence justifiable, and yet the action of the legislature has not only not been 
dealt with as illegal, but the authors and defenders of the riot, as a class, are 
the authors of this revolutionary action of the legislature. 

Second. It is impossible to say that the mere act of peaceably assembling made 
the convention an unlawful one without r< gard to what it proposed to do. It is 
equally impossible to maintain, if the purposes of a convention peaceably con- 
vening can alone turn it into an unlawful assemblage, that the time when the 
assembly adopted trie purpose, whether before it convened or after, is at all 
material; if its purposes render it unlawful, then it is unlawful whenever that 
purpose is present as an element of the assembly, It is undeniable, therefore, 
that the legislature was an unlawful assembly (if a mere purpose can make 
it such) after it began to entertain the purposes and plans for changing the 
government. 

Third. Much more would the legislature be 'unlawful, for it not only pur- 
posed but began to act, and moreover declared the government under which it 
met to be a fraud and a crime. 
• 

CONDITION OF AFFAIRS IN LOUISIANA. 

What is the condition of affairs in Louisiana, and what legislative action should 
be had 1 It has been made the duty of the committee to report to the House 
upon both these questions. 

The present constitution of Louisiana was held to be ratified by the suffrages 
of the people on the 5th day of September, 1864, and has hitherto been accepted, 
willingly or otherwise, as the organic law of the State. It was the result of 
military action deemed at the time essential to the proper civil government of 
the State. The justice or expediency or legality of that action have not been 
subjects of inquiry by the committee. Possibly, if the general surrender of rebel 
armies and the entire annihilation of rebel organizations, civil and military, had 
not occurred as it did, or having occurred, if civil rule could have been retained 
in loyal bauds, and vanquished traitors at least not pardoned and paid for treason, 
the strength of loyalty would have been increased, and the body of the people, 
disloyal theretofore by reason of public pressure, or moral duress, or military 
force, would have returned to their allegiance and sustained with heart the 
government they had fought against, but which had at all times treated them 
with parental kindness. And when the surrender was fresh, and the defeated 
leaders had yielded up the sword and political traitors were fleeing from the land 
or seeking quiet away from public life, such did appear to be the well-founded 
hope of loyal men and the piomise of the near future. But it began to be soon 



32' NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. , 

apparent that treason, defeated and disarmed, was to have one chance more to 
retrieve its fortunes. Under the provisions of an act of Congress entitled to be 
and designed as an act to suppress rebellion, but conferring, in one of its sections, 
power up m the President, before conviction had, or charge or complaint made, 
to grant amnesty and pardon, the people of Louisiana found that pardons were 
granted and properties restored to reb< Is who had held high office, military and 
civil, and that a policy was being pursued which discountenanced punishment 
and looked to speedy restoration to political favor and offices of trust of the men 
who bad been active in field and in council in support of the rebellion. 

There were at this time large bodies of men returning to their homes in Lou- 
isiana, who were, when the constitution of 1864 was ratified, in the armies of 
the rebel government. There were at home large numbers of men who had in 
different ways supported the rebellion. Among both of these classes were many 
men who would have been found and would have remained loyal if it had not 
appeared to them that the Chief Executive Magistrate was disposed to pardon 
and to honor by office and political favor their military and civil leaders. Aud the 
effect of this policy became apparent in the language and deportment of the people. 
At first willing to yield and to return to true allegiance, they became assuming, 
bold, and defiant. Under the constitution of 1S64 these men claimed to be re- 
stored to political rights and to vote at the polls; and so it came to pass that 
substantially all governmental authority, most of the offices in the State, and all 
legislative and municipal power have been conferred upon " returned rebels" and 
are now controlled by them. This is eminently true in the city of New Orleans, 
where known aud distinguished rebels, and only such as they, occupy the chief 
places of trust and power. The mayor, confessedly a bold and bad man, who 
was also mayor during the rebellion and marked for violent and bitter hatred of 
the government of the Union and of men who loved the government, both 
white and black, of southern or of northern birth, is now mayor of the city by 
the choice of the people of New Orleans. The high sheriff, General Hays, was 
an active officer in the rebellion. He was in service at the time of the surren- 
der in April, 1S65, and has filled Ins present, office since the early part of 1866. 
All the appointees of the mayor, the whole constabulary and police force, with 
almost no exception, are composed of men who have rendered efficient service 
toward tlte overthrow of the government of the Union. To h ive been a rebel 
is a recommendation for office. To have supported the Union cause, and espe- 
cially to have fought in the Union army, is a known disqualification. Proscrip- 
tion of the friends of the Union has been carried largely into the public schools. 
Teachers, male and .female, have been removed where the teaching of the child 
wis a training in Union ways. Where Union songs have been taught the chil- 
dren and national airs sung within the schools, the teachers have paid the pen- 
alt} 7 for their offence by loss of place and employment. 

The evidence before the committee will show how complete this proscription 
lias been. It was deemSd of some importance to ascertain bow far, in schools 
supported at public expense, where white children of all classes are instructed, 
and where must be found the future rulers of affairs — friends or foes of the gov- 
ernment hereafter, as they are taught in childhood to reverence and sustain or 
to contemn and oppose it — efforts are made to exclude teachers because they 
are friendly to the government of the Union, and teach their children to hate 
treason ami rebellion. 

It is testified to by Mrs. N. Maria Taylor that about two hundred and thirty 
female teachers were employed; thai there were one hundred and ten of them 
dismissed for no reason that was known or given excepting that they were 
friendly to the Union. (5693, 5694, 5695.) 

Several other teachers were examined to the same point. 

The affidavits of several persons connected with the management of the 
schools were received by the committee, among which was that of the superin- 



REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE. 33 

tendent of public schools. But it is not in terms denied that one hundred and 
ten teachers had been removed because of known fidelity to the Union, nor is 
it intimated that the opinions of those retained were not well understood with- 
out inquiry. This affidavit tends to prove the truth of the statement that the 
teachers not retained were dismissed because of faithful and earnest love of the 
Union and of their instructions in that regard. 

The bitter hostility on the part of the controlling portion of the population 
against citizens known and distinguished for their friendship towards the Union 
and their love of its free institutions is otherwise manifested in the general tone 
of the public press, in business and social life, in theatre and church, in courts 
of law, in the home and on the street. The presence of the military power of 
the United States andithe Freedmen's Bureau, sustained by military arm, mea- 
surably protect the property and person of Uni m men. If these were with- 
drawn, no safety would be found except in flight. 

There are at this moment many men, not of northern birth alone, but of 
native southern origin, who are exiles from Louisiana. They have been driven 
from home by threats of assassination, and by well-grounded apprehension that 
neither family nor home were safe within that State if they remained. Some 
have sold their estates and removed, with no intent to return. Some have left 
their home in the hope that better days might come, when return would not in- 
vite obloquy, ostracism, or violence. 

But it is very certain, and a fair examination of the mass of evidence taken 
upon this point by the committee will demonstrate, that while it, may be true 
that social consideration and success in business may be secured by those who 
are content to live and speak so as not to offend the prejudices of rebels returned 
from the army, or those who, without courage to fight when federal armies in- 
vested their homes, now atone for want of bravery by defiant anathema against 
northern men and "Yankee rule;" yet that the earnest Union man, known as 
such, whether he may have been in the early days of rebellion led aside for 
awhile from his allegiance, or may have consistently and at all times held to the 
true national faith, is deemed an enemy in fact by the leaders who control, and 
by the masses who blindly follow them; and, thus regarded, he is subject to 
just so much attack, annoyance, and risk of injury to property and person as the 
presence of military power makes it safe to attempt or to impose. 

Of course there are many men, and ajxiong them those in high social, profes- 
sional, and political position, who cannot perceive at all the existence of such 
condition of things. Some of them are northern men in commercial business ; 
they claim to be Union men, and to speak freely their private opinions, and 
they testify that, so far as they can judge, there exists a general feeling of peace 
and content among the people which only requires immediate restoration of the 
State, withdrawal of the army, and entire non-interference by the general gov- 
ernment to bring the State back to its normal condition-. of loyalty and love to- 
ward the Union. But those alone who have been compelled by their own 
experience to bear the burden of rebel hate can estimate its weight. 

We cannot, without extending this report beyond proper limits, refer in de- 
tail to the specific evidence taken upon the part of those who have been made 
to suffer as Union men and friends of our government, and of those who, from 
their position, pursuits, and opportunities, have testified to facts within their 
knowledge tending to show the fearful condition of Union men, known and 
marked as such, in Louisiana ; or that taken from witnesses produced by a com- 
mittee of citizens, who testify to the good order and kindly feeling and loyal 
sentiment prevailing among the people of the St* te. Nor have we arrived at 
the judgment we have formed from opinions expressed on either side; but from 
opinions connected with and resting upon facts w thin the knowledge of the 
witnesses examined. 

There have been more than niuety witnesses examined, who speak of the 
H. Rep. Com. 16 3 



34 KEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

condition of affairs in Louisiana, and of the sentiment toward and treatment of 
Union men, known to be such in tbe community where they live. Of these 
for r -seve.n were called at the request of the committee of citizens, who desired 
to vindicate the character of their city and to establish the loyalty of the State. 
On tbe part of these wil here was a general expression of satisfaction with 

tbe policy of tbe President. It was stated by most of them that the fact of be-' 
ing a Union man was no hindrance to success in business. Mr. Jacob Barker said 
that "men of every party and description patronize my bank. I do not, think 
there is any difference." Mr. Wurtzberger, a deputy sheriff, who also claimed 
to he a Union man, who bad been, "under all circumstances, loyal to the gov- 
ernment," and bad been in office "under all administrations, whij rats, 
and know-nothings," had never suffered " inconvenieri^ molestation, or vio- 
lence" because of bis being; a Union man. The opinion was given by most of 
i s that it would be safe and judicious to withdraw the military 
forces and the Freedmen's Bureau and to admit representatives to seats in Con- 
gress. 

We have examined with care and weighed tbe proofs on either side. We 
have come to clear conclusions, which we believe to be accurate and just. . 

THE LEGISLATIVE REMEDY REQUIRED. 

In view of tbe facts proved we are constrained to say that tbe time has fully 
arrived when Cong dd intervene and should so legislate as to secure to 

the people of Louisiana a republican form of government. The condition of 
things existing there cannot continue consistently with the safety, security, or 
peace of loyal men. 

Since the surrender of the rebel armies rebellion bas assumed ; rm, 

and now controls tbe government through the same agencies that led those 
armies in time of Avar. 

During the rebellion there were large numbers of men who remained stead- 
fast to the government. In tbe midst of treason they were found loyal. While 
armed traitors were in the held contending with loyal armies and struggling to 
roy the nation, these men, at personal peril, and despite of obloquy which 
oion to be treason to the Slate, continued firm in 
their alb 

These men are now made to feel the, vengeance of unrepentant although, it 
may be, pardoned rebels, and in person, property, and life are exposed to con- 
tinual attack. Nothing but the pressure of military power at this moment 
measurably protects them from injury. It does not protect them from insult, 
fro i ocial ostracism, or the supercilious arrogance of men accustomed to own 
the labor they employed. 

If the gov< rnment ought to protect its constant friends against men who were 
its constant enemies, the obligation is disclosed to adopt and enforce such legisla- 
tive action as the facts existing in Louisiana require. 

It is to be expected that upon such question there would be diverse views 
expn Men whose opinions are in accord with those of the community 

among which they live will find it safe to express their opinions freely, and will 
i is allowed; they will conduct their business without in- 
1 will not observe that hindrances are opposed to loyal men; they 
are protected in person, property and life, and appreciate no danger which they 
never feel. And when the question connects itself with political differences such 
diverse views become more apparent and difficult to reconcile. 

It is obvious that such differences exist at Washington ; it is equally so that 
they find place in Louisiana. Those who are known there and marked as 
" Union men," advocate political views widely differing from those held by tbe 
late officers and soldiers in rebel armies, and by the men — citizens or soldiers; — 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 35 

who maintain that traitors, defeated in attempts to break up. the go\ 

have yet a right, under the Constitution, to voice and vote in Congress, and to 

immediate restoration to former political power 

It', then, in order to a just determination of the question which imittee 

.has been charged to answer, the only means afforded us had been the opinions 
of men, there might be, in our minds, uncertainty and some mi gi i t po- 

litical biases had affected the judgment of the committee; but that congres- 
sional action should be had, is settled by fact, and not opinion. 

When men are driveu from their homes and their liv sned and their 

property destroyed ; when, in business, they arc proscribed ; when recent rebels 
hold all places of trust, and, having power, use it to oppress and punish loyal 
men because they arc' and have been loyal; when the whole body of colored 
men, who have never flinched from duty as radical loyalist.''- when the 'lays were 
gloomiest and the dangers greatest in the time of war, are persecuti '1 by system, 
hunted like wild beasts, and slaughtered without mercy and with entire impu- 
nity from punishment; there is no room left for doubt that some legislative 
remedy should be applied. 

These are matters of fact and not of opinion ; and, in our judgment, but one 
course is open, and that should bo pursued without hesitation or delay. 

According to the judgment of all who have felt the pressure of rebel rule, and 
have stood firmly and ssly for the Union when treason was nearest 

to success; whose judgment, given upon oath, is I on facts within per- 

sonal experience ; who give opinions resting on knowledge, and speak of what 
y have seen and know; the present civil government of ' , existing 

without sanction of national law, should be superseded by act of Congress, and 
a provision;;! government established and maintained by mil until 

the time has come when Louisiana is controlled by loyal men, and may be re- 
stored to her former "practical relations to the Union" without endangering its 
security and peace. 

RIGHTFUL POWER IX COXGRKSS TO LEGISLATE. 

The imperativ h legislation, to the end that Louisiana shall 

be within the control of loyal men, and not subject to the rule of the same rebel 
leaders, military and civil, who conducted the war against the government du 
ring the rebellion, is fully demonstrated by the facts in proof before the corn- 
• inittee. 

The rightful power in Congress to act has been the subject of so full debate 
and argument that we do not deem it within our province to restate at length 
the ground upon which it rests. 

Among the States confederated in rebellion Louisiana assumed a leading 
place, and furnished her full proportion of troops and means and munitions of 
war. The State was arrayed against the government. By the choice of her 
own people, her allegiance to the United States was abjured and was pledged to 
another government, engaged in war against them. 

The political rights, and powers, and privileges theretofore posse-sod and 
enjoyed within the Union were wilfully abandoned and forfeited. The war 
was waged against the Union until the whole military power of the confederated 
States was annihilated and the rebellion crushed out by the armies of the gov- 
ernment. 

That government then held entire and exclusive military possession of Louis- 
iana. Whatever the political relations were which existed between the citizens 
of Louisiana and the rebel government, whether State or confederate, which 
claimed their allegiance, and to which that allegiance had been willingly ren- 
dered during the civil war, they were suspended for a season, at the discretion 
of the conquering party, by confederated rebellion and by the fact of victory. 



36 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

The conquered country remains within the power of the United States, to be 
held according to law until the safety of the republic shall be assured. 

Until such time as Congress shall act, and the political State shall be in full 
communion with the United States, the government of the State, however estab- 
lished, must, from the necessity of the case, be temporary, inchoate, and iueom-» 
plete. 

By act of the nation's Congress, such government may be recognized, con- 
firmed, and sanctii ned, or it may be disapproved and set aside, as the safety of 
the nation shall require. 

Within Louisiana civil government has been organized and a constitution 
framed, as herein set forth. 

The military authority of the United States virtually controls the State at this 
time, and it must control until such civil government is established and such 
constitution ordained by the people of Louisiana as shall assure safety to the 
republic and receive the legislative sanction of the Congress of the United 
States. 

These results follow of necessity from the fact of successful war. They are 
the fruits of victory. Without them the war on the part of the United States 
has been, to this extent, waged in vain: that while victory has crowned the 
valor of our armies, our government would be left powerless either to impose 
terms of peace or provide against rebellion or attempted secession in the future. 
These results would not follow if the rebellion had been insurrection merely, 
and not civil war. But the Congress of the United States, for four years, legis- 
lated in view of war, and our soldiers gave themselves to service ''during the 
war." If then it was war, victory has disclosed the rights and the powers 
which the highest considerations of duty compel us to use. But the war was 
conducted by the United States, pursuant to powers recognized by the Constitu- 
tion, to prevent secession and to preserve the Union. The rebel State was at 
war, it is true, and was defeated in its attempt to overthrow the government. But 
we would not use the power which victory has given as might well be done if 
Louisiana had not been before the rebellion one of the United States. 

The war was conducted on the part of the government to prevent her from 
permanently disuniting the States of the Union. Now, the end of war is peace, 
and the peace to be established must be secured in view of the requirements of 
the Constitution itself. 

Until a loyal State of Louisiana exists in full political accord with the United 
States, and the demand of the Constitution is complied with that a government 
republican in form shall be guaranteed to the State, the objects of the war will 
not have been attained. 

To accomplish that end the condition of affairs in Louisiana requires the 
temporary establishment of a provisional government. 

By the loyal people of Louisiana such constitution must be ordained and 
such civil government formed as will assure to the republic a loyal and fiee 
State, worthy of a place within the Union. 

In the mean time the safety of all Union men within the State demands that 
such government be formed for their protection, for the well-being of the nation, 
and the permanent peace of the republic. 

And in discharge of the duty placed upon us, we respectfully submit the bill 
accompanying this report. 

THOMAS D. ELIOT. 
SAM'L SHELLABARGEE. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 37 



MINORITY REPORT. 

Mr. BOYBB, from the select committee on the New Orleans riot, submits the 
following- as the views of the minority : 

The undersigned, being unable to concur with the majority in their conclu- 
sions upon the subject-matter of the investigation with which the committee 
were charged, submits the following as the views of the minority : 

The undersigned was not a member of the committee until the ISth of De- 
cember last, when he was appointed to take the place of Mr. Deuison, who 
had resigned on account of illness. 

Before the undersigned was enabled to join his colleagues at New Orleans, 
on the 24th of December, witnesses had already been examined at that place; 
and others had previously been examined at Washington before his appoint- 
ment. It will be understood that, as the representative of the minority elemeut 
in the House of Representatives, he had little control over the course of investi- 
gation. If he had been able to give it direction he would have directed it so as 
to be in his opinion, in some respects, more conducive to the ends of impartial 
justice. He has no disposition, however, to dwell upon this branch of the case. 
But he has gathered as best he could i'rom the testimony introduced by the 
majority, or allowed to be introduced under the restrictions by them imposed, 
sufficient, in his opinion, to guide his judgment fro correct conclusions, and 
perhaps to carry conviction to the public mind upon some points hitherto mis- 
represented or obscured. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE RIOT. 

The consideration of the origin of the riot necessarily involves a review of 
the acts and designs of those who, on the 30th of July, assembled the so-called 
convention which was the immediate occasion of the disturbance. The avowed 
object of the conventionists was the amendment of the existing constitution of 
Louisiana in such manner as to secure to their party the absolute control of the. 
offices in the State. Negro suffrage and the disfranchisement of a sufficient 
number of those who had been connected with the late rebellion were the lead- 
ing measures by which the desired ascendency was to be attained. 

THE ILLEGALITY OF' THE CONVENTION OF THE 30TH JULY, 1S66. 

The constitution of the State of Louisiana then, and still, in force; had been 
framed by a convention of delegates elected by the people in obedience to a 
general order of Major General Banks, then the military commander of the de- 
partment of the Gulf, issued on the 11th day of March, 1864, followed by a 
proclamation of Governor Michael Halm, then provisional governor of Louisiana, 
authorizing an election to be held on the 2Sth of the same month for delegates 
to the constitutional convention. Whatever difference of opinion might exist in 
reference .to the regularity or legality of assembling a convention for such pur- 
poses by such authority is immaterial in an argument against the powers of the 
convention of 1S66 ; because, whatever authority the members of the latter 
might have possessed must have been derived from their authority as members 
of the former, and if the convention of 1864 is not to be treated as legal, the 
convention of 1S66 had not even the pretext of lawful existence. 

Indeed, the convention of 1864, emanating from the order of a major general 
commanding a military department, can be regarded as legitimate only because 
its proceedings received the general acquiesence of the people, as evidenced by 



38 • NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

the following facts : A majority of the parishes in the State had chosen delegates, 
whose election was duly certified, and the convention met on the appointed day 
and proceeded to frame a State constitution, -which was adopted, published, and 
submitted to a vote of the people of the State; it was by them accepted at a 
general election held for that purpose on the first Monday in September, 1S64. 
The result of the election was announced by the proclamation of the governor, 
and the constitution declared to have been duly adopted as the constitution of 
th i Si;,te of Louisiana. The constitution so adopted and ratified went into effect 
and was as such recognized and obeyed by the whole people of the State. 
Under it the civil government of Louisiana was completely reorganized. All the 
of in the State have been tilled, and two successive legislatures have as- 

: i mhled, in accordance with its provisions. 

The constitution of 1S64 was framed in conformity to what^were then sup- 
posed to it tin' demands of the time. It abolished slavery and prohibited the 
passage of any law recognizing- the right of property in man. It conferred upon 
the legislature the power to extend suffrage to such colored citizens of the 
United States, " as by military service, by taxation to support the government, 
or by intellectual fitness may be deemed entitled thereto." It disqualified from 
holding any office of trust or profit in the State, and excluded from the right of 
suffrage, those convicted of " treason." It provided that " no liability, cither 
State, parochial, or municipal shall exist for any debts contracted for or in the 
interest oi the rehellion against the United States government." 

Such was the constitution framed by themselves, with which the convention- 
ists of the 30th of July h^d become dissatisfied, and which they proposed to 
alter by reconvening the convention of 1864 through the preliminary action of 
a minority of those who had composed that body. 

The binding effect of the proceedings of the convention of 1S64 was not dis- 
puted by those who initiated the movement of the 30th of July, 1S6G. On the 
contrary, they pretended that the functions of that convention had not been ex- 
hausted ; and that, notwithstanding all that had transpired since its adjournment 
in 18.64, it might be reassembled to review and undo its own work. They pre- 
■d to find authority fortius in a resolution adopted by the convention before 
its adjournment, providing for a reassembling of the on at the. call of the 

president, but not incorporated in the constitution itself, and evidently not 
intended to apply after the ratification of the constitution h>j the people. 

This resolution is as follows : 

"■Resolved, That when this convention adjourns it shall lie at the call of the president, 

e dutj ii shall be to reconvoke the convention for any cause, or in case the constitution 

Ld iiui 1 e ratified, lor the purpose of taking such measures as may be i ■ for the 

lation of a civil government for the State of Louisiana. Me shall also in that case call 

upon the proper officers of the State to cause elections to be held to fill nay vacancies that 

may exist in the convention in parishes where the same may he practicable." 

The cases in which this resolution contemplates a recony.ocation by the pre- 
sident are evidently confined to two classes, to wit: 1. Such us might arise 
before the election for ratification orrejection, then more than a month distant; 
and, 2. in case The constitution should not be ratified by the peo] 

The constitution itself prescribes the manner of its amendment in a clause 
which was altogether ignored by the conventionists of the 30th of July. The 
words of the constitution are as follows : 

" TITLE XII. — MODE OF REVISING THE COXST1TUTION. 

" ART. 147. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the 

hoi of representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the 

members elected to each house, such proposed amendment or amendments shall he entered 

on their journals, with the was an. I nays taken thereon. Such proposed amendment or 

adraents shall lie submitted to the people at an election to he ordered by said legislature, 

and held within ninety days after the adjournment of the same, and after thirty days'- publi 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. o 9 

— ii according Inlaw; and if a majority oi the voters al said 

ratify such amendment or amendments, the same shall bec< a pari of I be constitution. If 

more than one amendment be submitted, in such manner and form thai the _ vote 

for or against each amendment separately." 

The legislature of the State liad held its regular session and adjourned in 
March, 1866. 

It was not until afterwards that any steps wore taken by the conventionists to 
initiate their movement. Of course no amendment of the constitution in the 
mode prescribed by that instrument could then be made until after the next 
legislature had assembled. Bat the conventionists of the 30th of July met this 
difficulty by repudiating the binding effect in that particular of the constitn 
itself, whilst at the same time they assumed the inconsistent position that in 
all other respects it was in full force and validity. The authority to amend they 
pretended to derive outside of the constitution from the resolution already re- 
ferred to. 

But supposing their construction of the meaning and continuing force of the 
resolution to be correct, another difficulty intervened. Thepfesident of the con- 
vention of 1S64 (in whom the alleged authority to reassemble was vested) was 
Judge E. H. Durell ; and he refused to issue the call. Whereupon the minority 
of the former members of the convention of 1864, about forty in all out of ninety- 
six elected, met together in the city of New Orleans on the 26th of June, and 
chose Judge Rufus K. Howell to act as president pro tern. As such, on the Nth 
of July he issued the call under color of which the extinct convention of 1864 
was attempted by a minority of its former members to be revived on the 30th 
of July, 1866. 

It must be evident from this simple statement of facts that the convention 
called together on the 30th of July was destitute of both the form and authority 
of law. Yet it assumed to be the supreme power in the State; and claimed 
the right and declared its purpose to be to alter the constitution, and to i 
fere with the most important privileges of citizenship. Those who directed the 
movement publicly proclaimed that it was intended to make all colored men 
elector.^, and to take, away the right of suffrage from a large number of the white 
citize '.It has been given in evidence before the committee as a'ma 

of some importance that in the legislature of Louisiana in I860 i was 

proposed, but never consummated, contemplating a call for a convention to 
a constitution for the State to supersede the constitution of 1864, in a mode < ; 
eut from the one provided in that instrument. The undersigned cannot ap 
ciate, as his colleagues do, the logical force of this fact. An abortive attempt 
by certain members of the legislature to do an unconstitutional act could not 
justify the wrong of the conventionists of July, and at the utmost could only 
prove that there were disorganizes in the legislature as well as out of it. 

But the bill before the legislature differed from the plan of the July conven- 
tionists in several essential particulars, and in none more important than that it 
did not propose to revive a defunct co ition of a small min 

in opposition to the sense of an overwhelming majority of the qualified electors 
of the State, but expressly provided that a poll should be opened in each of the 
election precincts of the State " for the purpose of receiving the votes of the 
qualified voters of the State for or against the calling of a convention to form 
a constitution." 

The party in the legislature who had charge of the bill referred to differed 
from the July conventionists in another important particular. They yielded to 
better counsels, and voluntarily g.ive up their project The conventionists of 
July, however, persisted in their scheme until it reached a violent and bloody 
termination. 

It may be contended by some who advocate the right of Congress to convert 
States into Territories, that the government of Louisiana, under the constitution 



40 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS, 

of 1SG4, was not a perfected government until ratified by Congress. Still it 
must be conceded to be a government de facto. Otherwise the State of Louisi- 
ana has been more than two years without any government whatsoever. During 
that time Congress adopted no measures to prevent the operation of the govern- 
ment there in force, or to supply its place with any other. It is not to be at- 
tributed to Congress that, whilst assuming jurisdiction of the matter, it intended 
to consign the State of Louisiana during a course of years to a condition of 
anarchy. The government, therefore, which was in force in that Slate under 
the constitution of 1864 was, on. the 30th of July, 1SG6, even from the radical 
standpoint, by the acquiescence and consent of Congress a government de jure 
as well as a government de facto, and binding as such upon all persons within 
its jurisdiction. 

THE CONVENTIONISTS COUNTED UPON CONGRESSIONAL CO-OPERATION. 

Under ordinary circumstances a small body of men assembling for the pur- 
pose of changing the government of a State with so little color of law might be 
treated as a body of harmless adventurers, and be regarded as entitled to but 
le public notice. But in this case the times and the circumstances were 
; .".ordinary, and well calculated to excite serious apprehension. Men high 
ia position were connected with the conspiracy. A judge of the supreme court 
at the head. The governor of the State encouraged it. It was given out 
that Congress had been consulted and would lend its assistance. Pending the 
for the convention Judge Howell proceeded to Washington to consult in 
person with leading members of Congress. He informs us in his testimony that 
he consulted with members of Congress, and names honorable Messrs. Bout- 
well, Stevens, Kelley, Banks, Grinnell, Paine, Morris, and others. The result 
was that he returned to New Orleans and went on with the movement. The 
encouragement which Howell testifies he received at Washington was made 
known to the friends of the convention, perhaps with exaggeration, and on the 
: h of July, six days before its meeting, the following telegram was sent from 
New Orleans to the Washington correspondent of the New York Times : 

"Howell has returned with the assurance that Congress will 
support the convention." 

On the fifteenth of the same month there had appeared in the New York 
Times the report of the proceedings of a republican congressional caucus, in 
which, among other reasons against the immediate adjournment of Congress, 
Hon. George Boutwell, of Massachusetts, in a speech before the caucus, was re- 
ported to have said that "he thought it very desirable that Congress should 
continue in session for other reasons than those which, had been suggested. He 
would mention one. A distinguished gentleman from the smith was in town, 
from whom he had learned that the Louisiana convention would meet on the 30th 
for the revision of the State constitution, and that amendments would be adopted 
disfranchising the rebel and enfranchising the loyal inhabitants, without distinc- 
tion of color. If Congress should be in session ivlten this constitution should be 
adopted, it could, in accordance with the precedent established in the Rhode 
Island case, accept, it, and thus give it validity as the constitution of the State. 
in the Rhode Island ease, the Supreme Court decided that it was for Congress 
decide which was the. constitutional government of any State in which doubts 
isted. If Congress should not be in session, a long time must elapse before 
on could, be taken; the new government of the State might fail to get afoot- 
t. a ml the country would experience a very serious calamity." 
This report of Mr. Boutwell s speech was reported by Hon. Henry J. Ray- 
d, who had been present at the caucus, and who testified before the committee 
its accuracy, (pp. 540, 551.) 
A letter purporting to have been written by two members of the Reconstrue- 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 41 

tion Committee (whose signature?, however, were concealed) was exhibited. It 
was read to Colonel Eugene Tisdale, who had been an officer in the Union army 
throughout the war, and formerly in command of a colored regiment. In hi 
testimony (p. 259) he states that it requested them to assemble the convention, ai 
although declining to give special instructions as to the mode of proceeding, 
urged them to "go ahead and trust to consequences." This letter the witness 
says was quoted in his presence a number of times by leading conventionists 
with whom he was intimate as an argument to induce him to support the move- 
ment. It is proper to state here that all the members of the Reconstruction 
Committee disclaim in their testimony all recollection of having written such a 
letter. But a Mr. Flanders, who is named by Colonel Tisdale as the 'person to 
whom he understood the letter to have been addressed, was not summoned to give 
evidence before the committee ; and a viotion to that effect was overruled by the 
majority of the committee. 

The indorsement and support of Congress appear to have been common topics 
of conversation among the conventionists before the 30th of July. 

Colonel Tisdale (page 260) testifies that John Henderson, Dr. A. P. Dos- 
tie, and R King Cutler told him so positively. 

Judge Charles Leamont, a radical Union man, and in favor of negro suffrage, 
but opposed to the convention on account of its illegality, testifies as follows : 

3729. Do yotx know any circumstances connected with that rict which would throw 
light upon its origin 1 * 

I only know this : that I was consulted about the matter of a coup d'etat to be played by the 
parties who wanted to call that convention — by Doctor Dostie, who was head and tail of the 
whole concern. 

3730. Go on and state what conversation you had upon the subject. 

The doctor called upon me and asked me whether I knew that all the offices in the State 
were going into the hands of the rebels ? I told him that I did. He asked me whether the 
convention of 1864 could legally sit? I told him I did not think so. I gave the opinion as 
a private matter, and not in my judicial capacity, but as between man and man— gentlemen 
together. He told me he teas awaiting news from Washington, and then he would let me know, 
because he inti tided to call the convention. That was the substance of the conversation I had 
with him. (Page 255.) 

Rufus Waples, one of the leaders and orators of the conventionists, proclaimed 
in his speech to the negroes at the Friday evening meeting, on the 27th of July, 
three days before the convention met, " That he had assurances from Washington 
that Congress would, legalize and sanction the action of the convention whether 
the members were legally or illegally elected," — (Page 293.) 

It is scarcely to be supposed that a revolutionary movement like that of the 
conventionists, so flimsy in its pretences to legality, and so destitute of popular 
support, would have been attempted without the expectation of congressional 
sanction. Indeed, as matters stood after the return of Howell from Washing- 
ton, with the assurances he brought back, there was a fair prospect of success- 
ful revolution in any event. If the convention succeeded in peaceably consum- 
mating its work, the new State government, organized to insure radical control, 
would be recognized by Congress. If, on the other hand, a breach of the peace 
was provoked, Congress might raise a committee of investigation, organized to 
magnify a local disturbance into a State rebellion, and deprive of civil govern- 
ment a population of 700,000 inhabitants, for a city riot in which several hun- 
dred only had been engaged, and of which the great mass of the people of the 
State had neither knowledge nor warning. 

THE CONVENTIONISTS APPEAL TO THE NEGROES. 

It was thought necessary, it seems, that there should be in the proceedings of 
the conventionists some appearance of popular favor. But as public sentiment 
among the white population of the State was notoriously opposed to the objects 



42 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

which were expected to be accomplished) that popular support which could not 
be looked for from the lawful electors of the .State was sought by the conven- 
tionists among the colored population of the city of New Orleans. Public meet- 
ings were therefore held to arouse them, and their active co-operation was in- 
vited. 

On the twenty-sevenfh of July, the Friday preceding the Monday fixed for 
the meeting of the convention, a public meeting was held by the conventionists, 
in the nigh l -time, in the city of New Orleans, at the Mechanics' Institute, situ- 
ate in Dryades street, in a central and populous part of the city, and used tem- 
porarily as the capitol of the State. Preparations had been made for a large 
demonstration, and a rostrum for speakers was erected during the day in the 
public street, immediately in front of the institute. Two meetings were organ- 
ized in the evening; one inside of the hall of the institute and the other in the 
street in front. The crowd in attendance was large at both meetings and com- 
posed mainly of colored persons. Speeches were made simultaneously inside 
of the hall and from the rostrum in the street by some of the leaders of the con- 
vention movement. Ex-Governor Michael Halm, Rufus King Cutler, llufus 
Waples, and Colonel A. P. Field spoke in the hall. Dr. Dostie, John Hender- 
son, jr., Ezra Hiestand, and Rev. Mr. Horton spoke in the street. Speeches 
were made at both meetings declaratory of the principles and designs of the 
conventionists, which were extremely radical and incendiary in their character, 
especially those addressed to^tke meeting in the street. The blacks were 
exhorted to assert their rights, and that those who participated in the rebellion 
were not to enjoy power any longer, and that they ought to be put to death. 
They were told that if attacked they should defend themselves and kill those 
who assailed them. They were assured that the convention about to be held 
would give suffrage to the colored people and disfranchise the rebels. They 
were invited to come on Monday to the convention and give it their countenance 
and support. To this extent the intemperate character of the speeches is estab- 
lished by the testimony of the conventionists themselves. 

As the nature of these harangues has been the subject of much public contro- 
versy, and their language variously reported, it is deemed best to ouote some 
of the testimony upon this point in the words of the wituesi is. 

Judge Ezra Hiestand, a conventionist and one of the speakers at the street 
fies as follows : 

When it was resolved that the convention should assemble, the friends of the members 
as well as the members held a public meeting on the Friday night previous to the meeting 
of the convention in the State-house. The meeting was largely attended b of aU 

colors ; addresses were made by them in the State-house and from the si 3diately in 

front. There were some intemperate remarks made by some of the speakers denunciatory 
of the rebels and of their cause. The blacks were also particularly infori heiug 

now citizens ol the United States, they had the rig-ht'to stand upon their ri . men, 

and if atl ked that day, the right to defend themselves. When the meeting adjourned 
there was a large procession formed of some two or three thousand, which ' from 

the Si to the City Hall, where several speeches were made to them ufacter 

1 have already stated. —(p. ].) ****** 

28. Were the speakers, any of them, members of the convention? 
Yes; Mr. Coaler and Mr. Henderson. 

29. Was Doctor Dostie ' 

No, sir; he was not a member of the convention. 

30. Yoa speak of intemperate language having been used in some of the speeches that 
evening; can yon state the substance of that intemperate language ! 

It amounted to, perhaps, this: That it was time to show the rebels that theytpere ?wt to 
enjoy power any longer, and that they ought to be hung. Remarks of that kind; I cannot 
give the exact expression. — (p. ;j.) 

Dr. Win. Henry Hire, a membcu\ of the convention, and wounded in the riot, 
testifies as follows : 

. Did you hear tie' speaking that took place both at the City Hall and Institute ? 
1 did. There was speaking inside and outside of the hall. Our friends spoke in the most 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 43 

radical way. T will state to you that T heard Dr. Dostie distinctly say: "Xmv, my friei 
go peaceably hoi rderly; do not disturb anybody; but, if anybody disturb* you, kit 

him." Of course, this was talked of a great deal. — (p. 66.) 

'.en F. Fish, a conventionist who wax wounded in the riot, says : " The 
sentiments utte^ld'at that meeting were radical; that cannot be disputed. It 
teas proposed by some of the speakers that the friends of universal suffrage 
should meet together with the convention at the meeting on Monday in a large 
body, to show them, by their sympathy and countenance, that they approved of 
their course ; that they indorsed it, and would sustain it." — (p. 38.) 

Such are the statements of active conventionists, whose sympathies and par- 
ticipation in the movement might be expected to incline them to the most favor- 
able report. 

Others not identified with the proceedings testify as follows. 

M. B. Brady, a merchant of New Orleans, testifies as follows — (p. 312 :) 

4415. The immediate, cause of the riot I believe was the speeches made on the Friday pre- 
ceding tin' meeting of the convention. On that night a meeting was held opposite the Me- 
chanics' Institute in the street. A platform had been erected, and speakers addressed the 
multitude from the platform. The assemblage was chiefly composed of negroes. The 
speakers advised the negroes to insist upon their rights, and, if they did not get them, to 
make the streets of New Orleans run isith the blood of the rebels, and other language of the 
same character. One of them insisted that the rebels should be put down at any cost ; that 
they were hell-born and lull-bound scoundrels, (I think that was the expression,) and that the 
streets must run with their blood, unless the rights of the negro were secured.. 

4416". What speakers did you hear make use. of such language ? • 

A man by the name of Dostie, the last speaker, used that language. I do not know any- 
thing personally of those wdio preceded him; I have forgotten their names. I recollect I 
heard *heir names at the time, as they were called by the multitude. 

4417. What kind of a crowd was assembled there? 

Several hundred negroes, and perhaps thousands. The street was -pretty well crowded. It 
was about eight or nine o'clock when it began, and the meeting lasted till ten or half] 
ten. The multitude became excited as the speakers addressed them from the platform, and 
would respond "we will, we will," to those speakers who advised them to come to the hall 
Monday morning. 

441.-:. What hall? 

The Mechanics' Hall, opposite to where the speeches were made. They advised the ne- 
groes to come there Monday morning, that they wore, to have a meeting of the convention, oi 
something of that sort; to come armed, and they wanted no cowards to come. In connectioi 
with I !>• of the speakers, the last one, cursed thepeople, the rebels, I sup] 

he mean , as G d d d, and in the same connection said they were hell-born and hell- 

bound. — (p. 312.) 

Moses Greenwood, a merchant of New Orleans, testifies as follows : 

The windows of the room were all open, and I was sit ring- so near, in my own room, that 
I heard everything that was passing. Mr. Waples was addressing the parties assembled there, 
in plain sight of me. Ke is a gentleman that I have known for many years. lie attends 
the same church as myself. His address was in regard to the meeting of the convention, urging 
the parties present to vigorous action. The governor had issued an order, he said, which 
was signed by the secretary of state, for an election in the different parishes, not represente 
in tl. ttion of 1864 ; that, it was desirable that the members of the convention sine,;'. 

. (sent, and whether they were legally or Meg/illy present it would make but little dif- 
ference; that he laid assurances from Washington that Congress would legalize and sanction 
the actions of the convention, whether the members were legallyor illegally elected. Thatitwas 
important that all those citizens of Louisiana who had sympathy with, or had aided or abetted, 
or had assisted the confederate government, should cease to he citizens, or enjoy the franchise; 
that all those freedmen who had been set free in the State, together with the loyal inhabitants, 
should only be entitled to the franchise, and should control the government of the State of 
Louisiana, and that the convention must be held ; and that he had assurance that the com- 
mander of the department would protect and sustain the convention — (p. 293.) 

F. "W. Tilton, hardware merchant, testifies as follows — (p. 381:) 

5522. Did they make any reference to the convention that was to assemble on the fol- 
lowing Monday I 

Yes, sir; I remember Dr. Dostie called upon them, as they were going to meet in that 
hall on the following Monday, to come armed, to come prepared to fight and vote, to vote 
and fight. I could only understand portions of the speech ; then there would be portions in 
a lower tone which I could not understand This was between 10 arid 11 o'clock at night. 



44 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

."523. What kind of effect did that kind of exhortation have upon the multitude ? 
Screaming and yelling. 

5524. Did Mr. Henderson utter anything of that description? 

I cannot say. I understood Dr. Dostie very well. I heard one say that every man, 
every woman, and every child in New Orleans was a rebel and ought to be hung. One speaker, 
I think it was Dr. Dostie, I heard say that the stones of the streets of New Orleans called for 
their blood, and cried for their blood. 

5525. Was the meeting held without interruption to its close? 
Yes, sir. 

552(5. Was it disturbed in any way ? 

No, sir; I was in my house during the whole time. Mr. Dostie afterwards called them 
to form a procession, and said he would make a speech to them on the steps of the City Hall, 
and they went in procession, with torchlights, hooting and shouting as loud as they could; 
that was about 10 o'clock, and was the end of that meeting. 

It will be remembered that these demonstrations were made in the heart of 
city; yet the speakers were not interrupted nor the meeting disturbed. 
er the harangues were over a procession of between two and three thousand 
eolored people, between ten and eleven o'clock at night, paraded with torch- 
lights, hurrahing and shouting, through several of the principal streets to the 

ity Hall. There again the crowd was addressed by Dr. Dostie, and exhorted 
to go home peaceably, but to hill any who might assail them. After all this no 
disturbance took place, and the crowd peaceably dispersed. Tet no soldiers 
were on guard, and no policemen were required to interfere. May not this be 
cited as a striking evidence of the toleration of free speech in the city of New 
Orleans at that date 1 

The real causes which led to a breach of the peace on the 30th of July must 
be sought elsewhere than in the denial of the right of free discussion. If the 
conventionists had confined themselves to that the riot would probably not have 
taken place. The utmost latitude in that respect had been freely exercised by 
all parties in the city of New Orleans, and the New Orleans Tribune, a radical 
newspaper edited by colored persons and advocating the most radical doctrines, 
had during nearly four years been published and circulated in that city without 
molestation. 

THE INTENDED ACTS OF THE CONVENTIONISTS. 

It was the acts and the declared intentions of the conventionists and the ille- 
gal, defiant, and violent character of their proceedings which produced the ex- 
citement and brought about the collision. Even as it was, the persons actually 
engaged in the attack upon the conventionists were in no fair sense the repre- 
sentatives of the community of New Orleans, amongst whom regret at the oc- 
currence was deep-felt and general. It is the expressed opinion of all parties, 
conventionists as well as others, that the presence on the scene of action of 
even a single file of soldiers would have prevented it altogether. If men are to 
be judged by the probable consequences of their actions, it is difficult to resist 
the conclusion that the conventionists intended to bring on a disturbance. 
They could not have pursued a course more likely to lead to such a result. 
They proclaimed their intention to subvert the existing government of the State 
and to get into power by extending suffrage to negroes and withholding it from 
white men. They announced that their convention would assume this authority 
and exercise it against the known wishes of the qualified electors of the State. 
It has been said by some that they intended to submit their action to a vote of 
the people ; but to attribute such a design to the conventionists in any candid 
sense of the term is to stultify their leaders. The submission of their action was 
to have been to the colored pojwlai 'ion and to the minority of white citizens not 
excluded by the ordinance they intended to adopt, prescribing the qualification 
of voters. In plain terms, they intended a revolution. 

This is evident from their own testimony before the committee. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 45 

Judge James K. Bidden, a member of the convention, testifies as follows : " 

6659. Had you knowledge of the purposes for which the convention was called, and of 

the manner in which the convention intended to proceed? 

Avery full knowledge. 

■» # # * * # 

6706. You say it was the intention of the convention to submit the constitution to a vote 
of the people. Do you know what were the main changes contemplated by them iu the 
constitution thus to be submitted '. 

I think they would have attempted to restrain the right of suffrage. That was the prin- 
cipal feature in which they desired to change the constitution. 

6707. Restrain it in what way? 

A Hew none to vote except those who had been loyal to the government. 

6708. Except those who had been loyal to the government throughout the rebellion ? 
Throughout the rebellion. At all events, it was a suggestion of mine ; I would have 

voted for it. 

6709. Then that would have disfranchised all those who bad at any time during the war 
participated on the side of the rebellion ? 

Yes, sir ; that was my notion about it. There were others who differed from me in that 
opinion. 

6710. How did you expect a ratification of such a change by tho people of the State of 
Louisiana 1 

I should not have permitted any except those who were loyal to have had any participa- 
tion in the matter at all. 

67J1. Then yon would have disfranchised them before submitting the constitution to 
their vote ? 

Yes, sir ; I would have done that. 

6712. Was there to be any change in regard to the political rights of the colored peojile ? 
Yes, sir. 

6713. What was that? 

To place them on the same platform of equality with myself and others, and give them 
the voting privilege. That was the only change. 

Charles Smith, another member of the convention, however, testifies that it 
was the intention to submit the action of the convention direct to Congress, 
and not to tin; people in any form. His testimony is as follows : 

2225 Then, as I understand you, the intention was to submit the action of the conven- 
tion to ('(ingress, and not to the people of the State? 

Speaking for myself ami several others I conversed with, that was ray view, from the 
simple fact that it must be submitted to Congress, because nine-tenths of the people of the 
State were opposed to emancipation. 

2226. So you understood it .' 
Yes, sir. 

2227. Have you any knowledge of that being the view of other members of the conven- 
tion ? 

Yes, sir ; of some few I conversed with. 

222^*. Was that generally the design of those members with whom you conversed ? 

Yes, sir. — (y. 151.) 

The description of government sought to be established by the conventionists 
is best described in the language of Rufus King Cutler, another member of the 
convention, and one of its leading spirits. It Ayas to havehecu virtual ly a 
n egro goveim jruBnt^a dth the w h4te--p^ul^tioft-JLudil^r^^ the mili- 

tary^ He testifies as follows : 

410. Suppose that the political power and influence of what has been the leading and con- 
trolling class in Louisiana should alone be taken away, leaving the common people to enjoy 
the elective franchise along with what you call colored suffrage, would that answer the pur- 
pose as the basis of a loyal State government in Louisiana ? 

I THINK IT WOULD. WE HAVE FROM THIRTY TO THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND NEGRO AND 
COLORED VOTERS IN LOUISIANA, AND ABOUT TWENTY-EIGHT TO THIRTY THOUSAND 
WHITE VOTERS. WE COULD HAVE ALL THE NEGRO AND COLORED MEN TO VOTE WITH 
THE Union MEN, AND THAT, with THE DISFRANCHISEMENT OF THE LEADING REBELS, 
WOULD GIVE THE ASCENDENCY TO THE UNIONISTS, AND I THINK THEY COULD SUSTAIN 
THEMSELVES. I THINK THAT, WITH A SUFFICIENT MILITARY FORCE TO ENFORCE THESE 
PROVISIONS, WE COULD ESTABLISH A GOVERNMENT WHICH WOULD BE SUBSTANTIAL, 
AND WE COULD SUSTAIN IT AFTER ITS ESTABLISHMENT. — (p. 33.) 

It is said by the conventionists that they did not expect to act upon the meas- 
ures before them on the 30th of July because it was not probable that a quorum 



46 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

<» 
of members would be present on that day. In point of faot only about twenty- 
members attended. But the sergeant-at-arms, who had a number of depu- 
ties, was, upon motion of Rufus King Cutler, instructed to enforce the attendance 
of absent members, and the convention adjourned over to 1 o'edock to enable the 
order to be executed. There had been writs issued for an electi ra on the third 
.of September to till vacancies. Mr. Cutler, however, testifies that in case a 'quo- 
rum could have been obtained it was not the intention to wait for the election, 
but to proceed at once to business. His testimony on this point is as follows — 
(p. 31:) 

380. What was your expectation to do that day? 

Our intention was to go to business and to pass the constitutional amendment, grant negro 

bels. Thai is what we intended to do. 

381. Did you expect to do that on the 30th of July ? 
Weintended to do it as soon as we got organized. 

382. Vv hat do you mean by organiz< 
Having a quorum of the body. 

. ' what time were the writs of election returnable under the proclamation of the 
governor 1 

I think on the 3d of September, 18(i6. 

386. Did you expect, then, to transact the regular business of that convention before that 
time 1 

If we had had a quorum I think we certainly would Lave proceeded to business; but I 
think it was generally believed that we would not have a quorum until after the election. 

The conventionists were for some time before the 30th of July in the habit of 
using defiant and threatening language, and gave out that they w'ould carry 
their project against all opposers, even if it led to bloodshed and revolution. 
Nathaniel Paige, formerly a correspondent of the New York Tribune, and in 
capacity went to Louisiana with General Banks, testifies as follows — (p. 
:) 
I advised two or three gentlemen, finding that they were real 1 ; to revive this 

ention, no't to participate in it. I told them I had been travelling pretty extensively 
ana, and I thought there would be trouble and bloodshed. r i -ilicr 

e wouh tlshed or not, they were determined to revive the convention. The names 

tl< men 1 coul 1 give you. 
re their names? 

g man by the name of George Warmouth, with whom I oc< 
ans; also with Dr. Dostie, who T freqi ;; also 

ior Plumly, who is now at Galveston, Texas. Many of these 
ntly in our rooms. My judgment had always been against the convention, and I opposed 
as 1 had any ability to do so, although I had no influence in politics at all. 
7214. Do you remember the names of any others? 

1 remember that of John A. Lee and Mr. McKee, the present United States marshal, and 
a number of gentlemen who were in the habit of meeting there. — (p. 508.) 

John Henderson, jr., a prominent member of the convention, had a conversa- 
tion with Joseph F. Dick, to which the latter testifies as follows : "As to the 
exact words he used, I now forget ; but he said the convention would m 
that they were backed by the military authorities ; ■ and that no power on earth 
would stop them from meeting. 1 told him I thought it was a very strange 
position; that 1 thought the convention was extinct; that its functions had 
been fulfilled; and that there was no more necessity for its meeting, lie 
me to understand that things had turned up which made it proper to reassemble 
the convention, and that the military authorities were going to as i. I 

told him I thought it was a revolutionary movement, lie replied, 'It is a 
revolutionary movement, but we are in revolutionary times.' 1 said it would 
surely create disturbance. He replied that he did not anticipate anything else." 
—(p. 299.) 

Colonel Eugene Tisclale testifies (p. 259) that Dr. Dostie, with whom he was 
intimate, would frequently meet him in the street and address him in such 
language as this: " Colonel, we are going to rule here ; we are going to have a 
convention, and we will disfranchise every rebel and give the negroes the right 



RErokT OF THE COMMITTEE. 47 

of suffrage, and to appoint our own judges to hold office during life." "Th 
remarks," the colonel adds, "he would make in the presence of peo ing, 

itly intending that they should hear them." 

James Syme, one of the witnesses! (p. 291,) testifies as follows: "On tl 
morning of the 30th I was going to my business, passing through 
Place, about fifteen to twenty minutes past nine; I noticed two gentlemen 
standing together, engaged in a very excited conversation. T did not know 
either of them. One of them, the larger of the two, said, 'We have every- 
thing arranged, and within five minutes after the signal is given, every judge, 
mayor, sheriff, and constable will be hurled from their seat.' Said h '., 'Damn 
them, we will have none but loyal men to govern the city.' " 

Such a course of conduct and conversation could have but one result — an 
alarmed and embittered state of public feeling. 

When finally the negro population were assembled in mass-meetings in the 
midst of the city, and appealed to for aid in the language heretofore described, it 
is not surprising that a state of feeling should have possessed the community 
like that described by General W. P. Benton in his testimony (p. 297) when he 
says : "I think the belief was entertained by nine out of every ten of this city, 
that, if they went on, there would be a general uprising of the negroes, and that 
their wives and children would be murdered in their beds." No imputation can 
be made against this witness, who entered the Union army as a private in the 
beginning of the war, and was a brigadier general at its close. 

THE CHARACTER AND ANTECEDENTS OF LEADING 'CONVENTIONISTS. 

It is to be taken into account, as an additional source of irritation, that the 
antecedents of some of the most active leaders of the conventionists were not 
such as to make them the accepted standard of unionism and loyally in thai 
locality. The proscription threatened by such men, through the. action of the 
convention, must have been peculiarly galling to those to be affected by their 
proceedin 

Judge Howell, the ostensible leader of the conventionists, being the president t 
of the convention, had been a confederate officeholder, and as such had tal 

the rebel g i , the exact [) igy of which 

will be found on page 389 of the testimony. 

Ex-governor Michael Hahn, prominent leader and orator of the conventionists, 
had also been, in the early days of the rebellion, a confederate officeholder, and 
had taken a similar oath of allegiance. (See p. 3S9 of the testimony.) lie had | 
also officiated as orator in presenting confederate flags to rebel regiments when .» 
about to march against the Union armies. -J 

Rufus King Cutler, perhaps the most influential Of the leaders, had distinguished \ 
himself in equipping, at his own expense, a rebel company, known in the con- j 
federate army as the "King Cutler Guards." 

W. R. Fish, a member of the convention, had been secretary of the " Southern t 
Rights Secret Association," a secession society organized during the confederate | 
rule, and exercising espionage over the movements of Union meu. (P. 389.) 
He was also one of the committee of extreme secessionists who voted for hanging { 
Mr. Flanders, and helped to take him from his house and family and force him ! ( 
beyond the lines on account of his Union sentiments. (1 J . 2G8.) 

J. Randall Terry, a member of the convention, and "a moving man in the 
processions and demonstrations" of the conventionists, in March, 18G2, at a 
review of confederate troops in New Orleans, paraded in a rebel company, car- 
rying a black flag with scull and cross bones, indicating no quarter to Union 
soldiers. (P. 3S9.) 

William Henry Walters, another member of the convention, raised a rebel 
company and commanded it himself. (P. 358.) R. F. Dannoy, assistant ser- 



48 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

geant-at-arms in the convention, and candidate for delegate, volunteered in the 
rebel army, fought against the Union at Shiloh, had paid money to thugs to 
knock down voters and drive them from the polls. (See his own testimony, pp. 
137, 140.) He had also been a thug himself; had knocked down a judge in 
the street on his way to court, and was accused of murder. (P. 524.) 

These men were all prominent among the conventionists. Tiiey were politi- 
cal adventurers known to have favored the confederacy when it seemed strong, 
and deserted it when it became weak. Others of lesser note, who had, like 
them, been rebels when rebellion seemed to prosper, were active in the conven- 
tion movement. 

STATE OF THE PUBLIC MIND CONSEQUENT UPON THE FRIDAY EVENING 

MEETING. 

After the demonstration on Friday evening, there arose a general and grow- 
ing feeling of disquiet and apprehension. Rumors, predictions, and threats were 
heard in the streets. Au excited state of feeling pervaded the community. 
Idlers and roughs discussed the matter at theenrners, There was a stir among 
the negro population, and indications among policemen, of preparation for ex- 
pected trouble. The whites and blacks grew suspicious of each other, and 
caught up and retailed each others' words. Rumors arose and multiplied, and 
grew as they spread. Much of the language overheard and detailed to the 
committee by different witnesses has doubtless been exaggerated from feeling, 
or misunderstood or misapplied, or imperfectly recollected. Some is the merest 
gossip. But there is enough in the evidence which is reliable to show that a 
general apprehension of some impending danger filled the public mind. 

THE STATE AND CITY AUTHORITIES MOVE IN THE MATTER* 

J 

The imminent danger of a breach of the peace forced itself upon the atten- 
tion of Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, (Governor Wells net appearing,) Attor- 
ney General A. S. Herron, and Mayor J. T. Monroe, who consulted together 
as to the best means of preserving the public peace. At first it was resolved to 
arrest the members of the convention in case they should meet for the purposes 
proposed. It happened also that this Avas the plan which General Sheridan, as 
commander of the department, had resolved to pursue in case their proceedings 
should be calculated to disturb the peace. But, unfortunately at this juncture, 
General Sheridan was absent from New Orleans on an official visit to Texas, 
and General A. Baird was in temporary command. After General Sheridan's 
return, in his despatch of the 1st of August, he says : " The leaders were politi- 
cal agitators and revolutionary men, and the action of the convention was liable 
to produce breaches of the public peace. I had made up my mind to arrest 
the head men, if the proceedings of the convention were calculated to disturb 
the tranquillity of the department; but I had no cause for action until they com- 
mitted the overt act." (P. 472.) 

THE LEGALITY OF THE PROPOSED ARREST OF THE CONVENTIONISTS. 

The conventionists and all other citizens of the State of Louisiana had the 
undoubted right to assemble and discuss their political opinions. But discussion 
accompanied by acts of revolution and threats of violence, and incendiary ap- 
peals to one class of the community against another class, imminently tending 
to a breach of the public peace, is not entitled under the law to pursue with 
impunity its revolutionary course; and the authorities upon whom the preserva- 
tion of the public peace and order devolves may lawfully interfere to arrest its 
progress. 

So sacred does the common law regard the public peace that it in some cases 
holds liable to indictment those who maliciously publish even the truth concern- 



EEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 49 

ing individuals ; and even has held the libel to bo the greater because of its 
truth, by reason of its greater tendency on that account to lead to a breach of 
the pca.ee. Threats of personal violence are good cause for arrest. An unlawful 
assembly is defined by the common law to be "any meeting of great, numbers 
of people with such circumstances of terror as cannot but endanger the public 
peace and raise fears and jealousies among the inhabitants." 

In the assemblage of the conventionists all these circumstances were com- 
bined ; and, as if to enforce the revolutionary threats of their leaders, a tumult- 
uous and noisy body of negroes, with drum and fife and banner flying, came to 
guard the sittings and sustain the acts of the convention. 

NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR VOORHIES, MAYOR MONROE, 

AND GENERAL BAIRD. 

In the absence of General Sheridan. General Absolom Bairdwas in command 
at New Orleans, and to him Mayor Monroe had, in view of the threatened 
action of the conventionists, addressed a communication on the 25th of July, 
notifying him of the intended arrest in case the convention should meet without 
the sanction of the military authorities. To this General Baird replied, in sub- 
stance, that the convention had, in his opinion, a right to meet, arfd if called 
upon to protect them he would bring to their assistance all his available force. 
This was on the 26th of July. On the next day the Friday evening meetings 
were held, and the crowd were told by one of the speakers, Waples, that he 
had been assured that the commander of the department would protect and 
sustain the convention. (Page 293.) 

On Saturday morning, the next day after the meetings at the Institute, 
Lieutenant Governor Voorhies and Mayor Monroe called personally upon Gen- 
eral Baird, and, after informing him that Governor Wells could not be found, 
the Lieutenant Governor stated that instead of arresting the members of the 
convention by the mayor and city police, it was proposed that the matter should) 
be laid before the grand jury, and in case they found an indictment against 
them that the arrest should be made by the sheriff. This General Baird refused 
to permit, and threatened in case it should be attempted to arrest the sheriff. 
It was then arranged that no arrest should be made unless in accordance with 
instructions from Washington. The lieutenant governor and attorney general 
telegraphed to the President, and General Baird telegraphed to the Secretary of 
War. To General Baird's telegram, dated the 2Sth of July, he received no 
reply. It is proper here to state that it never met the eye of the President 
until after the 11th of August, when a copy was transmitted to the Executive, 
in connection with other despatches, from the War Department. To the tele- 
gram of Lieutenant Governor Voorhies, and the attorney general of the same 
date, which was sent direct to the President, a reply was sent on the same day 
in the following words : 

Washington, July 28, 1866. 
Sin : The military will be expected to sustain, not obstruct or interfere with the proceed- 
ings of the courts. A despatch on the subject of the convention was sent to Governor Wells 
this morning. 

ANDREW JOHNSON 
Albert Voorhies, 

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 

This despatch was shown to General Baird on Monday morning by the lieu- 
tenant governor. General Baird, however, found in it no occasion, as he stated, 
to change his original resolution not to permit the arrest. GeneralBaird testified 
before the committee (p. 451) that it was his intend* in to judge of the legality of the 
decision of the court if an arrest had been made ; and in case it was not in favor 
of the members of the convention, upon their application for release, it was his 
intention to interfere to prevent the judgment of the court from being executed. 
H. Hep. Com. 16 4 



50 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Of course the proposed arrest was, for the time, abandoned. But the hour fo.i 
the meeting of the convention was approaching, and no effectual measures had 
been taken to preserve the peace. The military commander had interfered to 
prevent the execution of the measures proposed by the civil authorities, and had 
substituted no plan of his own. 

On the day of the meeting of the convention the regular police were withdrawn 
from their beats and massed at their stations by order of the mayor. In explana- 
tion of this the mayor (p. 219) testifies that after General Baird's refusal to allow 
the convention to be interfered with, because of the supposed right of the con- 
vention to assemble, he requested General Baird so to inform the people of New 
Orleans, and take charge of the peace and order of the city himself; and further 
requested him to send a small force of soldiers to the place of assemhling, for the 
purpose of preserving order. All of which, the mayor says, the general agreed 
to do ; and declares that, with this understanding, and well knowing the bad 
state of feeling between some of the colored soldiers who had been disbanded 
there and the police officers — the majority of whom had been in active service — 
he would not allow the uniformed men to appear on the street, and kept them 
at the stations. Upon these points there is a material variance between Mayor 
Monroe and General Baird. The latter denies that the mayor ever requested 
him to send for soldiers, or that he promised to do so. This was an unfortunate 
misunderstanding, which may account for much that was left undone by each of 
these officials. 

This was the condition of affairs when, on the morning of the 30th of July, 
in the interview already referred to between Lieutenant Governor Voorhies and 
General Baird, it was agreed that troops should be brought into the city and 
posted in the streets a convenient distance from the convention building. This 
was in accordance with his military authority, and the course which General 
Sheridan testifies he would have pursued himself. The lieutenant governor 
says this was lis proposition. General Baird says it was his own. The differ- 
ence is immaterial, as both agreed that it should be done. But what is of more 
importance, they differ, also, as respects the hour in the day when the interview 
took place. Lieutenant Governor Voorhies says it was " early after breakfast." 
(P. 237.) He says, (p. 238,) " I called upon the general two hours before 12 
o'clock." General Baird says it was about 11 o'clock. Neither of them fix 
the hour by the watch. But in either event the troops could after this have 
been easily brought to the ground, if proper expedition had been used, in time 
to. prevent the riot. The riot did not commence till about 1 o'clock, and the 
troops were at Jefferson barracks, but about [«hree miles distant. Lieutenant 
Governor Yoorhees says he proceeded to the office of Mayor Monroe immediately 
after his interview with General Baird, and communicated to him the promise 
of General Baird to bring troops into the city, and that the mayor seemed pleased 
with the arrangement. Lieutenant Governor Yoorhees says he wrote three 
notes after the interview and sent them by special messenger to General Baird, 
requesting him to hurry up the troops. General Baird says he received two of 
them. 

MEETING OF THE CONVENTION AT 12 O'CLOCK. 

The hour of twlve arriveed, and the convention met a few minutes afterwards, 
and the roll was called. Twenty-five members answered to their names. On 
motion, at about half-past twelve o'clock, the convention adjourned for one 
hour, to give the sergeant-at-arms and his deputies time to bring in the absent 
members. 

NEGKO PROCESSION, AND AFFRAY AT CANAL STREET. 

During the adjournment a negro procession with fife and drum and a United 
States flag approached the convention building from the direction of Canal street. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 51 

Crowds of people had boon assembled in the vicinity. As the procession passed 
the << I >ryades and Canal streets tin-n- was a difficulty betw e one 

or more persons in the procession and one of-the crowd in the street. But that 
was not the commencement of the riot. A shot was fired, an arrest made by a 
police office, and the procession passed on without further trouble till it rear 1 
the front of .the institute. 

SHOUTING OF THE NEGROES IN FRONT OF THE INSTITUTE. 

There it halted and commenced shouting-. The conduct of those who com- 
posed the procession at this time is described by Charles H. Hughes, a col. 
witness, (pp. 104-'5,) as follows : 

1333. Did houting on the part of the procession ? 

Yes: a up in front of the hall they shouted and hurrahed, and made ; 

noise. I mysell was one of those who took part in stopping the shouting; I did not think 
they had anything to shout over. 

13'!4. Why did you try to prevent them from shouting? 

For tli ■■■ that I did not want to raise any unnecessary excitement. 

1335. Then you thought that their excitement would be calculated to excite- the crowd? 
Jo- 

1336. I )o^o;i not think it had that effect ? 

Of course, 1 believe it had a tendency to excite the crowd, and for that reason I took part 
in trying to stop it. 

1337. How did they shout 1 
The}* simply hallooed "hurrah. 

1338. What did the other crowd hurrah for? 

There was no hurrahing by the other crowd at that time. 

COMMENCEMENT OF THE RIOT; FIRST SHOT FIRED BY A NEGRO. 

Up to this time there had nothing transpired which could properly be denom- 
inated a riot. 

The actual commencement of the riot is very clearly described by two wit- 
nesses - , who were standing together in the office of the private secretary of Gov- 
ernor Wells, in the Mechanics' Institute, and looking out of a window upon the 
crowd in the street in front. One of these gentlemen was the secretary himself, 
Nicholas C. Suethen, and the other was Piere Sauve, recorder of sales. Both 
of these officers are appointees of Governor Wells, and unexceptionable in 
character and in their Union antecedents. Both of them were situated so as to 
see distinctly what took place, and both corroborate each other in every material 
pari: -dally in the statement that the first shot fired in lite riot was by 

a negro at a 'policeman. 

Mr. Sneth m testifies as follows : 

This was about one o'clock, when my office was full of persons. There were ten or twelve 
there who were looking out of the windows on the street. 1 was at my desk attending to 
some writing, when I heard a shot fired, and I heard those who were at the wi mark, 

"There is a row.*' I got up, and looking towards Canal street, on tothei ad, I 

observed a flag coming up and a procession. The crowd was gesticulating ngly, 

and was swaying to and fro. This procession marched up to the hall and were received by 
cheers from some who were in front of the hall. They halted there, and for about twenty 
minutes tpjiet prevailed, I did not hear anything more, and again resumed my business at 
the d< others were looking out of the windows. I did net feel any particular 

interest, not anticipating any serious difficulty. Again I heard some commotion out at 
the front, and going to the window I saw, apparently, a policeman, who had held of a 
person and was in the act of arresting him. I noticed the attitude of these persons virile 
the crowd from the outskirts rushed up, and there seemed a difference of opinion among 
the police and the crowd. Some said "Let him go;" others said. "Kill him," and 
various exclamations of that kind, and an attempt seemed to be made to rescue him. There 
were some persons in front of the window and I did not get a good view, but I noticed that 
the persons or policemen succeeded in getting the party off t) Canal street, and the crowd 
followed, but after they had got by the confectionery shops at the corner of Canal street, 
I lost sight of them; but 1 noticed some persons pick up brick-bats and throw them in that 
direction ; there was a building in the course of erection and a quantity of bricks woe lying 
loose between the Institute and Canal street ; I noticed one of the colored men pull out a 



52 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

pistol and fire in the direction of the crowd towards Canal street, and immediately it was 
answered by some six or eight shots, perhaps more, from the corner of Canal street. I did 

not see them. (P.251.) 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3703. What harm was the crowd doing, if the policemen had left them alone? 
The police <li<l not come up in front of the building till the riot commenced, 

3704. Do you know whether the first shot was fired by the police ' 

The, first shut I saw was fired by n colored num. There was a shot tired on the corner, but 
as to the person that tired that I do not know. (P. 252.) 

3705. Where was the colored man standing when he fired ? 
About the middle of the street ' 

3706. About what time was that? 

That was after the convention met, which was at twelve o'clock. It was after the adjourn- 
ment, and must have been towards one o'clock. 

3707. Did you hear no shot before that ? 

No, sir, except the shot that was tired at the comer when'the procession was coming up. 

37(18. At whom was that shot fired? 

I do not know. 

37(H!. In which direction did he fire? •- 

The shot was fired towards the corner of Canal street, and from the building. 

3710. How near to the building was the negro when he tired the shot > 

I suppose he was about thirty or forty feet. The party that arrested this mat were going 
to the corner of Canal. The crowd I met were following him, and finally stopped, and then 
I saw this colored man take out his pistol and deliberately fire in the direction of the crowd 
where the policemen were. 

371 1. What became of the colored man that, fired ? 

I did not follow him. The fight then became general between the two parties immediately 
after that. 

3712. Had there been any fighting before? 

No, sir, except that those in the procession had some difficulty at the corner of Canal in 
getting through the crowd; but that was so far off from where I stood I could not distinctly 
see what took place. (P. 153.) 

Mr. Sauve testifies as follows : 

3713. State any facts that maybe in your knowledge throwing light upon the subject- 
matter of our investigation. 

It was, if I recollect right, on the 30th of July I went to see Mr. Snethen, private secretary 
of the governor, and I had been conversing with him for about half an hour, when all at 
once I heard a drum and some music, and cries in the streets. I approached the window, 
and saw a band of music and a United States flag, and about two hundred or three hundred 
colored people screaming and hallooing. After a moment a negro came out from the 
Mechanics' Institute building and told them that it was not a meeting, that it was a con- 
vention, and requested them to go away and be quiet. They persisted and would not go, 
but marched inside of the building, and' those in the street began to cry out and cheer 
them as they went into the building. I then went to the window fronting the street, and 
remained there while there was a conflict between some negroes and a newsboy. The 
little fellow was passing among the negroes ; what he said I do not know, but all at once 
there was a rush of the negroes against the boy. when he got behind a pile of bricks, and 
seized one in each hand, and with these he faced the whole lot of negroes. A policeman or 
two approached, and told the negroes not to do anything; that he had arrested the boy, 
and he was trying to take him away when the first shot was tired by a negro at the police 
officer. After that the riot extended everywhere. I afterwards noticed there was a wounded 
officer on the portico of the house, towards which the first shot was fired. I was standing 
at the window, and near me was Mr. Shaw, a member of the convention, that had come 
into the room of the private secretary. He was standing at the window when the first shot 

was tired. (P. 253.) 

* * * # # * * # 

3716. Are you sure thai the shot you saw fired by the negro was the first shot fired in the 
immediate neighborhood of the Mechanics' Institute? 

Vis. sir; I am perfectly sure. I saw the negro, and I saw him fire. He had in his hands 
one of those large navy revolvers, and he aimed deliberately at the policeman that was car 
rying away the little newsboy, who was about fourteen years of age. The police then came 
and made charge against the negroes. There were about sixteen of the police that made the 
charge, as near as 1 can indue. One of the negroes, I noticed, encouraged them to resist the 
police. (P. 254.) * * * * * * 

3723. l)o you know of any other facts connected with the proceedings of the 30th of July? 

In the middle of the conflict I came out of the Institute building and went through the 



"report of the committee. 53 

streets without being molested in any way. Right at the door I saw several negroes, five 
or six : they were standing just inside of the building, and they held in their hands revolvers, 
I noticed thai thej were long navy revolvers. One oi them had received a shot in the foot. 

I saw two bleeding. They were much exasperated, and 1 was al st afraid to go out when 

I opened the door and saw them. I asked them what they were doing. One of them said, 
"Well, they sent for rs to guard the convention, and they gave us these 
rea olvers." One of them ottered me his revolver to get him out of the posit ion he was in. 
! not want his weapon. 

PROGRESS OF THE RIOT. 

The following- testimony of witnesses, equally unexceptionable, shows the 
vigor with which the first part of the conflict was carried ou by both sides : 

James L. Audera, formerly secretary of General Banks, says : " I remained 
in the hall a few minutes, conversing with members, and was proceeding out of 
the hall down stairs to the street, when I heard the report of a pistol. I was 
just at the entrance of the building, and could not see from what direction it was 
fired ; but I saw immediately after a great many bricks flying through the air. 
I think from the crowd nearest the hall, (composed mostly of colored people,) in 
the direction of the crowd near Canal street. This was in front of the hall. Im- 
mediately there was a rush into the building, and I was carried with the crowd 
up stairs into thehallof the convention. The firing became very rapid." (P. 16.) 

Edward P. Brooks, correspondent of the New York Times, says : " As I re- 
turned from the telegraph office, and coming down Canal street, I heard firing in 
the direction of the Institute. I turned around to go back into it again, and was 
met by a crowd of policemen and citizens, (white men,) rushing back from the 
Institute. I discovered that they were bejng fired upon, very evidently from the 
building, and that bricks had been thrown on thotn, and they were returning the 
fire." (P. IS ) 

J. D. O'Connell, one of the conventionists, testifies (p. 77) that " the people 
on the street were principally colored, and that they took possession of a pile of 
brick-bats on the street, quite close to the hall, and commenced firing them at 
the police and citizens acting with them, who -were shooting their revolvers 
towards the negroes. As the crowd were driven back towards Common street, 
I saw two colored men have long pistols, which appeared to be horse-pistols, and 
discharge them towards the police." 

This witness further says: '-The colored people defended themselves until 
they were driven on towards Common street. They then rallied again, and 
drove the police towards Canal street. I believe they drove each other, first to- 
wards Common and then towards Canal street, twice or three times, when the 
colored people were dispersed." 

The riot raged with varying fortune for a short time, each party alternately 
assailing and defending, until the colored crowd, overcome and panic-stricken, 
souglrt safety in retreat alon£. Some had fled from the street into the Mechan- 
ics' Institute. Most of those who were in the building at the commencement 
remained. Indeed their retreat in a short time became almost impossible, for 
when the opposing crowd obtained the upper-hand in the street, the building 
was closely besieged. Ai. this moment, if the police force could have beeu 
checked and controlled, the bloodshed might have been stopped. But many of 
the policemen, embittered by the occurrences which had preceded the meeting 
of the convention, and infuriated by the resistance they had encountered, and 
the wounding of a number of their associates, were no longer to be regarded as 
preservers of the peace. Discipline disappeared, and a large proportion of the 
policemen themselves became part of the mob. As respects the numbers of 
those engaged there is much variance of opinion. The active white mob was 
composed of several hundred rabble from the citizens, a considerable number of 
whom were boys, and some firemen ; to these must be added the demoralized 
members of the police. There were also, as is usual on such occasions, a num- 



54 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

ber of the idle and the curious, who swelled tlie crowd, but took no active part 
in the proceedings. The crowd on the part of the eonventionists was probably 
equal, in the beginning- even superior, in numbers ; but they were not nearly as 
well armed. Inside of the hall, when, at the suggestion of Mr. Cutler, those hav- 
ing arms were divided from the others, twelve or fifteen admitted that they were 
in possession of fire-arms. Of those in the street it is impossible to estimate the 
proportion who were armed. 

The white mob, when victorious, acted in no wise differently from other mobs 

under similar circumstances elsewhere. Like all other mobs, it w« ;e and 

cruel. Many defenceless men were inhumanly slain or wounded aj tance 

had ceased. Some who were arrested by police officers were killed in their 

hands by the mob. Some were cruelly beaten and even killed by their captors 

r they had surrendered. Some were murdered whilst they were begging for 

■v. There can be no defence for such acts. But when a riot takes place 

be streets of a large city between opposing bodies of armed and excited men 

•h deeds are inevitable. In a mob, wherever it ma}' be, some of the most 
bcutal of the inhabitants are sure to be found. Police officers in other cities are 
not generally selected from the more refined and merciful class of the community; 
and the city of New Orleans in this respect has proved to be no exception. It 
would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the whole body of the police 
joined with the mob on the day of the riot. On the contrary, there are many 
known examples amongst them of active and efficient endeavors to save life and 
restore order. 

Thomas E. Adams, chief of police, distinguished himself in a number of in- 
stances by his active exertions to stop the effusion of blood, and to control those 
of the police who were riotous. ■ In his endeavors to govern them he was seen 
to Knock down several of his men for acts of brutality. 

" I do not think it, was possible," says one witness, (page 309,) "for any one 
to have risked bis life more thoroughly than Colonel Adams did in trying to 
protect, those who had been arrested from violence. I saw him interpose his 
own body several times to protect citizens against the crowd who v king 

them." Another witness (page 354) says, speaking of some of the policemen, 
*' I saw them doing their duty at the peril of their lives, particularly Mr. Adams, 
who knocked down people who assailed those that were brought out of the 
building." 

W. K. Fish, a member of the convention, describes his escape as follows : 

The street was densely packed, both on the sidewalk and in the centre, and as we ap- 
ched St. Charles street on the corner of Canal, the officer in charge told me it would be 
impossible to pass through the street, and we must get into a carriage. We stepped into a 
carriage standing on the corner ; six policemen, with revolvers drawn, kept off the crowd. 
We pa ised through St. Charles street to the police station •. as I arrived there, an attempt was 
made* by a subordinate cit;, ■ incite the crowd to hang me there. 1 was then locked 

up for a couple of hours. While passing through the street, every few rods efforts were made 
by the crowd to thrust pistols in between the officers protecting nie, with the attempt to shoot 
me on my way through the street ; lint through the vigilance and activity of I rs, the 

pistols wer< knocked up and down, and their purpose thwarted. 

125. By whom were these attempts made .' 

By citizens; or persons in citizen dress. It is also proper for w that there were 

citizens who were lately in the confederacy, seeing- me in the condition I was, who fell in be- 
hind and assisted in keeping the crowd off. 

Edmund Hood, another mom ber of the convention, testifies (p. 2S8) that the 
policemen kept of the crowd, and adds : "I believe the policeman at my back 
saved my life." 

The lives of Ex-Governor Hahn and Mr. Cutter, and others of the eonven- 
tionists. were saved by policemen in the same manner. In fact, if there had 
been a general determination on the part of the policemen to murder all the mem- 
bers of the convention present at the Institute, it is probable they would have 
easily accomplished the purpose. 



EEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 55 

A witness (p. 292) testifies : " I saw Mr. Michael Hahn when In' wa 
from Common into Oarondelet street, and put into a carriage opposite my of 
There were two policemen and a chief who brought him out and lifted him into 
a carriage. The rabble appeared to be very earnest in endeavoring, either to 
mutilate or kill Mr. Hahn. The chief and his officers, with drawn pistols, kept 
the crowd back, and got him into the carriage to send him to some place of 
safety — to the city hall. Mr. Hahn insisted that the chief should go with him; 
that his life was in his hands. The chief finally got in. The crowd was about 
the carriage, and the chief and one of his officers each had a pistol pointing out 
of the carriage, one at the back and one in front, to protect Mr. Hahn. He was 
then taken off; the crowd did not follow." 

The riot was confined to the vicinity of the Institute, and was actually quelled 
without the aid of the^military. It had ceased before the military arrived on 
the ground ; which, according to the testimony of General Baird, must p. 445,) 
have been a few minutes before three o'clock. 

The troops reached the foot of Canal street about two o'clock and forty 
minutes p. m. 

" All actual conflict," says General Baird, " bad by this time ceased. There 
was no pretext then apparent upon which I could use military force against 
any persons." 

It is useless to dwell upon the atrocities committed during the riot. They 
bad been sufficiently ascertained before the appointment of the committee. The 
question recurs, who gathered together the elements of the disturbance, and by 
whose crimes or blunders was the provocation, as well as the opportunity for 
the outbreak, provided ? 

MAYOR MONROE. 

It has been charged (and it may be that the majority of the committee will 
port) tha* the riot was deliberately planned by the mayor of the city of 
New Orleaus. In this conclusion the minority does not agree. The evidence, 
on the contrary, indicates that in the beginning there was an anxiety on the 
part of the mayor to prevent a breach of the peace by timely legal proceed!; 
When thwarted in this by General Baird his conduct was like that of am i 
who supposed be had been freed from further responsibility. If, as he alleges, 
he understood General Baird to agree to bring troops to the city, and take upon 
himself the preservation of the peace of the city, his conduct is reconcilable 
with a presumption of innocence. In case he so understood the intentions of 
General Baird the withdrawal of the uniformed police from their beats on the 
day of the meeting of the convention and massing them at their stations is suf- 
ficiently accounted for by the reason he assigned, and in this report already ad- 
verted to. Neither is the arming of the police (if it was done) regarded by the 
minority as a proof of guilty intention. On the contrary, if a formidable riol 
was threatened the special arming of the police was a proper precaution, and if 
it was done the only suspicion of guilt arises from its denial. 

The massing of the police force at their stations after their withdrawal from 
their beats was also proper and necessary, and that they might be ready in case 
of need. The twelve taps upon the alarm bell which brought the police to the 
scene of the disturbance, and upon which so much stress appeared to be laid 
during the investigation by the majority of the committee, was in the judgment 
of the minority a natural and proper arrangement. If, as was conceded, an un- 
usual disturbance of the peace was threatened, why was it not proper to adopt 
an unusual signal for bringing to the point of danger with the utmost prompti- 
tude the whole available police force of the city 1 

It is not easy to decide what under the circumstances would have been a 
better disposition of the police before the riot than the one which was made. 



56 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

They were brought promptly upon the ground at the first signal of approaching 
disorder. If they had not been brought upon the ground, or if by reason of a 
neglect to provide' a proper alarm they had been as tardy as the military, there 
would have been much greater ground for the suspicion of criminal intent. The 
worst feature in the mayor's relations to the matter is the fact that he does not 
appear to have taken a conspicuous part in controlling- the police after their 
affiliation with the mob. If there were evidence to show that the police were insti- 
gated by the mayor to join the mob after they reached the scene of action, or 
to act otherwise than as conservators of the peace, he ought to be arrested, 
tried, and punished. But even then the city of New Orleans ought not to be 
beld accountable for the criminal acts of its mayor, and much less the State of 
Louisiana. 

GKNKRAL BAIRD. 

It is not intended here to imjrate to General Baird a deliberate intention to 
encourage the occurrence of the riot ; but a stronger case could be made out 
upon the evidence on that point against him than against the mayor of New 
Orleans. In the case of the mayor there is the absence of every other assign- 
able motive than a stupid passion of revenge. 

If a collision occurred which bad to be suppressed by the military it could 
not fail to operate unfavorably upon the party in favor of the recognition by 
Congress of the civil government of the State. So General Baird himself un- 
derstood it, as evidenced by his remark to Lieutenant Governor Voorhies on 
the morning of the day of the riot, (p. 44d,) to tin; effect that, " in case any 
disturbance should take place, and it should become so serious that the military 
authorities would have to interfere, and, possibly, declare martial law, it would 
be disastrous to the party which was working for the, reconstruction of the State 
government." This Avas an obvious truth which was doubtless recognized by the 
leaders of the conventionists as clearly as by General Baird himself. General 
Baird may have been uninfluenced by any sympathy with the conventionists; 
but bis acts in relation to the management of the military on the 30th of July 
. in any other view, a succession of blunders. 

He assumed as a, military commander the authority to interfere with the pro- 
id the civil courts. He thought (he cannot say Avhy) that the hour for 
the meeting of the convention was six o'clock, p. m. when 12 o'clock noon 
was the hour appointed, and so published in the daily papers. His arrange- 
ments for bringing the troops upon the ground in case of an emergency, of whieh 
he had repeated warnings, were so imperfect that, according to his own state- 
men:, (p. 444,) at li hour more than necessary was wasted in the attempt. 
But there was evidently much more time lost than that. For if the interview 
between him and Lieutenant Governor Voorhies was, as he supposed, as lat< 
11 o'clock, it took three hours and forty minutes from that time to bring the 
troops three miles. He professes also t<> have had ci nfidence in the police, 
and yet he knew that the police were composed chiefly of men whom the cou- 
ventionists bad denounced as worthy of disfranchisement and death, and .-gainst 
whom they were attempting to rally the entire negro population of the city. 
But, worse than all, he assigns as a reason for his delay (p. 443) that he knew 
"a riot always took some hours to reach a serious character!" 

The conventionists, however, keenly alive to the advantages which would 
accrue to their side by a breach of the peace, relied upon the military for 
prompt interposition in case of danger, as appeai-s from the evidence; those in 
the Institute during the siege of that building encouraged each other with that 
expectation. But General Baird disappointed both parties by his tardiness. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 57 

GOVERNOR J. MADISON WELLS. 

The Governor of the State had heen absent on a visit to Texas, but returned 
three days before the riot. Yet he does not appear in any of the measures 
adopted or suggested for the preservation of the public peace. He'was in his 

office in the Institute building on the morning of the 20th, but left at eleven 
o'clock, just one hour before the convention was to meet; and when afterward; 
he heard, in another part of the city, that the riot had actually begun, he en- 
tered a street car and rode away from the scene of the disturbance to his hon 
and remained there inactive till all was over. 

To Lieutenant Governor Voorhies, ex-rebel, belongs the credit of havii 
supplied the place of his official superior in originating timely precautiona 
measures, which, if carried out, would have prevented the riot, and which fail 
from no fault of his. 

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The President of the United States needs no vindication at the hands of the * • 
committee, and were it not on account of the partisan slanders with which he 
has been so unscrupulously assailed during the late elections, it might justly be 
deemed an offence against good taste to name him in this connection. His 
action, -so far as it had any bearing upon the circumstances investigated by the 
committee, exhibited him in no other light than as a chief magistrate actuated 
by a sincere desire to preserve the public peace and to uphold the law. 

Civil government was in successfuloperation in the city of New Orleans on 
the 30th of July, 1866. A disturbance arose which seriously threatened the good 
order of the city. Certain individuals were complained of as disturbers of the 
peace and engaged in an unlawful assemblage. Process of arrest was in due 
form about to issue against them from the court. The President was addressed 
through the telegraph by the civil authorities, the lieutenant governor and at- 
torney general of the State : " Is the military to interfere to prevent the civil 
•process of the court?" He replied the same day : "The military will be ex- 
pected to sustain and nut obstruct or interfere with the proceedings of the courts." 
What else could the constitutional President of the nation say to the civil repre- 
sentatives of a State ? 

Had General Baird asked the President for instructions he would have re- 
ceived the same reply. Instead of this, General Baird telegraphs to the Secre- 
tary of War. The strict military course would have been for him to telegraph 
to the Adjutant General. He received no reply. Under all the pressure of the 
occasion, and with a day intervening, General Baird for some reason did no. 
deem it worth his while to inquire whether his telegram had been received, ( 
to repeat his request for instructions. 

Of General Baird's telegram to the Secretary of War the President remaine 
in ignorance until all was over. It is immaterial whether it might have turne 
out in the end that the court committed error in issuing its process as propose; . 
If it erred the .defendants had their legal remedy, and had already made prep; 
rations to apply it, having resolved, as appears from the evidence, in case of 
arrest to sue out writs of habeas corpus. 

It was not for the President, any more than for General Baird, to usurp the 
functions of the judiciary and prevent, by military force, the enforcement of its 
judgments and the execution of its legal writs. 

THE GENERAL SENTIMENTS OF THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA TOWARDS THE 
UNION AND UNION MEN, AS BEARING UPON THE ORIGIN OF THE RIOT. 

There are certain points touching the general sentiment and feeling of the 
citizens of Louisiana of which the committee have thought proper to inquire, and 
which seem to require a brief notice in this place. Testimony was introduced 



58 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

upon these points with the design of tracing the causes of the late riot to the 
alleged hostility on the part of the citizens of Louisiana towards the general 
government, and to show, in the language of some of the witnesses, that it 
originated in " relied hate" towards the Union and Union men. Indeed, unless 
the riot can be attributed to such a source, its political significance is lost, and 
the riot must be treated as a men; local disturbance, furnishing no ground for 
legislation by Congress against the government of the State of Louisiana. 

It has been given in evidence before the committee, as proof of the rebellious 
and disloyal temper of the people, that they prefer as candidates for office those 
who were in the confederate army ; that Union men are proscribed in business 
and shunned in society ; that relief associations under designations known to 
have existed in the rebel army, such as Hays's brigade for example, are still 
kept up ; that when one who served in the confederate army dies it is common, 
in the obituary notice, to invite to his funeral his former associates in arras, 
referring to his former brigade or regiment by name. 

Much stress has been laid especially upon the election of former confederates 
to office over so-called Union candidates. 

It ought to be obvious to all that the suppression of the rebellion did not at 
the same time suppress the ordinary impulses of human nature. 

Even if the truth of all the foregoing distinctions were fully made out they 
ought not to pass in any calm man's judgment for proofs of hostility to the gov- 
ernment, or of any want of loyal obedience to its laws. 

It is natural and not ignoble that men should continue to look with friendly 
favor upon those who were their companions in hardships and dinger, and who 
suffered with them, or for them, in any cause, whether lost or won, good or bad. 

So long as the people of the south remain worthy to be our countrymen, they 
will not turn their backs upon their late associates in arms ; but will provide 
for the disabled, protect the widows and orphans of those who perished in the 
war, and cherish the memory «:>f the confederate dead. Nor is it in the smallest 
degree inconsistent with the most devoted loyalty that they should fail to see 
that their old friends are unworthy of their suffrage for office because once as- 
sociated with themselves in a rebellion which has no longer any existence except 
in the history of the past. 

Especially may they be expected to prefer such candidates to that el 
Union men to whom the conventionists of the 30th of July belong. It may be 
that in some, perhaps in many instances, even conservative men might by such 
prejudices for a while, and in some localities, be excluded from office. But to 
a true lover of his country exclusion from public office ought not to be the 
greatest calamity which could befall a patriot. 

It ought to be by him regarded as even a much greater evil to overturn the 
civil government of a State, and establish a military despotism over a people in 
order that any particular class of men, however deserving, may get into office. 
• As respects proscription in business, the preponderating evidence before the 
committee shows that in the city of New Orleans there is no real foundation 
for the charge. The most successful men in many departments of business 
have been all along known as Union men. 

There are indeed Union men there as well as in the north who have not 
flourished in business. Some are waiting for* public offices which are not 
vacant, or which they are not fitted to fill. Some with professions in which 
they met with but small success at the north have settled in New Orleans, 
where the same causes of ill luck still pursue them. Others are unnecessarily 
ostentatious and noisy in advocating political measures offensive to the commu- 
nity whose patronage they claim. Such people are prone to attribute their failures 
to any cause rather than a want of personal merit. But men of real worth and 
agreeable manners are probably as successful in New Orleans as in other places, 
irrespective of their political opinions. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 59 

The feelings of no community in any latitude can be outraged except at the 
>nse of the popularity of the offender. Much of the testimony before the 
committee in relation to the alleged disloyal sentiments of the people was the 
merest hearsay, much of it not elevated above the dignity of common gossip, 
and in comparatively few instances were the narrators aide to give the names of 
individuals accused by them of disloyal acts or utterances within their own 
personal knowledge. 

Space will not allow an analysis of the testimony upon these -points ; but 
reference is here made to the testimony of the following- witnesses, all of the 
highest character, and almost all of them original and reliable Union men : 

Joseph A. Rozier, Christian Rozelius, Jacob Barker, Henry J. Vose, H. 
Thomas Parker, Judge Charles Leaumont, Judge Edmund H. Durell, General 
Lionel A. Sheldon, General Wm. P. Benton, Miles Taylor, Judge,- Win. P. 
Kellogg, M. B. Brady, General Francis P. Blair, Alfred Penn, Judge Paul E . 
Theard, Judge Thomas S. Crawford, John L. Lewis, J. Q. A. Fellows, David 
Wallace, R. T. Fellows, J. W. Zacharie, H. T. Lonsdale, and Judge John 
Henry Ilsley. 

It has also been made a point before the committee that Union men in Louis- 
iana cannot obtain justice in the courts. But in this the opinions of the witnesses 
are very slenderly supported by the facts, and few instances of injustice actually 
Buffered have been pointed out. The judicial witnesses before the committee, 
all of whom are Union men, and most of them were so originally, are, with one 
exception, unanimous in testifying that in the courts of Louisiana justice is gen- 
erally administered with impartiality, without respect to race, color, or political 
opinions. See the testimony of the following judges : Leaumont, Durell, Theard, 
Abell, Crawford, and Ilsley; also, the testimony of Rozelius, Rozier, J. Q. A. 
Feilows, and Sheldon, original Uniou men and lawyers in large practice. 

The solitary exception to all these witnesses on this point is Judge William 
H. Cooley, who testifies to an excited state of public feeling in the parish of 
Point Coupee, which interfered for a time with the action of the juries. Every- 
where else throughout the State, according to the most reliable evidence before 
the committee, the channels of the law are unobstructed and juries are governed 
by the evidence. It is true that there are crimes in Louisiana, as is too often the 
case elsewhere, which have not yet been punished, and criminals who have not 
been brought to justice. 

None of the rioters of the 30th of July have been tried, convicted and punished. 
But both sides have in this respect fared alike — the conventionists, who conspired 
to overthrow the government, and by their assemblage for an unlawful purpose 
provoked the riot, and those who riotously opposed them. 

Judge Abell, of the first district court of New Orleans, however, correctly 
stated the law applicable to the case in his charge to the grand jury, on the 2d 
of August, 1S66, as follows : 

" Gentlemen, if you are satisfied that a riot has taken place in the city of New Orleans, then 
I charpv you that it is the duty of all peace officers of the State to assist in suppressing: the 
riot, using- no more force and violence than is necessary, and it is the duty of every citi- 
zen to aid the officers of the law, using- the like caution ; aud if it becomes necessary to play 
one or more of the rioters, in order to put it down, it is not murder, but excusable homicide ; 
it' more force and violence was used than was reasonably necessary under the circumstances 
of the case, then the party using the excess will be guilty of murder, manslaughter, or assault 
and battery, according to the circumstances of the case, and the nature, fierceness, and mag- 
nitude of the riot to be suppressed." 

It has been testified as a matter of opinion by some witnesses that if the 
military forces of the United States government were withdrawn from the State 
of Louisiana, the persons and property of Union men would not be safe. As 
respects the view in relation to which these opinions were elicited, viz., the 
necessity of further legislation by Congress, the remedy is plain. If the federal 
troops are still needed in Louisiana for such protection, let them not be with- 



60 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

drawn until the necessity shall cease to exist. The authority hy which they 
are now there will suffice for their continuance so long as their presence may 
be demanded. 

Bat on the point which relates to the safety of Union men in Louisiana, as 
matters now stand, experience is the best witness. The facts are undeniable 
that Union men of all descriptions, from the most conservative down to the 
most radical and noisy advocate of negro equality and the disfranchisement of 
former rebels, have for years walked the streets of New Orleans with impunity 
and ventilated their doctrines in public places without let or hindrance. 

If the conventionists who assembled on the 30th of July are to be consid- 
ered sincere, they are the best witnesses upon this point for the city; for not- 
withstanding their extreme license of speech and action in the most public 
places and in the most offensive manner, they profess nevertheless that they did 
not anticipate any serious disturbance therefrom. If this be so their sense of 
security must have come from their experience of past impunity; for circum- 
stances far less provoking have repeatedly incited to riot in northern cities. 

Some years ago, in the loyal and orderly city of Philadelphia, men who met 
simply to discuss the abolition of slavery had 10 fly for their lives before a mob 
who burnt to the ground, in defiance of the police and fire department of that 
city, the costly edifice which had been erected for such discussions. And within 
a very recent period the city of New York witnessed a bloodier riot in her 
streets than that of New Orleans, resulting in the wanton and cruel murder of 
several hundred negroes who had committed no offence whatever. 

The undersigned submits the following general conclusions : 

1. The riot of the 30th of July was a local disturbance, originating in local 
circumstances of great provocation, and in no wise the result of any hostility or 
disaffection on the part of the community of New Orleans towards the federal gov- 
ernment. It was not in any just or fair sense of the term a vestige or outcrop of 
the rebellion, nor can it be said to be any indication, even in the remotest degree, of 
a disposition on the part of the people of the city of New Orleans or of the State 
of Louisiana to renew hostilities in any form with the established authorities, 
either State or Federal. 

2. It would be a monstrous injustice to hold the whole people of the State of 
Louisiana accountable for the acts of those engaged in a riot confined to a small 
portion of the city of New Orleans ; and for that cause to abrogate by act of Con- 
gress the civil government of that State, now in peaceful and successful opera- 
tion, would be an usurpation of power not warranted by the Constitution, and a 
gross outrage upon the principles of free government. 

3. The riot was provoked by the incendiary speeches, revolutionary acts and 
threatened violence of the conventionists ; such as under similar circumstances 
would probably have led to a riot in any city in the Union. 

- 4. To provoke an attack on the colored population, which was expected to 
be suppressed by the military before it had seriously endangered the white 
leaders, appears to have been part of the scheme of the conventionists. This 
would afford an excuse for congressional investigation, resulting in congressional 
legislation favoring the ultimate design of the conspirators, viz., the destruction 
of the existing civil government of Louisiana. 

;"). As respects that part of the resolution of the House which makes it a sub- 
ject of investigation by the committee " whet her and to what extent those acts 
were participated in by members of the organization claiming to be the govern- 
ment of Louisiana," the following conclusion is submitted : In no proper sense 
of the term, and in no degree whatever, is the riot of the 30th of July attribut- 
able to the government of Louisiana. If there be any members of the govern- 
ment of Louisiana in whose official or personal acts the remote causes of the riot 
are to be traced, the chief among them are Judge It. K. Howell, who, as the 
usurping president of the minority of an extinct convention, headed the conspi- 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. CA 

racy to overthrow the State constitution, which, as a judge of the Bupreme 
court,, lie had sworn to support, and Governor J. Madison Wells, who lent to 
the conspiracy his official sanction, hut on the day of danger deserted his post 
without an effort to preserve the public peace. And if there be any members 
of the federal government who arc indirectly responsible for the bloody result, 
they are those members of the present Congress, whoever they may be, -who 
encouraged these men by their counsels and promised to them their individual 
and official support. 

B. M. BOYER. 



62 . NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 



JOURNAL. 



Washington, Tuesday, December 11, 1S66. 
The Select Committee of Congress appointed on the 10th instant to investi- 
gate the New Oilcans riots of July, 1866, met at ten minutes before eleven in 
the rooms of the Committee on Commerce, in pursuance of the following resolu-. 
tion : 

THIETY-NINTH CONGRESS— SECOND SESSION. 

Congress of the United States, 
In the House of Representatives, December 6, 1866. 

On motion of Mr. Eliot, 

Resolved, That a committee of three members be appointed by the Speaker, whose duty it 
shall be to proceed, without unnecessary delay, to New Orleans, in the State of Louisiana, 
to make an investigation into all matters connected with the recent bloody riots in that city, 
which took place the last of July and first of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and 
particularly to inquire into the origin, progress, and termination of the riotous proceedings. 
the names of the parties engaged in it, the acts of atrocity perpetrated, the number killed 
and wounded, the amount and character of the property destroyed, and whether and to what' 
extent these acts wire participated in by members of the -organization claiming to be the 
government of Louisiana, and report all the facts to the House; and the Sergeant-at-Arms, 
or his deputy, and stenographer of the House, are directed to accompany the said committee ; 
and that all the expense, of this investigation be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. 
The said committee shall have power to send for persons and papers, and examine witni 
under oath ; also to appoint a clerk, and to report such appropriate legislative action as may 
be required in view of the condition of affairs in the State of Louisiana. 

The Speaker appointed as said committee, Mr. Thomas D. Eliot, of Massa- 
chusetts, Mr. Samuel Shelhibarger, of Ohio, and Mr. Benjamin M. Boyer,* of 
Pennsylvania. 

Attest : 

ewd. Mcpherson, cierk. 

Present : Hon. Thos. D. Eliot, of Massachusetts. 
Hon. Samuel Shellabarger, of Ohio. 

Hon. Ezra Hiestand, of New Orleans, was sworn and examined. 

At ten minutes past twelve, Hon. Mr. Taylor, of the commit! in and 

remained but a moment. 

At fifteen minutes past twelve the committee adjourned for the d 

Washington, Wednesday, December M2, 1866. 
The Select Committee on the New Orleans Riots met in the room of the 
Committee on Commerce at 9 a. m. 

Present: Hon. Tuo.s. D. Eliot, of Massachusetts, Chairman. 

Hon. S. Shellabarger, of Ohio. 
The following gentlemen were sworn, and gave in their testimony, to wit : 

Hon. Thomas J. Durant, 
W. R. Fish, Esq., 
.James L. Andem, Esq. 

At fifteen minutes past twelve the committee adjourned for the day. 



Appointed after the declination of Mr. Campbell, Mr. Denisoir, and Mr. Taylor. 



JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTER. 63 

Washington, Thursday, December 13, 1866. 

Committee met pursuant to adjournment. 

Members present, Messrs. Eliot, Shellabarger, and Taylor. 

The following persons were sworn and examined : 

Edw. P. Bro'oksj ' 

Rufus Wapi.ks. 
Committee adjourned to 10 a. m., Friday, (to-morrow.) 

Washington, Friday, December 14, 1866. 
Committee met pursuant to adjournment. 
Members "present, Messrs. Eliot and Shellabarger. 

The testimony of 11. King Cutter was taken; after which the committee, 
adjourned to meet in New Orleans, Louisiana, to pursue the investigation. 

St. .Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

December 22, 1866. 

A quorum of the Select Committee on the New Orleans Eiots met at their 
rooms in the St. Louis Hotel at 9 a. m. this date, viz., Messrs Eliot and Shella- 
barger. They proceeded to take the sworn testimony of the following per- 
sons, viz : , 

S. S. Fish, 0. J. Dunn, 

Judge Warmouth, Dr. Wm. H. Hire, 

C. S. Sauvinet, A. M. Miller. 

K, K. Howell, 

The sessions continued to the hour of 4 p. m., when the committee adjourned 
to the Mechanics' Institute and viewed the building in all its parts. 
Committee then adjourned to 8 o'clock a. m., Monday, 2 lib instant. 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

December 24, 1866. 
The Select Committee met at half-past nine a. m.; the hour of convening 
having been thus postponed from 8 a. m. agreeably to the reauest of Hon. Mr. 
Boycr. 

Mr. Boyer, the third member of the committee, appeared in his seat for the 
first time this morning, he having arrived in New Orleans on the evening of 
the 23d. 

The following named witnesses appeared, and each having been sworn, testified 
to the facts as set forth in the phonographic reports, to wit : 

Jos. T. Montieu, Edmund Campanel, 

L. P. Capla, Chas. Dallas, 

B.J.Cromwell, J. D. O'Connell, 

Julibn Neville, Dr. J. Piquee, 

John LeClerc, Capt. E. E. Staes, 

A. Oubee. 

Committee adjourned to 8£ a. in., to-morrow, Tuesday morning. 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

December 25, 1866. 
The select committee met at half past 8 a. m. All the members were present. 
The following persons were sworn and testified: 

Fortina Le Clerc, Chas. H. Hughes, 

Chas. W. Gibbons, James Thomas, 

Philip Winfree, T. J. Earhart. 

At 3 p. m. the committee adjourned to Wednesday, (to-inorrow,) 26th, at half- 
past 8 a. m. 



64 • NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

St Lours Hotel, New Orleans, 

December 26, 1S66. 
The select committee met pursuant to adjournment, and proceeded to exam- 
ine the following witnesses under oath : 

J. B Cooper, Michael O'Neil, 

0. B. II. Duplessis, C. Renaud, 

R. F. Dunoy, Boyd Robinson, 

J. B. Jourdain, Anthony Remoin, 

J.. F. Mollere, Ohas. Smith, 

G. W. New, Jere Sullivan. 

All the members of the committee were present during the day. 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

December 27, 1866. 
The select committee met pursuant to adjournment; all the members of the 
same present. 

Mr. Boyer made the following request : 

Rooms of Committee to Investigate the New Orleans Riots, 

St. Louis Hotel, December 27, 1866. 

I respectfully ask permission of the committee to have certain extracts made 
from the testimony for my use as a member of the committee, and in my judg- 
ment necessary for the proper discharge of my duties as a member of the com- 
mittee. As, in consequence of my continuous engagements on the committee, 
it is not practicable to do this myself, I desire that I may be allowed to employ 
a proper person to make the extracts in such manner as the committee may 
direct. If the clerical force in the employ of the committee, or authorized to 
be employed by them, is not considered by the majority of the committee suf- 
ficient to allow any detail for that purpose, I respectfully request to be allowed 
to employ an additional clerk, subject to the approval of the committee, for that 
purpose, and at my own personal expense. 

B. M. BOYER. 

» 

On due consideration the following order was mado by the committee : 

Rooms of the Investigating Committee, 

December 27, 1S66. 

The clerical force of the committee not being sufficient to allow the work to 
be done which Mr. Boyer desires, it is 

Ordered, That Mr. Boyer be permitted to make such arrangement with the clerk 
of the committee as will enable him to furnish the extracts desired, if it can be 
done without interference with the discharge of his duties — Mr. Boyer being 
responsible that the evidence taken will not be disclosed or made known to any 
persons until reported by the committee. 

The committee proceeded to the examination of the following witnesses : 

B. W. Balestier, Thomas Harris, 

Mrs. A. E. Crane, Dr. E. H. Harris, 

Henry F. Evans, Chas. James, 

J. F. Fisher, John Murrall, 

Moses Fox, Wm. Pfeiffer, 

Dr. E. Griswold, Albert Pitman, 

R. K. Howell, (recalled,) C. S. Snear, 

Wm. Hawksworth, A. Victor Ward, 

Philo Hard, Wm. Frost. 

At 9 p. m. the committee adjourned to half-past 8 a. m. to-morrow (Friday) 
morn ins:. 



JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE. 65 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

D camber 28, 1S66. 
The committee met pursuant to adjournment ; all the members being present. 
The following correspondence touching witnesses came before the committee : 

New Orleans, December 24, 1866. 

Gentlemen : The undersigned are deputed a committee of citizens of New 
Orleans (whose memorial we beg leave to enclose) to tender to you their services 
and assistance in the investigation you are about to institute into the causes and 
history of the unfortunate riot in this city last July. If it shall be your pleas- 
ure to avail yourselves of the evidence we are prepared to offer for your con- 
sideration, we will await your indication of the time and manner of its reception. 

DAVID STUART. 

C. ROSELIUS. 

I. N. MARKS. 

GEORGE JONAS. 

DANIEL W. ADAMS. 
The Investigating Committee. 

New Orleans, December 24, 1S66. 
Gentlemen : In reply to the communication received from you this morning, 
in which you state that you " are deputed a committee of citizens of New Orleans 
to tender to your" (this) "commission their" (your) "services and assistance in 
the investigation you" (we) "are to institute into the causes and history of the 
unfortunate riot," &c, 1 am directed by the committee of investigation to return 
their thanks for the courtesies offered, and for the offer of aid in prosecuting the 
inquiries we are making; and if you will please to designate the names of such 
gentlemen as are able, from their knowledge, to give the committee information 
upon the subjects of their inquiry, they will give them opportunity to be heard. 

THOMAS D. ELIOT, 
In behalf of the Committee of Investigation. 
Hons. David Stuart, George Jonas, I. N. Marks, and Daniel W. Adams. 

In accordance with the above, the committee of citizens submitted the follow- 
ing list of names which they desired to be called : 

T. Ad. Rozier, Judge E. Abell, Col. F. A. Sheldon, L. Syme, Pierre Sauvae, 
Gen. W. P. Benton, Jos. Ellison, J. H. Oglesby, Jacob Barker, H. L. Vose, 
M. B. Brady. Jno. E. Blains, Col. E. F. Tisdale, Luther Holmes, Henry Flor- 
ance, Miles Taylor, L. Q. A. Fellows, W. H. H. Witherell, E. S. Wurtzburger; 
Chr. Roselius, General David Stuart, George Clark, Jno. L. Lewis, George 
Lacey. 

The following list was also submitted : 

New Orleans, December 25, 1866. 
Hon. T. D. Eliot, Chairman of Committee : 

Since our interview I have taken pains to ascertain what testimony of weight 
and character could be procured bearing on the issues to be investigated by 
your committee. The following names are respectfully suggested : 

Hon. E. H. Durell, Hon. J. H. Illsley, S. F. Glenn, Zenon Lebaure, J. J. 
Taliafero, B. L. Lynch, A. S. Herron, Chr. Roselius, J. Ad. Rozier, Jacob Barker, 
F. M. Crozat, Judge Abell, P. Sauvae, J. Q. A Fellows, Wm. Hunt, Maj. Gen. 
F. J. Herron, C. C. Snethen, M. Voorhies, E. T. Parker. 

My own evidence was taken before the grand jury and before the military 
commission, where I was summoned to appear as a witness. 
Very respectfullv, 

ALBERT VOORHIES. 
H. Rep. Com. 16 5 



GG NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 
Sir : Allow me to furnish additional list of witnesses in connection with the 
charge of cruelty and unnecessary violence by the police during the riot: 

Dr. J. W. Derineyer, Mr. Hawes, Eugene McConnell, Thomas E. Adams, 
Thaddeus P. Mott. 

Your obedient servant, 

ALBERT VOORHIES. 
Hon. Mr. Eliot, 

Chairman of Committee. 

In accordance with this correspondence the following witnesses were called, 
sworn, and examined, with the consent of the whole committee : 

Martin Yoorhies, B. L. Lynch, 

Thomas E. Adams, E. S. YVurtzberger, 

Emile Colin, H. Thomas Parker, 

Judge E. Abell, A. F. Breaux, 

Jacob Barker, A. S. Herron, 

J. H. Illslev, John T. Munroe, 

Albert Voorhjes. Chr. Roselius, 

T. Ad. Rozier, Pierre Sauve. 
N. 0. Snethen, 

The following correspondence also took place this day in reference to tele- 
grams : 

New York City, December 28, 1S66. 
J. Van Horne : I suppose the congressional committee have power to re- 
quire production of messages, but the application should have been made to us 
here and the proper man detailed to respond to their inquiries. Instruct 
Mr. Davis to explain to the chairman the delicacy of our position and the pro- 
priety of his making the application to headquarters, stating what is wanted, 
and assure him that every facility we can properly give will be afforded. 

0. H. PALMER. 

Memphis, Tenn., December 28, 1S66. 
Sir : Explain to the chairman of the committee the delicacy of our position 
as the custodians of private and confidential business, and how it is a point of 
honor with us 1i> protect all the business intrusted to us from exposure as far 
as we can legally do so. You had better also respectfully suggest the propriety 
of his making application to headquarters of the company, in New York city. 
Assure him that you are authorized to say that every facility we can properly 
give will be afforded. 

J. VAN HORNE. 
(i. I.. ('. Davis, 

Manager, New (■'//tans, La. 

Louisville, Ky., December 28, 1866. 

J. Van Horne, General Superintendent, Memphis, Term., 

and Gr. L. C. Davis, New Orleans : 

The question of exposing private communications to congressional committees 
is a very delicate and difficult one to decide, and one I do not frel author- 
ized to decide for the company. The president of the company is too ill, and 
the committee should give our executive committee time to answer it. My opin 



JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE. 67 

ion and advice is that it is altogether a question of la\v r . The investigating 
committee is, in an important sense, a judicial tribunal, with power delegated by 
Congress to send for persons and papers, and may, and probably will, hold in 
custody or imprison any witness refusing to answer their questions. Still, our 
obligations of privacy are so sacred and binding that I would not expose a pri- 
vate communication unless legally compelled to do so. Hence I could not 
take a positive stand without legal counsel, and if not bound in law to show 
them, 1 would go to prison and stay there until I could appeal to the judiciary 
by ihe habeas corpus. I have, no idea what the exposure may or may not dis- 
close, but the most momentous events of state may bo involved. I have tele- 
graphed for urgent action of our executive committee, and hope the congres- 
sional committee will give Mr. Davis another day to be advised by the com- 
pany. 

N. GREEN. 

Rooms of Investigating Committee, 

December 28, 1S66. 
To the President of the Western Union Telegraphic Co., New York : 

A subpoena duces tecum has been served on Mr. Davis, manager of the 
office here, to furnish the congressional committee now in session here to inves- 
gate the riots of July 30, with certain telegraphic communications sent from 
New Orleans to Washington, and received from there, concerning the action of the 
convention and the acts of July 30. Will you authorize Mr. Davis to comply 
with the process of subpoena ? We must otherwise take steps to have the order 
of the committee and the process of subpoena enforced. 

T. D. ELIOT, 
Chairman of Committee of Investigation. 

The examination of witnesses whose names are already given was continued 
up to the hour of 9f p. m., when committee adjourned to SJ a. in., Saturday 
morning. 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

December 29, 1866. 
Select committee met pursuant to adjournment ; all the members present. 
The committee of citizens' list of witnesses was again taken up, and the 
following witnesses examined : 

W. H. H. WlTHERALL, 

Henry L. Vose, 
F. M. Crozat. 

After examination of the last named witness, Mr. Boyer, of the committee, 
submitted the following, with the request that it be entered upon the minutes : 

Rooms of Investigating Committee, 

New Orleans, December 29, 1S66. 
As it has become evident that by some means a false list of witnesses has 
been imposed upon Lieutenant Governor Voorhies, I protest that, in common 
fairness, no witness ought to be examined during this day, assigned by the 
committee to the examination of witnesses in behalf of the citizens, except such 
witnesses as appear upon the list furnished by the committee of citizens. 

E. M. BOYER. 



68 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

The protest having been ordered upon the minute,-, the committee proceeded 
again to the examination of witnesses, 'when the following gentlemen testified : 
M. B. Brady, L. F. Sheldoiy, 

W. P. Benton, J. Syme, 

Jos. F. Dick, Miles Taylor, 

S. F. Glenn, E. H. Durell, 

Moses Greenwood, Henry Florance, 

J. M. Gregory, Chas. Lamount, 

W. P. Kellogg, J. L. Lewis, 

Thad. P. Mott, George Lacey, 

J. H. Oglesby, Eugene Tisdale. 

At half-past 8 p. m. the committee adjourned to Monday morning, 31st 
instant, at half-past S a. m. 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

December 31, 1S66. 
Select committee met pursuant to adjournment and proceeded to examine the 
following witnesses : 

Martin Selff, S. M. Todd, 

A. Moral, General J. A. Mower. 

General Sheridan, 

At this point Hon. Mr. Boyer submitted the following : 

Booms of Investigating Committee, 

Monday, December 31, 1866 — 12 m. 
There are witnesses in attendance here to-day, and waiting the pleasure of 
the committee in the ante-room, who were subpoenaed to attend on behalf of the 
committee of citizens, and who have not as yet been examined, but who, I am 
informed, have within their knowledge important facts connected with the 
riot of the 30th of July. There are also other witnesses of a like description 
here, and elsewhere in this city, whom the committee of citizens request the 
committee to examine, either now or at as early a time as the committee can 
make it convenient. I ask the committee to say when these witnesses shall be 
examined, or commanded to attend for that purpose. 

B. M. BOYEE, 
Member of Investigating Committee. 

Answer. When this paper was presented, the ante-room was filled with witnesses 
under summons for examination to-day. During the time when witnesses who 
were summoned at the request of the lieutenant governor, and of the citizens 
of New Orleans, were under examination, no other witnesses were called while 
those then .summoned at request of the citizens were under examination, unless 
there were none of those witnesses pi*esent, and the same rule will now be 
applied. If the witnesses referred to by Mr. Boyer are in attendance when 
there are none present summoned for to-day, they will be examined. The 
committee have summoned witnesses lor the whole day, but they may not 
occupy tin; whole day; but so long as witnesses are present who were called 
for to-day they must be examined 

The witnesses who have been already subpoenaed at request of the citizens 
will all be examined, if desired, as soon as practicable, and as soon as no wit- 
nesses summoned for to-day or to-morrow are present. 

As to witnesses not heretofore subpoenaed the committee will decide, as soon as 
they can properly do so, to what further extent the examination can be continued. 

T. D. ELIOT, Chairman, Sfc. 



JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE. 69 

Mr. Boyer then submitted the following : 

I respectfully submit to the majority of the committee the propriety of fixing 
a definite time now for the attendance of witnesses in behalf of the citizens, 
if the majority of the committee will consent to hear anything further from 
them. 

B. M. BOYER. 

The time has been fixed as definitely as it is practicable at present to fix it. 
At any moment when no witnesses summoned for to-day are present, those called 
by request of citizens will have opportunity to testify. 

T. D. ELIOT, Chairman. 

The committee then proceeded to examine the following witnesses : 

S. E. Planchard, James Doksey, 

R. M. Todd, S. H. Panza, 

G. Couvertier, Mrs. Eliza Howell, 

J. R. Terry, Edmund Flood, 

Miss Ann E. Campbell, W. H. Waters, 

J. D. Buckley, S. Wrotnowski, 

Bernard Williams, J. P. Montamat, 

Judge Crawford, E. Filleul, 

Jas. Ryback, Jules Desalles, 

Lawrence Duffy, Raoul Delandes. 

At this point the following notice was ordered to be entered upon the minutes : 

Rooms of Investigating Committee, 

December 31 — 7 p. m. 
None of the witnesses summoned for to-day being present at this time, (7 p. m.,) 
the committee will examine any of the witnesses who have been summoned at 
the request of the citizens' committee. 

T. D. ELIOT, Chairman. 

Rooms of Investigating Committee, New Orleans, 

December 31, 1866 — 7 o'clock p. m. 
Witnesses in attendance this day on behalf of the committee of citizens, 
having waited in the ante-room most of the day without any intimation from 
the committee that they were likely to be examined, have gone away. As one 
member of the committee I desire that a time be fixed for their examination, 
either to-morrow morning or at some other time ; and that the sergeant-at-arms 
be directed to notify them to that effect, or that at least the committee of citizens 
be so informed. 

B. M. BOYER. 

The sergeant-at-arms may call as many as Mr. Boyer wishes before ten o'clock 
and they will be examined, and the examination will be completed to-morrow 
at such time as it may be practicable in the judgment of the committee. 

T. D. ELIOT, Chairman. 

The committee then proceeded to examine 

Lawrence Duffy, George Clark, 

Raoul Delandes, General Frank P. Blair, 

Rev. S. M. Kingston, D. C. Ayecetto. 

At ten minutes before nine p. m. the committee made the following order : 
That the testimony to be taken by this committee in New Orleans in the 
matter of the riot, and as to the state of affairs in Louisiana, shall be concluded 



70 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

on to-morrow, January 1, 1S67; and that the time from 12 m. to 4 p. m. and 
from 5h to 7 p. m. be devoted by the committee to hearing the testimony of 
such witnesses as the committee of citizens of New Orleans may desire to have 
examined by the committee. 

T. D. ELIOT, Chairman. 

I dissent as to the matter of closing the testimony to-morrow. 

B. M. BOYER. 

At twenty minutes past nine p. m. the committee adjourned for want of wit- 
nesses to half-past eight on Tuesday (to-morrow) morning. 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

January 1, 1S67. 
Select committee of investigation, all being present, met pursuant to adjourn- 
ment. 

The following witnesses testified : 

Mrs. N. Maria Taylor, John Sidney, 

Miss E. M. Buggy, Wm. Joyce, 

Miss Clara McBride, Colonel H. N. Frisbie, 

Wm. Shackleton, General J. H. Sypher, 

E. J. Jenkins, General H. W. Fuller. 

Miss M. A. Armstrong, 
At precisely 12 m. the committee took up the list of names submitted by 
citizens of New Orleans : 

W. J. Zacharie, II. T. Lonsdale, J. M. Lapayre, J. Q. A. Fellowes, H. S. 
Bnckner, W. P. Kellogg, (recalled,) Alfred Penn, F. W. Tilton, Judge Paul E. 
Theard, Judge R. T. Fellows, David Wallace, W. C. Stocker. 

The hour of 7 p. m. having arrived, and the time allotted to the examination 
of witnesses proposed by the committee of citizens having expired, the com- 
mittee of investigation proceeded to examine witnesses touching the riot as 
follows : 

W. Jasper Blackburn, William Midhoff, 

Dr. M. A. Southwortii, Luigi Boquille, 

Colonel A. P. Field, Wm. L. Randall. 

Judge W. S. Cooley, 

The committee adjourned for the day at five minutes before eleven o'clock 
p. m. 

St. Louis Hotel, New Orleans, 

January 2, 1867. 

The select committee, all the members being present, proceeded at ten a. m. 
to the examination of witnesses touching the management of the New Orleans 
custom-house. 

At noon Mr. Shellabarger moved to open the case of the New Orleans riots 
for the purpose of admitting the testimony of honorable J. Madison Wells, 
governor of Louisiana. 

Mr. Boyer objected, whereupon the following order was made : 

Honorable J. Madison Wells, governor of Louisiana on the 30th of July 
last and now, having been subpoenaed to appear before this committee, and having 
failed to appear until the evidence had been closed, now presents himself, ask- 
ing to be heard before the committee, and it is 

Ordered, That he be permitted to appear and make such statement as he 
shall deem to be of importance in the matters under the charge of the committee. 

To which order Mr. Boyer objected that, as one member of the committee, he 
protests against the act of the majority of the committee in re-opening the 
investigation for the examination of a witness, called by the majority of the 



JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE. 71 

committee in relation to the riot, at this time, unless the like privilege be ex- 
tended to the committee of citizens who are also desirous of introducing im- 
portant witnesses subpoenaed for that purpose and not yet examined. 

The testimony of Governor Wells was then taken, when the further examina- 
tion of the riots was adjourned from New Orleans to Washington city. 

Washington, January 15, 1S67. 

The Committee on New Orleans Riots met in the rooms of the Committee on 
Mines find Mining, in the Capitol, at half-past ten o'clock a. m. 
Present : Messrs. Eliot, Boyer, and Shellabarger. 

Major General Baird was sworn and examined during the whole session. 
Adjourned to ten a. m. to-morrow. 

Washington, January 16, 1S67. 
Committee met pursuant to adjournment; all the members present. 
The examination was resumed (of General Baird) and concluded to day. 
Adjourned to to-morrow at ten a. in. 

Washington, January 17, 1S67. 

Committee met pursuant to adjournment ; all the members being present. 
The following witnesses were examined : 

Captain Caziarc, 

Judge J. K. Belden. 
Committee adjourned to ten a. m. on Friday. 

Washington, January IS, 1867. 

Committee met pursuant to adjournment ; all the members being present. 
The following Avitness was examined : 

Richard L. Shelley. 
Adjourned to ten a. m. to-morrow. 

Washington, January 19, 1S67. 

Committee met pursuant to adjournment. 
All the members present. 
Committee proceeded to examine 

Mr. Lorenzo L. Crounse, 

Mr. W. W. Warden. 

The following letter was laid before the committee by the chairman : 

To the honorable members of the Reconstruction Committee : 

Gentlemen . Evidence has been offered before the Committee of Investiga- 
tion into the New Orleans riots that a letter wa3 written by some members of 
your committee to some parties in New Orleans friendly to the recall of the con- 
vention of 1864, encouraging their action, or recommending in some way the 
holding of the convention, and expressing an opinion that favorable action might 
be looked for on the part of Congress. Will you please state whether or not 
such letter, or any letter concerning the convention, was written by you to any 
parties prior to July 30 last ? 

THOS. D. ELIOT, Chairman, Sfc. 

Answer. In reply to the above, we severally state that no such letter was 
written at any time by us. 

THADDEUS STEVENS. 
E. B. WASHBURNE. 
JUSTIN S. MORRILL. 
ROSCOE CONKLING. 
JNO. A. BINGHAM. 



72 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I have no recollection of writing or signing any letter or paper on the subject 

GEO. S. BOUTWELL. 

I am sure I have not written any letter to any party at New Orleans or else- 
where upon the subject indicated in the within inquiry. 

E. HISE. 
A. J. ROGERS. 
I have not the slightest recollection of ever writing to any person, or express- 
ing any opinion, on the subject. 

W. P. FESSENDEN. 
JAMES W. GRIMES. 
GEO. H. WiLLIAMS. 
IRA HARRIS. 

I never wrote or thought of writing any such letter, and never suggested any 
such step. 

J. M. HOWARD. 

I never wrote any such letter, or heard that it was stated that any such letter 
was written by any member of the committee until I read the within letter. 

REVERDY JOHNSON. 

Mr. Boyer objected to its reception, as being general in its terms, and, pos- 
sibly, as not covering all the points on wdiich he might desire to be informed. 

Whereupon it was voted that all the members of the Reconstruction Committee 
be examined before this committee. 

A letter to Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, was adopted by the com- 
mittee, touching copies of instructions, if any such had been given, to military 
officers at New Orleans, in regard to their action in the riots. 

Committee then adjourned, subject to call of the chairman. 

Washington, January 21, 1867. 

Committee met at rooms of Committee on Commerce at 10 a. m. this day. 
They proceeded to examine the following witnesses : 

Senators. 

Hon. George H. Williams, Hon. Reverdy Johnson, 

Wm. Pitt Fessenden, Jas. W. Chimes, 

Ira Harris, Jacob M. Howard. 

Members of the House of Representatives. 

lion. Thaddbus Stevens, Hon. George S. Boutwell, 
Elliht B. Washburne, Andrew J. Rogers, 

Justin S. Morrill, Elijah Hise ; also 

Rosooe Conkling, John Burke, of New York. 

Adjourned to 10 a. in. to-morrow. 

Washington, January 22, 1867. 
Select Committee on New Orleans riots met pursuant to adjournment, and 
proceeded to examine 

I I on. N. P. Banks, Hon. Wm. D. Kelley, 

J. B. Grinnell, Daniel Morris. 

Also the examination of John Burke, was concluded. 
Committee adjourned, subject to the call of the chairman. 



JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE. 73 

Washington, Friday, January 25, 1867. 
Select Committee met at 10 a. m. ; all the members present. 
Witnesses examined: 

Nathaniel Paige, New York, 

Hon. John A. Bingham, 

Hon. Hugh Kennedy. 
Committee adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a. m. 

Washington, January 26, 1867. 
Select Committee met pursuant to adjournment; all the members present. 
Witnesses examined : 

L. L. Walbridge, St. Louis, 

Rev. T. W. Conway, New York. 

Washington, January 28, 1867. 

Select Committee met pursuant to adjournment ; all the members present. 
Hon. Hugh Kennedy's examination was concluded. 
Thereupon Mr. Boyer made the following motion : 

Investigating Committee's Rooms, 

January 28, 1867. 

I respectfully submit to the committee the propriety of summoning as a witness 
Mr. Benjamin F. Flanders, who, it is suggested, possesses knowledge concerning 
the letter alleged to have been written by members of the Reconstruction Com- 
mittee upon the subject of the convention of July 30. 

I also respectfully request that General Grant, General Canby, and General 
Fullerton may be subpoenaed as witnesses before the committee ; also Hon. Henry 
J. Raymond. I move that subpoenas be immediately issued for the above- 
named witnesses. 

B. M. BOYER. 

Mr. Shellabarger moved to amend by striking out the names of Flanders and 
Fullerton. Amendment was adopted, and the motion as amended was adopted. 

Washington, January 30, 1867. 

Select Committee met pursuant to adjournment ; all members present. 

The testimony of the following witnesses was taken : 
Major Wm. G. Moore, Hon. Henry J. Raymond, 

Major General E. R. S. Canby, Dr. J. B. Cooper. 

Committee, after voting to close the testimony as to witnesses, adjourned to 
Saturday, February 2, 1867. 

Washington, February 2, 1867. 

Select Committee met pursuant to adjournment at 10 a. m. Present, all the 
members. 

Hon. Henry T. Blow was sworn and examined. 

The views of the members of the committee on the subject-matters referred 
to them by the resolution appointing them were presented and discussed, and 
action to be reported to the House agreed upon, Mr. Boyer dissenting. 

Ordered, That the chairman prepare and present to the House the report of 
the committee. The committee then adjourned. 
H. Rep. Com. 16 6 



TESTIMONY. 



Washington, Tuesday, December]], 1866. 
EZRA HEISTAND sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

1. Where do you reside? 
New Orleans, Louisiana. 

2. About what is your age ? 

I am about fifty years of age. 

3. How long have you resided in Louisiana ? 

I have resided in Louisiana since March, 1829 ; at New Orleans continuously since De- 
cember, 1836. 

4. Have you held official position tbere ? 

I have. I have been a member of the legislature of Louisiana. I was the attorney of 
the city of New Orleans ; held position as justice of the peace for some years ; and since the 
army occupation of the city I have been three years on the bench in the civil and criminal 
judicial department. 

5. Were you residing in New Orleans in July and August, 1866 1 
I was. 

6. Were you present at the convention ? 
No, sir. 

7. Where were you on the day the convention was called to meet? 

In the morning at nine o'clock I was going to my business. I went to my office, which 
was about five blocks distant from the State-house, where the convention was to assemble. 

8. Will you state in your own way the history of that day as it lies in your mind ? 
When it was resolved that the convention should assemble, the friends of the members as 

well as the members held a public meeting on the Friday night previous to the meeting of 
the convention in the State-house. The meeting was largely attended by people of all colors ; 
addresses were made by them in the Stateh-house and from the stand immediately in front. 
There were some intemperate remarks made by some of the speakers denunciatory of the 
rebels and of their cause. The blacks were also particularly informed that, being now citi- 
zens of the United States, they had the right to stand upon their rights as freemen, and if 
attacked that day, the right to defend themselves. When the meeting adjourned there was 
a large procession formed of some two or three thousand, which proceeded from the State- 
house to the City Hall, where several speeches were made to them of the character I have 
already stated; but nothing was said or done at either place which in my estimation would 
authorize a magistrate to bind the party over to keep the peace. After the speeches were 
made at the City Hall the crowd dispersed, and so far as I know from the reports of the 
newspapers of the next day, no disturbance took place during the night ; this was on Friday 
night. 

y. Did you attend that meeting ? 

I attended that meeting and made a speech myself from the rostrum in the street. 

10. Do you recollect the names of the other speaker's? 

Yes; Mr. Hahn, Mr. Cutler, and Mr. Field made speeches in the hall ; Rev. Mr. Horton, 
John Henderson, jr., Doctor Dostie, and myself spoke from the rostrum in the street. 

1 1. About what time did the meeting adjourn ? 

The meeting adjourned about half-past ten o'clock. The next morning in passing along 
the streets I could hear very denunciatory remarks made against the idea of a convention, 
assembling, and also against the parties who had been at the meeting the previous night. For 
some time prior to that spoken of I could casually as I walked the streets hear men say that 
under no circumstances would that convention be permitted to assemble. I heard one man, 
whose name I cannot give, say that it was determined to kill all of them rather than that the 
convention should meet. On the Saturday following the meeting spoken of everything in 
the city was, so far as outside appearances went, perfectly peaceable and orderly, and the 
same on the Sunday following. Nothing took place out of the usualroutine of life in-a large 
city that I am aware of. I live in the extreme upper end of the city. On Sunday morning 
and also in the afternoon I was in the centre of the city, where there was considerable com- 
motion; that is, people whom I had known by sight and character for a great many years 
assembled together in little knots and were talking excitedly. Nothing occurred during Sun- 
day night that I am aware of to attract particular attention. The city was usually quiet. 



2 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

On going to my office on Monday morning 1 T saw a large number of persons in the streets 
with a kind of blur badge or ribbon in the button -hole of their coats. I saw a great many 
persons walking about as if in a state of excitement, fixing their belts, which they sometimes 
exposed, on their persons; and on several occasions I saw men fixing revolvers which they 
had attached to their belts. About eleven o'clock a great many persons of that description 
were going along Canal street toward the State-house. The State-house is situated about six 
blocks back from the river, and about half a block above Canal street; Canal street being 
the great central avenue which divides the city in about equal proportions running perpen- 
dicular or at right angles from the river. This crowd going towards the rear of the city in- 
creased until it became quite dense. At about twelve o'clock an unusual alarm was rung 
upon the tire-bells; the fire-bells being rung by electric telegraph, an alarm of twelve taps was 
struck. 

J"2. Was that the kind of alarm you had been in the habit of hearing? 

No, sir: there were nine fire districts in the city of New Orleans, and the fire alarm des- 
ignated the district by striking the number of taps upon the bells corresponding with the 
number of the district. 

13. So that no fire alarm Avas given of more than nine taps upon the bells? 

No, sir ; the alarm given on this occasion was the same as had been designated by mili- 
tary order during the possession of the city by the rebels, which was to be rung upon the 
approach of the forces of the United States to the city, and which was to be the signal for 
all male adults capable of bearing arms to proceed to the fortifications at either end of the 
city as might be indicated Upon the ringing of this alarm of twelve taps upon the tin- 
bells, the police of the city left, in rank and tile, their various stations. That portion of them 
which 1 saw were going from the stations of the second district towards Canal street march- 
ing two-and-two, with the bands upon their hats marked with the words "city police," and 
the number of the wearer was, so far as I could see, reversed. I stepped up pretty close to 
where they were passing and could plainly see the bands upon their hats, but could not read 
them, although under ordinary circumstances they were easily distinguished. 

14. What do you mean by reversed ; wrong side up or wrong side out? 

Wrong side out ; that was the appearance to me. These policemen I saw at a distance of 
about four blocks from the State-house going in the direction of the State-house. I saw 
then that there was quite a dense crowd in Canal street near the street leading immediately 
to the State-house. As I did not go to the State-house itself or in immediate proximity to 
it, I am unable to state from personal observation what took place there. Shortly after this 
I was notified or requested, at my office, by a gentleman formerly connected in business 
with me, under no consideration to go near the State-house, for if I did so I would certainly 
be murdered, stating that he had heard some of the policemen and others making inquiry for 
me, asking "when' is Heistand ? We want to get at that God-damned old son-of-a-bitch." 
Other information -to the same effect was given to me from time to time during the day. I 
remained in the office or immediately near to it during the day until half-past three o'clock, 
and proceeded to go to my dinner, residing about two and a half miles from Canal street in 
tin' upper end of the city. I got into a street car near the rear end and was sitting between 
two old residents of the city whom I had known therefor a great many years. After the car 
had proceeded some two or four blocks, a young man whose countenance I am familiar with, 
but whose name I do not know that I have heard, who lives in the upper part of the city, 
and who I have frequently seen in the cars, came running from the side-walk into the car, 
and looking me very sternly in the face, seemed about speaking. I merely said to him " How 
dn you do, sir?" when he proceeded towards the front part of the car, but immediately re- 
turning, placed himself square before me, and said in a more than ordinarily loud tone of voice, 
'.' What the hell is your hide worth to-day ?" To which I merely replied, " I do not know ; why . 
do you inquire ?" He then said, " By God, if you remain in this city until six o'clock to- 
morrow morning your hide won't hold shucks." The answer I made to that remark was, " I 
cannot conceive why you should address me ib that way." This person took his seat on the 
opposite side oi the car from me, turned his face in a different direction, and I did not 
see it again until I was getting out of the cars, near my residence, two and a half miles from 
where 1 got in. My impression is so strong as almost to be a conviction, although I do not 
say it positively, that 1 saw this badge of which I have spoken in the button-hole of his 
coat. I went back to the centre of the city in the evening about five o'clock ; ami in pass- 
ing along I frequently heard the remark to the effect, " There goes one of the scoundrels that 
ought to be killed." 1 did not stop to see the particular persons from whom these remarks 
came, an}' further than to see that the}' were parties who had frequently, prior to that time, 
expressed their hostility to the meeting of the convention. And for several days afterwards 
the expressions 1 could hear as I passed along the street from parties of that kind were of a 
•scry intemperate ami hostile character. I heard the remark frequently made in the streets as 
1 was passing along, " Now that we have got the leaders out of the way, the balance must 
follow very scon." 

]">. Did you observe any other badge I 

No, sir; I do not remember that I saw any other. I am satisfied, from the hostile manner 
and conduct of the parties that I saw in the streets, and the declarations that I cannot now 
particularize, that it the city had not been taken possession of by the military that night, 



TESTIMONY OF EZRA IIEISTAND. 3 

there would have been, to say the least of it, very great disturbance; my impression is that 
the massacre would have been continued. I derived that impression from the excited man- 
ner and hostile expressions I could hear as I went along the streets. 

16. You did not leave your office that day, as I understand, until you went home in the 
afternoon 1 

I left my office ahout twelve o'clock for the purpose of going to the convention; crossed 
Canal street, and went about half a block towards the convention, until I got to St. Charles 
street ; then, for some reason or other which I cannot explain, I went up St. Charles street 
about two squares and a half, and turned into an alley. 1 left my office with the intention 
of going to the convention, but did not go. I had been frequently spoken to, and had fre- 
quent interviews with Governor Wells, and with leading members of the convention, upon 
the subject of the convention's assembling. 

17. You were not, then, a witness to any of the riotous proceedings? 

No, sir ; I did not personally see anything that took place at or ne.ar the convention. 
is. What time did the convention assemble ? 

It was to have assembled at twelve o'clock ; that was the hour fixed by the proclamation 
calling them together. 

19. Did the police have any mark designating them except the badge you speak of? 
Thef were in their ordinary police uniform. 

20. This was the regular police of the city ? 
Yes, sir. 

21. Were there any extra police that you know of? 

No, sir ; I do not know of any extra police except from hearsay. I know from informa- 
tion so received that there had been some eight hundred constabulary force sworn in on the 
Sunday evening previous. That was so stated as an ordinary current remark in the city. 

22. Did you hear Mr. Cutler's speech to the meeting Friday night ? 

A portion of it — not all. After he had spoken perhaps fifteen minutes, a number of gen- 
tlemen came into the hall in the State-house and requested me to go out and speak to the 
assembly in the street ; I then left the hall, went out and spoke from the rostrum in the street. 

23. What was the character of the meeting as to its being orderly ? 

It was as orderly as any public meeting usually is; there was no disturbance at all; there 
was cheering of the speakers, as is usual in such meetings, but no disturbance. 

24. How had it been called ? 

By a regular call published in the papers. 

25. Were the speakers' names announced ? 

I think so ; it was a regular call of the public meeting. 

2G. Do you remember whether the objects of the meeting were stated in the call ? 

I do not. 

27. It was merely for public discussion, then ? 

It was understood by the friends of the convention and by the members that the meeting 
was called for the purpose of discussing the subject — for orderly discussion. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

28. Were the speakers, any of them, members of the convention ? 

Yes: Mr. Cutler and Mr. Henderson. . • 

29. Was Doctor Dostie ? 

No, sir ; he was not a member of the convention. 

30. You speak of intemperate language as having been used in some of the speeches that 
evening ; can you state the substance of that intemperate language .' 

It amounted to, perhaps, this : that it was time to show the rebels that they were not to 
enjoy power any longer ; and that they ought to be hung. Remarks of that kind ; I can- 
not give the exact expression. 

31. Had you any means of coming to any conclusion as to any number or proportion of 
these people, who you stated were going in a body towards the .State-house, being armed ? 

Yes, sir. It seemed to me as if they were all armed, or at least that the great mass of them 
— at least the great mass of those going along Canal street were armed. I saw many have 
their hands behind them, fixing something; and a great many walked with their hands on 
their revolvers, apparently. 

By the Chairman: 

32. Did you return into the city Monday evening, after you went up between two and 
three o'clock .' 

Yes, I went back. 

33. Did you see any indications of riot while you were in that part of the city ? 

I was in Canal street, within two and a half blocks of the State-house, but I did not see- 
any indications of riot. The military had posted a guard along Canal street at that time. 

34. How early in the morning did these blue badges appear on the street .' 
I saw them at nine o'clock, when I went to my office. 

35. Were they pretty general then? 

I saw a considerable number of them. 

36. You do not remember any except those in blue ? 



4 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

No, sir ; I do not remember seeing: any others. 

3? . So far as you have observed, was this reversal of the badges by the police general or not ? 

I stood there until a considerable number of them bad passed, and it was my impression 
that they were all in the same position. I stood within about four or five feet from where a 
body ofsome one hundred and fifty or two hundred of them passed. 

38. Were they organized, going in a regular body? 

They were walking two-and-two in the centre of the street. 

39 Do you recollect any other facts that occurred on that day, except what you have 
stated, within your observation? 

No, sir; I recollect nothing else that has direct reference as to what took place from my 
own personal observation. All the information that I have as to what took place within the 
hall of the convention was, as I have said, as a matter of course, from the statements of those 
who were immediately present. I have not mentioned the fact (I do not know how much 
bearing it may have on this matter) that on Friday night, while I was at this meeting, my 
dwelling-house was fired in five different places. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger: 

40. Did you hear, or did it come to your knowledge, that any threats were made by any 
member of the convention, or by persons friendly to the convention, who participated in that 
meeting, which looked towards a disturbance of the peace of the city? 

I never heard anything of the kind; on the contrary, the whole expression of the members 
and friends of the convention was that a disturbance of the, peace on their part should be pre- 
vented by all possible means ; and on the Sunday morning previous to the meeting of the 
convention I was at Mr. Cutler's office, which was a place where members, as well as friends 
of the convention, were in the habit of getting together to talk over matters, and in the con- 
versation that occurred there the possibility of their being arrested under criminal processes 
was discussed, and the universal opinion was that if there was any attempt made to arrest 
the members of the convention, they would, like good citizens, obey the order and be arrested 
quietly. 

41. If there is any fact within your knowledge tending to show that an unusual police or 
constabulary force was required to keep the peace on that Monday, please state that fact. 

I unhesitatingly say that, beyond the fact of the assembling of the convention, there was 
not the slightest occasion for anything of the kind. 

42L Were you so intimate with the purposes and plans of the friends of that convention as 
to be able to know whether they meditated any violence against the municipal order or gov- 
ernment of the city ? 

I was intimately acquainted with all the members of the convention, or nearly so, within 
the city, and there was not the slightest thing of that kind meditated. The only thing that 
was ever spoken of at all in the way of organization was for defence, in case they should be 
violently and unlawfully attacked. This was spoken of among the members of the conven- 
tion, and also to the governor. I recollect saying in his presence that I thought it would be 
advisable for him to have an organization for the purpose of protecting the convention. My 
impression was distinctly formed, that if the convention attempted to assemble, there would 
be an attempt made to disperse it. This impression was formed from remarks that had been 
made toSne by persons who had formerly been in the rebellion, and from the remarks I 
could hear made by little coteries as I was passing along the streets. I would otteu see 
knots of people getting together at the street corners and talking so that I could hear what 
was being said, and from the current of conversation could ascertain the feeling or purpose 
that existed. 

By the CHAIRMAN: 

43. At the meeting at Mr. Cutler's office, on Sunday, did you infer from what was said 
that these gentlemen anticipated any possible attack on the convention? 

The general impression was that rhere might lie ;:n attack — that is. that there was a dispo- 
sition to attack; not that there was any organization to do it, but that there was great hos- 
tility on the part of those who had sympathized with the rebellion and were opposed to the 
Union, and a feeling that the convention should not assemble. If you will look over rhe 
fiies of the New Orleans Times for some days previous to the convention, you will see that 
line of conduct plainly indicated in some of their editorials. / 

44. Do you recollect the names of any of the gentlemen of the convention who were at 
Mr. Cutler's office? 

I do not know that I could designate the names of particular persons. Mr. Fish, I think, 
was there. Mr. Cutler was there. If I had the list of names before me I could state exactly 
who were there. There were some fifteen or twenty members present. I think, when I 
come to recollect more distinctly, that meeting was on Saturday. 
By Mr. SHELLABARGER: 

4"). What proportion of the police of the city at that time were soldiers, or had been 
soldiers, of the late rebel army? 

My impression is, though 1 cannot state positively without the list before me, that the 
whole police force, with one or two exceptions, was composed of parties who had been in 
the rebel army. 



TESTIMONY OF EZRA HEISTAND. O 

46. How was it as to the additional constabulary force that you speak of? 

My impression is, from the faces of those 1 saw, that all or nearly all of them had been 
in the rebel army. 

47. Did you hoar anything of Hays's brigade ? 

Yes. My impression is that the whole of this constabulary force was in Hays's brigade. 
There were two or three regiments during the rebellion commanded by Brigadier General 
Hays, now sheriff of New Orleans, and the sheriff at that time. I will state one or two 
.other facts which may possibly have some bearing on this matter: On or about the loth of 
July, and several days prior thereto, a number of men — iu fact, nearly all the Union men 
who had been identified with the city of New Orleans prior to and during the rebellion — 
received notice, through the post office, that they must leave the city. I received coo 
myself, and saw several others, notifying them to leave the city within ten days. The 
notices were upon pieces of paper about four inches wide, and addressed in each case to the 
individual by name. They ran about as follows : 

"Judge Ezra Heistand: Beware! Ten days. Duly notified. Begone!" 
This was signed with some cabalistic characters, and below were rough representations of 
a pistol, a bowie-knife, and a dagger, and enclosed in each was a bit of floss hemp. 

48. Did they seem to be all written in the same handwriting? 

They were written in a disguised hand. Sometimes several of them were iu the same 
handwriting, and others would be in a different handwriting. I received mine, through the 
post office, on the* 15th. My impression is, though I do not know the fact, that they came 
from an organization that existed there which used to be termed Thugs, and which existed 
some years previous to the war. Many of that class of men were at that time on the police ; 
for instance, the notorious Bob Johnson, who was killed at about that time, was one of that 
class of men who had been accused of a great many murders. I will state further in regard 
to this matter that several days after having received it, I took this notice to the headquarters 
of General Sheridan, showed it to him, and told him what were my impressions as to the 
source from which it came, and also said, very emphatically, that whenever the convention 
attempted to assemble there would be difficulty, unless he took precautionary measures to 
prevent it. This was about the 20th that I saw General Sheridan, and went to him with 
several other persons who had received similar notices. 

48-J. Who was then mayor of New Orleans 1 

John T. Munroe. 

49. How did he get his office ? 

He was elected in the latter part of the last winter or spring. 

50. What were bis relations to the rebels? 

He was very intensely identified with the rebellion ; he was mayor of the city at the time 
the city was taken possession of by the army under General Butler. 

51 . Were his antecedents as a rebel well known to that community ? 
Very well. 

52. How is the city police created ; by election or by appointment ? 
The entire police force of the city was appointed by the mayor. 

53. Was the character of the police, as having been connected with the rebellion, also well 
known .' 

Perfectly so. The complaint was general, on the part of the police who had been in office 
up to the time Monroe became mayor, that there was a general ostracism carried out against 
all the Union men of the police. They were all dismissed, I believe, without a single ex- 
ception. 

54. Was that made a matter of complaint by the New Orleans Union men to the govern- 
ment at Washington? 

I think it was. 

55. How long before these troubles was that done ? 

It was done during the summer of 1865. Considerable complaint was made at the time 
Mr. Covode came to the city. It was then represented to him that pretty much all the offices 
of the city government were being tilled by persons who had been in the rebellion. There 
was great complaint in 1865, upon the part of the Union men throughout the State of Louis- 
iana, that the various departments in the sheriffs and clerk's offices and places of that kind 
which had been filled by men appointed by Governor Shepley while he was military governor, 
and also by Governor Halm while he was governor of the State, that these men were being 
removed by Governor Wells and returned rebels put in their places ; this system had become 
so general that it was a matter of complaint on the part of the Union men. 

56. What is your statement now as to whether anybody connected with the State govern- 
ment or any parties among the Union men of New Orleans had made this action a matter of 
complaint at Washington.' 

I am not aware that any particular complaint had been sent to Washington. I know it 
was a matter ot general dissatisfaction among the Union men, but that so many representa- 
tions had been made of these things without avail that the Union people had come to the con- 
clusion that they must bear with the ills they had ; that there was no remedy, inasmuch as it 
seemed to have become a settled policy to pursue this course. 



b NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

57. What were Governor Wells's antecedents as a Union man or a rebel? 

I cannot speak from personal knowledge, as Governor Wells lias always resided on the 
Red river, near Alexandria, some two hundred and fifty miles from New Orleans, and passed 
but little of his time in New Orleans prior to his coming there in the fall or summer of 1863, 
when it was generally understood that he came there as a refugee from home, having to leave 
on account of his Union sentiments. 

58. What were his avowed sentiments at the time he became governor, and at the time of 
the convention — Union or rebel ! 

When be first became governor the course pursued was one of sympathy with the returned 
rebels; subsequently he got into various altercations with the first legislature elected after 
the restoration of the State. The governor then expressed himself strongly in favor of the 
Union. 

59. When was that ? 

In the latter part of the winter and spring of 1866. 

60. Did he continue to sympathize with the Union party? 

After that he seemed to sympathize with the Union people; at least such was his language 
and conversation. His explanation for the course he had pursued immediately after he came 
into office was, that he had done it under the advice or suggestion of the President. 

61. State to the committee the present condition of the government of Louisiana ! 

The whole political power of the State, almost without exception, is in tin' hands of those 
who were in the rebellion. If taking out the casualties which naturally occur, of men dying 
and disappearing, in five years, the intervening time between January 1, 1861, and January 
1, 1866, could be blotted out. and the two periods brought together, you would find almost 
exactly the same men in the same places which they occupied then ; that is, senators and 
members of the legislature, and almost all the subordinate officers of the legislature, are no- 
toriously those, who have been in the rebel army, or actively engaged in the rebellion, either 
in civil or military capacities. 

62. Do you know of any officers elected or appointed to office, who are known Union 
men ? 

I do not. I do not know of a single instance in the legislature, in either house. On the 
contrary, there weie one or two Union senators who they declared illegally elected, and 
ousted. 

63. Do you know whether the persons elected as members of Congress from that State 
can take the oath ? 

I know of one who, I believe, might take the oath, a gentleman of high integrity and of 
very high character in the part of the State in which he resides, lie served with me in the 
legislature : I allude to John Ray. In respect to the others, what they could do, it is, of 
course, impossible for me to say. 

64. The question is, whether they have been engaged in#tbe rebellion? 

At the time the rebellion commenced, or at the time the secession convention was in ses- 
sion, to my personal knowledge, they were with the rebellion. Such was the character of 
all of thrm, with the exception of my old friend Jacob Barker, of New Orleans, who was a 
mone}' broker, and he dealt, probably, as extensively as anybody in New Orleans, in rebel 
bonds, rebel scrip, and rebel money transactions. 

By the Chairman : 

65. Did you form in your own mind any opinion as to what had better be done in 
Louisiana ? 

I have, very distinctly, and I have put my ideas into the shape of a bill to be introduced 
into Congress, a copy (if which I have with me and will present to the committee, if they 
desire it. My idea is, thai the best way to restore Louisiana would be for Congress to pass 
an act establishing a military government, for the time being, in that State — that form of 
government having greater power and acting with greater certainty. I would propose that 
the military governor should appoint as his cabinet, say, a treasurer, a comptroller, a secretary 
ol state, and also all the subordinate executive and judicial officers of the State, with suffi- 
cient military power and force to enforce his appointments. I do not think it would require 
a very large force. This, I think, would have a greater tendency to produce order than can 
be secured in any other way. 

66. That is for the time being. What next ? 

I would have him cause an enumeration of the entire loyal population of the State, with- 
out distinction of color : let the voters be registered, and then, at a given time, let a con- 
vention be elected; and a constitution framed, that constitution to lie submitted to Congress, 
and ratified by them before going into effect. I would then have the government so formed 
go on as a new government. 

67. I see that, by this bill, you have required every voter to take an oath that he has 
never voluntarily given aid to the rebellion ? 

Yes, sir ; am! upon that subject 1 will say this: there are a large number of persons who 
were in the rank and iiie of the rebel army who wen- forced there, and who, I think, will 
make good citizens. I think their disposition is to harmonize the present condition of 
things. A large number of them arc really good Union men at heart, and who would be- 
come good citizens if taken from under the control practically of the rebel leaders. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS J. DUEANT. 7 

Washington, D. C, December 12, 1866. 
THOMAS J. DURANT sworn and examined. 

By tlic Chairman : 
(V 1 -. Where do yon reside ? 
In the city of New Oilcans. 

69. I low long have you resided there? . 
Since the beginning of 1833. 

70. Have you held any official position there ? 

I once held the position of United States district attorney under the administration of 
President Polk. 

71. Since that time have you been following your profession there? 
I have followed my profession of the law since 1840. 4 

72. Since 1840, or thereabout, have you lived there continuously ? 
Continuously, without any interruption. 

73. Were you in the city during July and August last .' 

I was in-New Orleans until the night of the 30th of July. 

74. Were you present at the convention ? 
No, sir. 

75. Where were you during the time the convention was being organized ? 

The convention organized at 12 o'clock, noon, as the papers reported, and as I believe. 
From 1 1 o'clock until 3 in the afternoon I was in my office, No. 18 Carondelet street. 

76. We wish to ascertain, so far as we may, the causes and facts concerning the riotous 
proceedings in New Orleans on the 30th of July. You will please give us any information 
upon that matter in your possession. 

The facts and circumstances which attended the massacre have been so fully detailed in 
the public prints and in the report of the military commission that it would possibly be 
nothing more than a repetition upon my part to state what I know. I will try, however, 
to give some facts briefly which, so far as I know, have not been publicly communicated in 
the way I allude to. 

77. The committee desire to obtain the facts themselves so far as they have come under 
your observation. 

The call for the re-assembling of the convention of 1864, which, as you know, was the con- 
vention called under the military order of the major genera! then commanding the depart- 
ment of the Gulf, created a good deal of excitement in the city among those who supposed 
they would be injured by the action of the convention. It was generally supposed, and 
stated — I do not know with what truth, because I was not on such familiar terms with any 
member of the convention as would lead to a knowledge of their object — that the action of 
the convention would be to disfranchise those who were called rebels, and to admit to the 
right of suffrage the black citizens of the State. The convention met and adjourned, as is 
known, until 12 o'clock, July 30, 1866. That was on Monday. On Saturday and Sunday 
previous it was evident that there was considerable excitement in the city. It did not burst 
out into violence as yet. He who lives in a city can always tell from the little groups and 
gatherings, and by the appearance of men's countenances, that they are excited. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

78. Do I understand you to say that the convention had adjourned to meet on the 30th of 
July ? 

Yes. There had been a preliminary meeting of the convention about a month before. 

79. Was that the convention called to meet by the president of the convention, pursuant 
to the resolution of adjournment ? 

No, sir. If it is important that I should state what I know on that point I will state it. 

The convention which met in 1864 and framed the constitution of Louisiana, se-calle 
was presided over by E. H. Durrell, United States judge for the district of Louisiana. .He 
was applied to to reconvoke that convention, but he refused to do so ; on what grounds I d i 
not know. Various statements were made in regard to his motives, but I suppose it is n 
necessary for me to repeat what was said about it. Thereupon a portion of the membei 
assembled and proceeded in the first place to elect as president one of the members, Jit I. 
E. K. Howell, who was an associate judge of the supreme court of Louisiana at that time, 
and I believe is yet. There being less than a majority of the whole number constituting t ! 
convention present, and therefore less than a quorum competent to do business, the 
adjourned to meet again on the 30th of July, as I have said. A request was addressed through 
the president to Governor Wells to order elections in the various parishes for the purpose 
of 'bringing together the full number of members constituting the convention according to the 
original call. It was in pursuance of that' adjournment and for the purpose of ascertaining what 
members would be required, what vacancies still existed, that the convention was to meet 
again, according to adjournment, on the 30th of July, 1866, at 12 o'clock, noon. For some 
reasons, as I have said, the president would not call the convention; and another gentle- 
man, who was a member of the convention, was selected in his place. The convention of 
18o4, when it adjourned, passed a resolution which was considered by many of its members 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

to give to its president the right to call it together at any time. Judge Durell was president 
ami declined to call it together; and when the convention met they elected Judge Howell. 
Governor Wells is, therefore, substantially correct when he says that what he did was done 
in pursuance of the action of the president of the convention. I stated that it was apparent 
on Saturday and Sunday that there was a good deal of excitement among a certain class in 
the city in regard to the assembling of the convention on Monday. On Monday morning I 
v cut to my office as usual, soon after breakfast, at about nine o'clock. It may be proper 
for me to state here, partly in answer to your question, why I was not at the convention. I 
was one of those who differed from those of our Union friends who thought the president of 
the convention, whoever he might be, had the right to call it together. Whether he had the 

at or not, I thought it unwise, with the feeling existing at that time, inasmuch as it was 
supposed the convention intended to extend the right of suffrage to the blacks. I thought it 

dicious and dangerous. I therefore did not attend the convention, even as a spectator, 
and had formed no design of going to its meeting on that day. The first indication 1 had that 
there would be trouble was a man coming to my office, whose name I cannot tell, but whose 

deuce I recollect was at the corner of Jackson and La Peyrouse streets. He was a very 
intelligent black man, who spoke French only. He told me that he had occasion to rise 
\ ery early in the morning, and that he was standing by a fence which separated bis prop- 
erty from the street, and that a cab drove by, immediately opposite where he was standing, 
although concealed from his view by the fence, and some person in it addressed another on 

sidewalk. The conversation indicated that there was a plot to attack the black people 
that day. One was soliciting the other to aid them. Just at this moment some noise or. 
- her cause interrupted them, and the cab drove off. The feelings of the black people had, 
course, become deeply enlisted in the convention, and it was on that account that these 
men came to consult me. I happened to be placed in such relations toward them as to be 
-. ery usually consulted in that way. I became, therefore, familiar with all that was going on 
nong them while remaining quietly at home. I told this man to go down to see General 
Baud. He said he had been there, but could not get access to him. I then advised him to 
go and see General Sheridan, supposing General Sheridan was then in the city, and that if 
he could not get access to him I would try and procure him the access. From the excite- 
ment I had seen existing, this conversation convinced me there was to be an outbreak. I 
deemed it necessary to take every precaution. This was on Monday, at between ten and 
eleven o'clock. I was out of my office but once after that. After this man had been there 

1 had occasion to go out to the sheriff's office, not very far, and returned very soon. While 
I was there, writing at my desk, I heard the first symptoms of tumult — that peculiar sound 
which designates a mob, and which those who have once heard will very well understand. 
I was aware there would be very great danger to any man who appeared in the streets un- 
der the excitement then existing, and, therefore, I remained quietly in my office. Shortly 
after this 1 heard a rush, and going to the window I saw a body of policemen coming down 
Common street and turn into Carondelet street, in which my office is situated. Carondelet 
is a street running parallel with the river, aud is two squares from Mechanics' Institute, 
where the convention met. My office is betwen Canal and Common streets ; Mechanics' 
Institute is between the same streets These policemen, numbering, I suppose, about 
thirty, were marching two-and-two, with revolvers in their hands. They came out of Com- 
mon into Carondelet street, on the side opposite my office, and immediately commenced fir- 
ing indiscriminately. There were several negroes in the neighborhood, and they shot and 
heal such as were there. Whether these victims died or not I do not know. They fell. 

SO. Did you observe anything with regard to the badges these men wore? 

No, sir; I observed nothing unusual except the revolvers which they carried openly in 
their hands. 

8 1 . Where were the negroes ? 

The fivst one I saw fall was crossing Common street diagonally towards the corner of Ca- 
rondelet. lie first staggered and partly fell, then, recovering himself, he staggered around the 
corner out of my sight. There was immediately a greatrush of persons into the street. The 
street rapidly filled up. This tiring, rushing, and shooting savagely, as a mob does, was kept 
up until I left, about half past three o'clock. There was then no symptom or sign of a soldier 
that I could see. In a short time after the incident I have described there were constantly 
shots and cries more loud than the others which attracted my attention, and I would go to 
the window again. On one of those occasions I saw Governor Halm in the clutches of sev- 
eral policemen. He is lame, one foot is shorter than the other, and of course walks with diffi- 
culty. He was handled with great violence. His clothing was ragged — torn by violence — 
his hat was off, and he was bleeding profusely, and covered with blood in a way that led me 
tn suppose he was dying. The mob was shouting around him, and I thought they wanted to 
kill him. Immediately after that I saw Mr. Fish, a nephi w of the gentleman here as a wit- 
ness, who was being dragged in the same way by the police, also looking very bloody as 
though severely wounded. 1 luring the time I have described I saw two or more carts go by 
w it li dead and wounded in them. Several of my friends came to me aud begged me not to go 
into the street, as they thought I would be in very great danger if I did, aud of course I took 
very good care not to do so. However, my position was no tvery comfortable, as my office- 
door was opeu, and there was no means of egress. I secured from a friend, whose name I 
cannot now mention, such information that my life was marked, that 1 deemed it very proper 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS J. DURANT. 9 

to eave the city of New Orleans. I left my office as quietly as I could, got in a close car- 
riage which was drawn up in a lane in the rear, and got to my house a little past tour o'clock. 
I then wen! up to Carrollton, to a plantation, occupied by a friend, aud then took a steamer for 
up the river. 

By the Chairman: 

82. Since then have you been in the city? 

I have not. I sent 1113- friend down to engage me a passage on the steamer which stopped 
at St. Charles, at his plantation, and I there embarked. 

83. Does your family still remain in the city ? 

No, sir; 1 sent a power of attorney to a friend there to have my family residence sold ; 
since then I have been residing here in Washington. 

84. What has been the character of the municipal authorities of New Orleans during the 
last few years .' 

The mayor of the city was one of the most active enemies of the United States government. 
He was mayor of the city at the time the fleet of Commodore Farragut came there, ami, as the 
history of that time shows, acted in a most violent and rebellious manner. He acted in such 
a way as would have justified the commander of that fleet in bombarding the town, and it 
was entirely from his forbearance and magnanimity that the city was not bombarded. 

85. State, so far as you know, the character of the officers under his appointment. 

I cannot speak from personal knowledge of the police, for there is not one of them I ever 
spoke to in my life, so far as I know : but from their general reputation in the community, I 
believe every one of them to have been carefully selected on account of Ins active connec- 
tion with the rebellion, or for his continuous service at least four years in the rebel army. If 
there be any exceptions, I am not aware of them. 

86. Were there auy other municipal officers in the appointment of the mayor ? 

I think not, unless it be his private secretaries. All the officers of the city government at 
large, the comptroller, the treasurer, &c, the board of aldermen, and all in authority, were, 
with very few exceptions, amounting probably to not one in ten of the whole number, the 
most active and ardent supporters of the rebellion. 

87. So that the city was substantially under the control of rebel officers ? 
Exclusively — using that word in the sense of such as had actively supported the rebellion. 

88. Had you any conference with Governor Wells recently — before the convention 1 
No, sir. I never had any conference with him on any subject, at auy time. 

89. Were you present at the meeting held Friday before the convention 1 
No, sir, I was not. 

90. Were the police you saw during the day, after the time you speak of, armed apparently 
in the same way ? 

Whenever I looked out of a window and saw a policeman, he had a revolver in his hand. 
9!. Do you remember to have seen any person marked with a badge of auy kind .' 
No, sir. 1 saw nothing of that sort. You will observe from what I have said that I was 
only on the circumference of the scene of operations of the mob. 

92. So far as you could judge, please state to the committee what appeared to be the pre- 
vailing feeling among the New Orleans officials, and those engaged with them, towards the 
government of the United States, and the truly loyal people. 

I think the general feeling was one of dissatisfaction and arrogance. 

93. Did you observe any change in that feeling within some months past? 

I think the feeling had decidedly changed in the direction I have indicated, from the time 
when the news reached us of the surrender of General Lee's army. The feeling at that time 
was one of depression, and there was an evident disposition on the part of those who had 
adhered to the rebellion to accede to the terms which the United States might deem proper 
tn impose, and to submit quietly and gladly to anything that might be meted out to them, 
short of the most severe pains aud penalties. This feeling was continued for several mouths, 
until it became plain that the local government was to be placed in the same hands as during the 
rebellion, when, as a matter of course, their depression of mind disappeared, and instead of 
being submissive they became, as I have said, arrogant. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

94. Did you state the time of day that this riot occurred in front of your office? 

I do not think I did. The first incident I alluded to must have been near one o'clock, 
when the squad of policemen came around the corner of Common street. 

'.).">. The street the policemen entered upon leaving Common street was Carondelet? 
Yes, sir; that is the leading commercial street of New Orleans for cotton business, &c. 

96. In the letter of General Sheridan to the President, of August 6, it is stated that at 
one o'clock a procession of from sixty to one hundred and thirty colored men marched across 
Canal street toward the convention, carrying the American flag, and having about one pistol 
for every ten men, and with clubs in addition, &c. I wish to inquire whether that affair so 
described was the same one you saw ? 

No, sir, by no means ; I saw no procession of colored men at all. 

97. Do you know whether the affair you saw was before or after the one described by Gen 
eral Sheridan, to which I have referred ? 



10 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I do not. 

98. And you do not know whether what you saw was the beginning of the fighting in the 
city or not ? 

I infer that, it was not the beginning, because, as I have stated, I heard the sound of an 
excited crowd for ten or fifteen minutes previously. 

99. You said that your relations to the colored people were such that they were in the 
habit of coining to you for consultation upon all matters? 

They did ; that is, representative men from among them, from the highest to the lowest, 
were in the habit of coming to me. 

100. From your opportunities of information, state what the fact was in regard to there 
being any real occasion to apprehend any breach of the peace or violence upon the part of the 
colored people or of the friends of the convention on that day, in case they were not attacked. 

All the knowledge I have upon that subject is derived from the source intimated, from 
conferences with blackjmen, and occasionally conversations with white men who favored the 
convention, and excludes the idea of any reasonable ground for supposing there would be 
violence on either side. Individually, I feel entirely confident that no such design was en- 
tertained by any one connected with the convention, white or black, and that confidence is 
founded on the intercourse I have alluded to. 

101. Do you know what the purpose of the friends of the convention was in the event of 
an attempt being made to arrest, them by civil process ? Did they expect to submit quietly 
to the process of the law, or did they intend to resist? 

They had no intention, so far as my knowledge goes, of resisting the process of the law. 
Their intention was to submit, without the slightest resistance, to any officer who was au- 
thorized to make arrests. 

102. Was that disposition known to the people of the city or the city authorities ? 

I can only state that, by inference, I have no doubt it was known. They had the same 
means of knowing it that I or any one had, and I presume they knew it, because these facts 
came to my knowledge, although I was not considered a friend to the convention. I 
doubted its legality. I thought it very inexpedient under the circumstances ; and still I 
knew these facts. 

10:5. How many of the convention assembled at that time? 

I do not know. Probably thirty, to the best of my recollection. I cannot be exact on 
that subject. 

104. What probable necessity was there to warrant providing force for the arrest of the 
members of the convention? State the facts so far as they are within your knowledge. 

I could give no facts within my personal knowledge. Within my acquaintance were 
many of the members of the convention. They were known as men of peaceful and orderly 
habits, and the impression I derived from my intercourse with them is that I have al- 
ready stated, that there was no disposition to resist the officers of the law entertained by 
anybody, cither by members of the convention or by those friendly to the convention. 

105. General Sheridan speaks of there being one pistol in ten in the hands of the negroes 
of the procession. From your knowledge of the purpose of the negroes, can you explain the 
presence of those arms in the procession ? 

I cannot. No information of their having arms was communicated to me. I have con- 
red that General Sheridan in that letter speaks conjecturally, and I doubt whether there 
was even that number of men armed in that procession. 

106. Have you any personal knowledge in regard to threats made to attack the procession, 
if any were made ? 

None were ever made in my presence. 

_ 107. You have been asked by the chairman in regard to the character of the police of the 
city, and you have answered. I see that General Sheridan refers to a certain class of per- 
sons put by the mayor into, the police force, who were denominated in his letter as "Thugs." 
Y\ hat kind of men does that term in New Orleans designate ? 

It refers to a class of men who are believed by many, including myself, to have been or- 
ganized there for the purpose of selecting victims for murder, and executing them. 

108. I wish to make this inquiry : What means, if any, had the Executive at Washington 
of knowing the character of the police and municipal government of the city at that time ? 

I know of none other than that branch of the government might have known about the 
police of any other city. 

109. You know of no communication having been made to him upon the subject, or any 
remonstrances made touching it? 

I know of none. 

110. What was the character as to loyalty, and what were the antecedents of Lieutenant 
Governor Alvord Voorhees? 

I always understood that the lieutenant governor was an active friend of the rebellion. 

111. What as to Attorney General Herron ? 

He was of the same class. He had been, if I mistake not, a brigadier general in the con- 
federate army. 

1 12. Ave tin life and property of well-known, out-spoken, earnest friends of the government 
of the United States safe in New Orleans and the State of Louisiana under the government 
that now exists there, without the presence of the military forces? 



TESTIMONY OF W. R. FISH. 11 

Mv impression is that it would be unsafe, if those whose duty it is to preserve order were 
not aided by the military forces of the United States. 
By the Chairman: 

113. Upon your knowledge of the condition of affairs in Louisiana, what, in your judg- 
ment, should be the character of the legislation of Congress concerning the State > 

In my opinion, a territorial government should be established in Louisiana — I should 
rather say a quasi-territorial government, supported by military force, and that it should be 
based on equal suffrage of all citizens without distinction of color; that it should be held in 
that subjection until it was clear that the citizens of the State were fit to carry on a State 
government, when they should be permitted to do so, and not until then, however long it 
might take. These are the general ideas I have upon the subject. Of course I have my 
opinion as to the details, but it is not necessary to give them to the committee. 



Washington, December 12, 1866. 
W. R. FISH sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

114. You are a resident of New Orleans ? 

Yes, sir; for the fourteen years last past. k 

115. During the whole time? 
Yes, sir; the whole time. 

11(5. Have you held any official position in Louisiana? 

In 1858 and 1859 I was a member of the State legislature then in session; that is the only 
position I have filled there until 1862. 

1 17. "What was your official position then ? 

I was appointed by Governor Shepley clerk of the probate court of the city of New Orleans. 

1 18. Were you a member of the convention that was convened under the military procla- 
mation of General Banks in 1864 ? 

Yes, sir. 

119. Were you present in the convention at the time it adjourned in 1864 ? 
Yes, sir. 

120. And took part in the proceedings ? 
Yes, sir. , 

121. How was the convention reconvoked ? 

When the convention adjourned it adjourned by a resolution empowering the president to 
reconvoke it for any cause which he might deem sufficient. Judge Durrell, who was pres- 
ident of the convention, declined at that time to call it. Most of the members, the governor 
oftbe State, and members of the judiciary of the State thought it necessary. Judge Durrell 
did not refuse to call it. He said he wished to go to Washington, and on his return in 
November he would revoke the convention. It was, however, thought necessary to call it 
together sooner. A preliminary meeting was called through the instrumentality of the gov- 
ernor of the State, and Judge Howell, a member of the convention, was chosen, pres- 
ident pro ton., for the purpose of issuing the required proclamation. He issued a proclama- 
tion convening the convention on the 30th of July, and called on the governor of the State 
to issue writs of election to fill vacancies in parishes that were unrepresented when the con- 
vention adjourned. Our object was to do nothing until every parish in the State should be 
represented. It was under that call that we assembled on the 30th of July. 

122. You will go on, if you please, and state all the facts that are in your mind as to what 
occurred prior to the assembling and on the assembling of the convention? 

There was a great deal of excitement in the city, occasioned by an attempt upon the part 
of the governor and many of the prominent Union men there to reconvoke the convention. 
The press of the city ridiculed the idea of our assembling at first, but when they became 
satisfied that the convention would assemble, their tone changed to that of threats and 
attempts at intimidation. They still saw that we would go ahead in our movement. They 
found there was no power in the State to prevent the reassembling of that body, except through 
the instrumentality of the Executive at Washington, and committees were appointed to go 
to Washington and consult Mr. Johnson in reference to this matter. 

123. Can you name any members of that committee which came to Washington ' 

It was understood among the Union people there that probably Mr. Rosier, a lawyer there 
of some eminence, was sent to argue the question of the illegality of the reassembling of 
the convention before the Executive, and endeavor to secure his interference. That was 
the understanding anions Union people there generally. In addition to that, there were 
other gentlemen (I would not care to mention their names) who represented the political 
effects of a successful meeting of the convention, who were also very active here with Mr. 
Johnson every day for several days previous to the 30th of July, and on the 30th of July. 
For several days previous there was an evident indication that an organized effort would be 
made to disperse the convention should it assemble. It was known that secret orgauiza- 



12 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

tions existed in the city, composed exclusively of men recently in arms against the govern- 
ment of the United States, to prevent, by force if necessary, its reassembling. Many mem 
bers of the convention who had friends among those hostile to the movement were secretly 
informed of this fact and begged not to go to the Mechanics' Institute, where the convention 
was to assemble on the 30th of July. Many remained away in consequence of these warn- 
ings, and on the morning of the 30th of July about thirty members of the convention and 
as many more friends of the convention met in the United States court-room about 1 o'clock, 
for the purpose of going in a body to the hall of the Mechanics' Institute. About 1 1 .30 o'clock 
they left the court-room and walked down Canal street as far as Dryades street, on which is 
situated the Mechanics' Institute. On their way to the Institute it was observed that there 
were many squads of men standing around, having, evidently, an unfriendly aspect. It 
was generally believed that they intended to attempt in some, way to interfere with the 
sittings of the convention. At 12 o'clock the convention was called to order by the presi- 
dent pro tern., Judge Howell. The roll was called, and twenty six members answered to 
their names. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Horton. The sergeant-at-arms was 
authorized to secure the attendance of absent members ; after which the convention ad- 
journed for one hour, it then being about half past twelve. There were then in the hall 
about one hundred or one hundred and fifty persons. Shortly after the adjournment we 
heard firing in the street in front of the hall. In company with several others, I went to a 
side window and saw several policemen firing in the direction of the hall at a crowd stand- 
ing in front of it. The firing was returned to some extent ; some firing pistols, some throw- 
ing brickbats. I saw several men lying on the sidewalk who had been shot. I saw police- 
men dragging men from the doorway, where they had taken refuge, push them away, and 
shoot them down. I saw this from the window at which we were standing. The tumult in 
front continued for probably a quarter of an hour. Word came into the hall that they were 
about to charge on the hall. Those in the hall were requested to take their seats and remain 
perfectly quiet, as they were unarmed generally, and if any officer presented himself to 
arrest the members of the convention, to submit to the arrest. I had myself, on a previous 
day, obtained a surety, expecting to be arrested, and several others, I believe, had 
done the same — one other within my knowledge. There was a rush on the door by a 
squad of policemen armed 1 ' with revolvers, who burst the doors open and fired upon the 
members as they were seated, most of them; some were standing. A majority of those 
present retired towards the end of the room furthest from the door. The Rev. Mr. Horton, 
myself, and two or three others advanced towards the door where the charge was being 
made. Mr. Horton, with the Uuited States flag in his hand, expostulated with them not to 
fire, for they would surrender to any legal authority. In the act of entreating them to 
desist from firing he was shot, and fell. He was standing but a few fe£t from me. When 
Mr. Horton fell there was for a few seconds a cessation of firing. I passed immediately 
into the vestibule and was surrounded by from fifteen to twenty policemen with revolvers ; 
some of them cried out, "Shoot him," "kill him." The policeman who had charge of the 
squad arrested me, calling my name very loudly, and commanded them not to shoot. 

124. Who was it called, "Shoot him, shoot him," — the policemen or the mob? 

The police. This was in the vestibule ; there was no mob there. The officer arresting 
me, said, "I will protect you; come with me " He immediately ordered four or five others 
to assist him ; we passed down stairs x he having his arm around me, and a revolver in his 
hand. As we were, passing down, there was a stream of policemen rushing up, each with a 
revolver, and as they saw me, turned, and cried out, "Kill, him, kill him." We arrived on 
Dryades street ; there was a large crowd of people, who seemed excited in the highest deg.iee ; 
as I appeared on the street, the general cry was, "Kill the damned Yankee." We immedi- 
ately walked down Dryades to Canal street. The street was densely packed, both on the side- 
walk and in the centre, and as we approached St. Charles street on the corner of Canal, the 
officer in charge told me it would be impossible to pass through the street, and we must get 
into a carriage. We stepped into a carriage standing on the corner; six policemen, with 
revolvers drawn, kept off the crowd. We passed through St. Charles street to the police 
station; as I arrived there, an attempt was made by a subordinate city official to incite the 
crowd to hang me there. I was then locked up for a couple of hours. While passing' 
through the street, every few rods efforts were made by the crowd to thrust pistols in between 
the officers protecting me, with the attempt to shoot me on my way through the street; but 
through the vigilance and activity of the officers, the pistols were knocked up and down, and 
their purpose thwarted. 

125. By whom were these attempts made ? 

By citizens, or persons in citizen dress. It is also proper for me to say that there were 
citizens who were lately in the confederacy, seeing me in toe condition I was, who fell in be- 
hind and assisted in keeping the crowd off. They were those with whom I was on personal 
relations of friendship, and had done many favors for. 

126. Were you wounded.' 

I was not wounded ; I was hit once, but nothing of any consequence. 

127. How long did you remain in the station ? 

I was taken there about half-past one o'clock, and I staid there until nearly dark. I had, 
however, been released by order of the mayor, and also by order of General Baird, from 
arrest, but was counselled by the chief of police, Thomas E. Adams, not to go out, because 



TESTIMONY OF W. R. FISH. 13 

he ould not control the people ; they were very much excited. I also staid there to assist 
in taking can' of the wounded who were brought in about four o'clock. Gov. Hahn, S. S. 
Fish, my nephew, Rev. Mr. Horton, Mr. Jackson, Dr. Hire, Dr. Dostie, and Mr. Henderson, 
were all of them brought there very badly bruised and wounded. 

128. Were tiny members of the convention ? 

Some of them were members of the convention, and all of them were thoroughly identified 
with the movement, I attended to getting surgeons for them and sent them to the hospital ; 
] staid until about five o'clock, I think. In addition to the chief of police, the mayor was 
also there, having crossed over from the City Hall on the opposite side of the street, and 
advised me to remain there, at present, giving me to understand that it would be dangerous 
to go on the street. 

129. Where did you go from there? 

I went immediately to my house ; but having been advised by the. chief of police and 
some citizens who were present at the time he gave me this advice, I did not stay there that 
night. 

,130, What were the purposes of tho convention? What did you expect to do beyond 
organizing and adjourning? 

Our object was, as I understood, to reorganize the State government in such way as would 
enable the State to have representation in the Congress of the United States. 

131. What did you expect to do on your first meeting of the 30th of July? 

We did not expect to accomplish anything on that day. We did not intend to do any- 
thing until we had obtained a quorum. It was simply to see what members we could get 
together. 

132. You say you had some intimation that arrests might be made. State what conclusion 
you had come to, if any, as to your action in case of arrest. 

That we should go to the sheriff and file our bonds to appear at such time as was required. 

133. Have you reason to believe or not that a determination on their part was known to 
the authorities ? 

I have no reason to know that that determination was generally known. 

134. Before the attack was made upon the convention, had there been firing from the hall 
to the street ? fc 

No, sir. The general advice was to keep away from the windows, and not to fire, if any 
one was armed; and I do not know that there was a shot fired from the window. It is iu 
evidence somewhere that there were some shots fired from the window. I do not know that 
there were. There had been none, I am certain of, when I had left the convention. 

135. Was there any peculiarity about the badges the policemen had on? 
I observed none. 

136. Were they the regular police of the city? 

They were in the uniform of the regular police of the city. It was known that a great 
many specials had been sworn iu the night previous. 

137. After the attack upon the convention, what forcible resistance was made by membors 
in the hall ? 

I was the first man arrested from the hall, and, consequently, there was two hours' history 
in the hall of which I was not a witness. Up to the time of my leaving there was no at- 
tempt at resistance. 

138. When Mr. Horton said to the man who seemed to be in command of the squad that 
the members of the convention would yield to the legal authorities, what reply was made ? 

He was shot 

139. How many shots were fired at the time he was hit? 

I cannot tell. There were at least a half a dozen, probably more. It was just at the 
opening of the door. While there were fifteen or twenty in the vestibule, there were only 
three or four who appeared at first. 

140. Then, from your knowledge, will jou state whether there was any occasion for for- 
cible interference or of proceedings of any kind to prevent you from proceeding with your 

.work ? 

There was no occasion for it whatever. 

141. Had there been any understanding between members of the convention and the 
friends whom you say were there to protect members of the convention in any way ? 

There was no such understanding within my knowledge. 

142. Had you any reason to expect there was any ? 

There had been loose talk among a certain class of our men, but there was no organized 
attempt, and no arrangement for such purpose within my knowledge; I certainly should 
have known it if there had been. There are some of our Union men who talk a great deal 
and talk in a very exaggerated style, and from their exaggerated style of address it appears 
that those who were opposed to the convention asserted that there had been an organized 
plan to have the convention protected under any circumstauces, but there was no such plan 
within my knowledge, and certainly if there had been it was very badly carried out. 

143. You said something about arms in the convention. Were any of the members of the 
convention, that you were aware of, armed? 

I do not think that there were half a dozen men, members of the convention, who had 
arms, and they had no other than those they had habitually carried. 



14 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

144. You spoke of firing taking place while you were in the ball. While on your way to 
the police station-house did you see or hear any firiug? 

No, sir; there was no firing on the way down. The point of interest at that time was 
the Mechanics' Institute. This was early in the attack. 

145. Did you observe any parties other than the police wearing badges ? 

I saw many with little ribbon badges: I did not know what it indicated, but my impres- 
sion was that it was the sign of membership of certain secret organizations. 

146. Did you see any other badges than that ? 
I did not observe any other. 

1 47. Did you recognize any of the men uniformed as police as belonging to any organization ? 
No, sir, I did not. 

148. Something has been said about Hays's brigade. Do you know anything about that ? 
I do not know anything positive about it. It was said that on the day previous to the 30th 

of July, the sheriff, General Hays, swore in some two hundred to two hundred and fifty spe- 
cial deputy sheriffs. When I was arrested on the following day I was arrested by a deputy 
sheriff, who belonged to General Hays's brigade ; he so informed me. 

149. What efforts, if any, did you see' upon the part of the authorities of the city to quiet 
the riot ? 

I saw no efforts on the part of the mayor or chief of police to quiet the riot ; but I believe, 
from the regret expressed by those two officers at the occurrences of that day, that they must 
have made some attempts to quiet it. 

150. From what you saw, if the police force under the authority of the mayor had been 
directed to preserve order and keep the peace, would there have been a riot ? 

No, sir ; there would not. 

151. Have youknowledge of any procession of colored persons in the street on the morning 
of the assembling of the convention ? 

There was a small company of fifty or a hundred in the street that morning, but for what 
purpose I do not know. They approached Mechanics' Institute with a flag. 

152. Did you witness any disturbance in connection with them? 
No, sir, I did not. 

153. Have you it within your power to state how many persons were killed and wounded 
on that day ? • 

From the best information I have there were between three and four hundred wounded, and 
not less than a hundred who were killed or died of wounds that day. I make this statement 
from the best information I have, and believe it to be an approximate estimate. 

154. How many of those who were killed, so far as you know, were unfriendly to the con- 
vention ? 

Not one. There was one young gentleman, a Doctor Cenas, who was killed by accident 
by persons unfriendly to the convention. That was not disputed. 

By Mr. Shkllabarger : 

155. You spoke early in your testimony of your having known of no intention forcibly to 
prevent the meeting of the convention, for several days previous to the meeting on the 30th 
of July. Please give the facts on which that knowledge was founded. 

First, the tone of the press of the city, which was controlled by men hostile to the conven- 
tion ; the decided manner of the mayor of the city, and the decided course which he took in 
regard to the matter as eviuced by his published correspondence with General Baird, and his 
general correspondence in regard to it ; and the threats generally made on the streets by that 
class of men who were unfriendly to the convention, and who had recently returned to the 
city, having been absent for three or four years. 

15G. Absent where? 

In what was called the rebel army. 

157. When was this extra police and this constabulary force of which you have spoken 
sworn in .' 

It was on the day previous to the 30th of July. 

158. So far as you knoSv, what was the cause for increasing so much the police and constab- 
ulary force ? Did it refer to the meeting of the convention ? 

It was so understood. Ostensibly it was to preserve the peace and quiet of the city. 

159. I wish you now to explain what purpose the convention had in assembling before the 
3d of September, when writs had been issued for the election of members to lill the vacancies ? 

There was uc intention to do any business without a quorum being in attendance, and it 
was not possible to obtain a quorum until after these elections had taken place. 

160. Can you give the names of any persons who are members of the police, and who, you 
say, shot at the friends and members of the convention ? 

I cannot. 
• 161. Do you know anything about a flag of truce having been exhibited from the windows 
of the convention ? 

That was after I left. 

162. What was the character of the police and constabulary force of the city at that time 
as to its loyalty to the government of the United States ? 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES L. ANDEM. 15 

It was composed almost exclusively of men who could show a record of service in the rebel 
army. 

103. Were there in it any persons who were known as Thugs, or as murderers, or lawless 
persons .' 

Not within my personal knowledge; it was so understood. 

Iti4. What is the stale of the public sentiment in New Orleans and in the State of Louisiana 
among those who were electors under the former constitution of the State as to loyalty, and 
from that state of sentiment would it be possible for a Union man, who was a friend of the 
government during the war, to be elected to any office in the State or in the city of New 
Orleans ! 

1 "ttii 1 v impossible for any Tjnion man to be elected to any office either of the city or State 

lii.">. Are you an attoruey-at-law ? 

That is my profession. 

liiii. Are you well skilled in the laws of Louisiana? 

I am not. I am not a practitioner in the courts of that State. 

107. You have in your testimony alluded to the probabilities of your own arrest and that 
of other members of the convention. Was this arrest apprehended on account of any other 
cause than the mere assembling of the convention ? 

It was not. 

108. Under the law of Louisiana could an arrest be made on account of the mere assem- 
bling of a convention ? 

I know of no law to authorize the arrest of the members of the convention, unless it he 
an old law passed when Louisiana was a Territory. The exact date I do not remember. 
That was the law referred to by the judge in his charge to the grand jury. 

109. You have alluded to the purposes of the convention. Please state whether anything 
was given out, either through the press of the city friendly to the convention, or by means 
of the intercourse of the members and friends of the convention with the. people, showing 
the purpose of the convention in its assembling on the 30th of July, as you have stated it. 

It was generally understood among the members of the convention, and those who were 
friendly to the movement, that nothing would be done until each parish was represented, or 
until a quorum, as established at the first session of the convention, was obtained. 

170. Was that known to the people of New Orleans who wefle enemies of the convention? 
We had no press sufficient to inform the whole people of our intention. We had no paper 

friendly to our movement ; but when we were together that was always understood. 

171. Was that purpose communicated to the citizens generally, or kept to themselves ? 
It was kept no secret ; we used every facility we had to make it known to the people. 



Washington, December 12, 1866. 
JAMES L. ANDEM sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

172. Where do you reside? 
At present in Washington. 

173. What is your age ? 
Twenty- four. 

174. Have you resided in New Orleans ? 

I have resided in New Orleans for the last year or two. 

175. From what time to what time? 

From the 15th of April, 1805, to the 20th September, 1866. 
170. In what capacity were you there ? 

I went there as secretary to Major General N. P. Banks, and afterwards practiced my 
profession as short-hand reporter. 

177. Were you or not residing there in July last ? 
I was. 

178. Had you any knowledge of the meeting of the convention on July 30, 1800 ? 

I had. I was elected official reporter of the convention which met on the 30th of July. 

179. State what facts you have in your possession tending to show the state of feeling 
existing in New Orleans, prior to the meeting of the convention, upon the part of the au- 
thorities and the people, and also what facts have come under your observation concerning 
the convention of the 30th. 

I can state in general terms. The state of feeling prior to the meeting of the convention, 
judging from the tone of the press, was very bitter against the convention. The first strong 
feeling exhibited was on.the occasion of a meeting on the Friday night previous to the meet- 
ing of the convention, in the same building in which the convention assembled. There was 
a large meeting, and the speakers addressed the audience favoring negro suffrage, and tell- 
ing them that the convention, which would meet on the following Monday, would give the 
right of suffrage to the colored people. The audience was chiefly composed of colored peo- 
ple. There were no violent proceedings at that meeting. I reported the speeches made in 



16 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

the hall, but those made outside of the building I did not report. The speakers inside made 
no call for the negroes to come armed to protect the convention, or anything of the kind. 
On the contrary, they were advised to be patient and keep quiet, and not urge the matter 
too strongly. 

180. That meeting is alluded to as having terminated in a riot ? Was there any riot? 
There was none, that I saw myself. I heard of a slight disturbance that occurred late the 

same evening. After that meeting adjourned the negroes formed and marched in procession 
through the streets, accompanied by a band of music. The meeting itself ended in an or- 
derly manner; dispersed quietly. • The principal speakers in the hall were Ex-Governor 
Halm, Colonel A. P. Field, and Rufus Waples. On Monday, the 30th of July, I attended the 
convention for the purpose of reporting the debates of that body. At \2 o'clock the meeting 
was called to order by Judge Howell, the president pro tempore, the roll called, and I think 
twenty-five members answered to their names. A motion was made to adjourn for one hour, 
to enable the sergeant-at-arms to procure the attendance of absent members. Just about the 
time of the adjournment, a procession of colored people entered the hall, with a drum and 
fife, and bearing the Uuited States flag. I had heard of no disturbance up to this time. I 
remained in the hall a few minutes, conversing with members, and was proceeding out of the 
hall down stairs to the street, when I heard the report of a pistol. I was just at the entrance 
of the building, and could not see from what direction it was tired; but I saw, immediately 
after, a great many bricks flying through the air, I think from the crowd nearest the hall, 
(composed mostly of colored people,) in the direction of the crowd near Canal street. This 
was in front of the ball. Immediately there was a rush into the building, and I was carried 
with the crowd, up stairs, into the hall of the convention. The tiring became very rapid. 
Everybody in the hall seemed to be very much alarmed. I went out of the large hall, and 
entered an ante-room on the right of the entrance to the hall, where I found a friend, and we 
barricaded the door. We remained there from about a quarter of one until about half-past three, 
the firing continuing most of the time in the street. We could not see anything, or observe 
who did the firing, as we. did not dare show our faces at the windows. But I heard several 
rushes of people made up to the entrance of the hall, shots fired, and then a rush down again. 
Several attempts were made to force the door of the room in wbich we were, and finally we 
unlocked the door, and the crowd, composed of police and citizens, rushed in and seized my 
friend and myself. My friend was taken off by the police, and while on his way down the stairs 
I saw bricks, stones, and pieces of wood fired upon him. The officers allowed me to remain 
in the room where they found nie ) as I told them I would assume charge of the room. One 
of the party that captured me made the inquiry, "Is all of Hays's brigade up?" He was 
answered by another of the party, "Ko ; if it had been, not one would have escaped " 

181. Was the party that captured you, and spoke to you in that way, a member of the 
police ? 

No; he was dressed in citizen's dress. One policeman told me he had fired off his five- 
barrelled revolver five times that day. After remaining in the room until it was compara- 
tively quiet, I went down with the crowd to the street. 

182. Before going down, were shots fired into the hall? 

I could not see from the room I was in what transpired in the hall. I could only hear 
firing in every direction around the building and at the entrance of the hall from the hall-way. 
l8:3. What room was it that you remained in during the firing? 
It was tlie office, I think, of the quartermaster general of the State. 

184. Can you give us any knowledge of the facts and occurrences in the hall? 

I could not. I could not see into the hall. When I went down to the street I saw a great 
many people dead and wounded on the stairways, in the hall-ways, and on the street. I saw 
also several negroes lying dead on the sidewalks at a distance of two squares from the 
building. 

185. Did you see any attack made by any parties except the police ? 

The police and mob were all together. I looked once from the window of the room in which 
I was and saw police in bodies with revolvers drawn, chasing negroes. 

18(>. Under whose direction did they appear to be? 

Under the direction of their officers ; their lieutenants or sergeants. The officers at the 
. head of these bodies of police were blowing their whistles, which I understood to be a call to 
their men to follow them. 

187. Did you observe their badges? 

I did not. I could not see at such a distance. 

188. Did you see any effort made by the authorities of the city to quell the riot and pre- 
serve order? 

No combined effort to preserve order. The police and mob seemed to be mixed up together 
and acting in concert. 

189. What do you mean by the mob? 

I mean citizens unfriendly to the convention who were surrounding the building. 

190. Did you observe any badges upon parties so engaged ! 

No; I saw no badge. A large number of the crowd that accompanied the police were 
armed with larire white sticks, all of a similar pattern. 

191. About how many persons were killed and wounded, should you say? 



TESTIMONY OF EDWARD P. BROOKS. 17 

, ] bhinkl saw aboul forty — the majority of them wounded. 

198. How 1 1 1 r t . , -. of them, so far as you could tell, were unfriendly to the convention ' 

None ; they were all colored persons that 1 saw. 

193. I'ou left the hall of the convention before Rev. Mr. Horton was wounded .' 

1 did. I left Mr. Horton in the hall. 

I'.U. The door of the room n which you were opened, as I understand, into the vestibule, 
and doI into the hall ' 

Yes ; into the vestibule. 

195. From what you saw, would there or not have been riotous proceedings if the police 
force of the city had exerted itself to preserve order ? 

I think if the police had hern on the ground in force at the commencement of the meet- 
ing, they could have prevented any disturbance. 

I'M). State what you mean by that. 

1 mean if the police had been stationed around the building they could have prevented dis- 
turbance, supposing they did their duty. 

197. Slate whether there was any one except the police and those accompanying them, 
unfriendly to the convention, who showed any disposition to make any disturbance. 

There was no disposition to make any disturbance among the members of the convention, 
or those favoring if. I did not see any person iu the hall armed, while I was there. 

198. What was the appearance when you left the building of the parties you found in the 
street, police and citizens .' 

As I left the building the police were endeavoring to drive the crowd of white citizens 
away from the front of the building, and everything seemed tc be quiet. 

199. At what time was that .' 

I think about half past three. I cannot state positively the time. 

200. At that time do you know whether or not the hall of the convention had been cleared, 
or whether members were there yet? 

As I passed down the stairs, I bad a full view of the convention room. I saw but two or 
three pel sons present, and they were police, who weie ransacking the drawers of the presi- 
dent's disk on the platform. 

•Jul . When you left there the whole work, whatever it was, had been completed ? 

It had. 



Washington, D. C, December 13, 1666. 
EDWARD P. BROOKS sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

202. Where do you reside? 
Washington, D. C. 

203. What is your age ? 
Twenty-four. 

204. Were you in New Orleans during the month of July last? 
I was. 

205. How long had you been there? 

I arrived in New Orleans on the 1st of July, and was there four or five days. I then made 
a fifteen days' trip into Texas, and returned on the 20th of July. 

206. How long did you remain? 

Until the 1st of November, with the exception of a short trip of three or four days in the 
country. 

207. What was your occupation? 
Correspondent of the New York Times. 

208. We want you to state what facts came under your observation between the 20th of 
July and the 30th, before the convention met, and on the day of the convention, tending to 
show what the state of feeling was on the part of the citizens of New Orleans towards the 
convention, and what the facts were pending the holding of the convention. 

V\ hen 1 returned from Texas, I had an invitation from General Sheridan to go to Browns- 
ville with him. I refused it, because I wanted to stay at New Orleans to witness the con- 
vention, and because I expected there would be a riot, and was afraid I would not get back 
soon enough. That was on the 23d day of July. My reason for expecting a riot was that 
I knew that the members of the convention intended to disfranchise a portion of the citizens 
who had been enfranchised previously, and to enfranchise the blacks ; and I knew from pre- 
vious observations of the southern people that such a course of proceeding would bring about 
bloodshed. I heard the convention talked of by different people. The men who are called 
the better classes hoped it would pass over quietly; but the rowdies and the men who are 
apt to meet in the hotels and public places thought the members of the convention ought to 
be hung, and used such expressions. The morning of the 30th of July I went up to Mayor 
Monroe's office for the purpose of seeing him, but he was absent, and I talked with his pri- 

2 N. o. 



18 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

vate secretary, whose name I do not now recollect. I asked him what preparations had been 
made, in case of riot. He answered that they did not anticipate any, but that he though! 
the best way to put it down if it occurred would be to allow the confederate soldiers to break 
into the gun stoics and help themselves. I noticed quite a number of policemen around the: 
headquarters of the chief of police, in Lafayette square, near the mayor's office, seemingly 
waiting there for orders. From there I went up to the convention, at the Institute building, 
Dryades stn ef, and fell into conversation with R. King Cutler and other prominent members 
of the convention. I asked them if they anticipated any trouble. They told me that there 
might be trouble. I asked them if they were prepared for it. I do not know whether it was 
Mr. Cutler or some one else who said so, but I was given to understand that they had made 
up their minds not to resist any attempt to arrest them ; and that there seemed to be a pre- 
arranged conclusion to come there unarmed. The convention met. I have forgotten the 
number of members present. They adjourned to call in absentees. As they adjourned I 
heard the drums beating in the street, and went down stairs. As I got to the sidewalk I saw 
the head of a negro procession entering Dryades street with drum and fife and flag. The 
negroes were very evidently men who had suddenly left their work to join the procession, for 
they had the hooks that are used for turning cotton-bales, and one man had a saw, evidently 
a carpenter's. He seemed to have fallen into the ranks of the procession as it passed, but 
without any preparation at all. I discovered from what they told me, and from the state- 
ments that white men made to me, that the procession had had some trouble at the junction 
of Canal and Burgundy streets, and that some shots had been fired. I went immediately to 
the telegraph office. As I returned from the telegraph office, and was coming down Canal 
street, 1 heard tiring in the direction of the Institute. I turned around to go hack into it 
again, and was met by a crowd of policemen and citizens (white men) rushing back from the 
institute. I discovered that they were being fired upon, very evidently from the building, 
and that bricks had been thrown on them, and they were returning the fire. I finally got 
into an alley, just about half way between the Institute and Canal street. From there I 
could see into the Institute building, and I could also see in front of it and diagonally across 
Dryades street to Canal street. I could not get out id' that alley for some time, because the 
bullets were whizzing by me on the sidewalk continually, and bricks were being thrown. 
From there 1 saw three freedmen fall, killed, on Dryades street, but by whom they were killed 
I do not know. Then the freedmen rushed up stairs into the Institute building, the police moved 
up towards the Institute again, and the crowd of freedmen who had not got into the building 
fell back towards Common street. The police and white men then fell back to Canal street, 
leaving Dryades street, between Common and Canal streets, perfectly clear, with the excep- 
tion of those three dead freedmen. I managed to get out of the alley and get down again to 
the telegraph office. When I came back the police were attempting to effect an entrance 
into tin- building. I took a prominent position where I could see everything that was going 
on without being in the crowd myself. I saw the freedmen, as they would attempt to leave 
the rear end of the Institute or the side exits, shot as soon as they would show themselves. 
I saw them beaten after they had fallen with clubs by policemen, and I saw the. policemen 
put revolvers to their heads and to their hearts, within a couple of inches, and fire into them. 
Men respectably dressed rushed up with canes, or sticks, or anything they could get hold of, 
to jab them, pound them, and stick them in the face and eyes. I went back into the alley 
and saw a freedman climbing over the fence. I looked to see whether or not he would get 
away. I thought he would, but a bullet came from some direction in my rear, and be fell to 
the ground in the alley. Haifa dozen policemen then rushed up. I was as near to them as 
I am to any member of the committee. They beat him with their clubs and shot him with 
their pistols. He was attempting to beg for mercy, but he could not. Then 1 went again 
to the telegraph office, and as I had finished writing my despatch and turned to leave, 1 saw 
a negro being chased down Carondelet street, on which the telegraph office is located, with 
probably two hundred people behind him, coming from Common street, and with half a 
dozen policemen in front of the crowd, tiling at him continually. He was a large man 
dressed in check. As he got right opposite the telegraph office a policeman came up so near 
to him that he could put his hand upon him and arrest him. Instead of doing so, however, 
he shot him, and the black man fell into a door-way, dead. I do not recollect whether it 
was myself or some one else who was present at the time, who remarked toapoliceman "Do 
not kii'l that man ; arrest him." The reply Mas, " Keep your mouth shut, you negro-loving 
son of a bitch, or we will kill you next." After that visit to the telegraph office I returned 
to the Institute, by the way of Common street, where the mob had come from who were 
chasing the negro, as I have just mentioned, and as I reached the junction of Dryades and 
Common streets a negro was lying on the sidewalk, partially in the gutter, and evidently 
dying from the effects of his wounds. Blood was spouting from his eyes and ears, and he 
seemed to be shot in several places in the head. A man drew a sword cane — I think it was 
— and stuck it into his heart. He bent over, and as he rose up the blood spouted into his 
face, lie out his weapon up, all covered with blood, saying, "Another one gone to hell,' 
or something of that sort. 

By Mr. SlIELLABARGEIt: 

209. Was he a citizen ? 

Yes, sir. I then passed through Dryades street to Canal, and as I came to Canal street, 



TESTIMONY OF EDWARD P. BROOKS. 19 

: , of Dryades, I met three or four policemen who had in charge Colonel W. R. Fish, 
the gentleman now present. He whs being marched up Canal street; I walked with him 
till we came to the corner of Carondelet street. Then I went to the telegraph office, and do 

not know what disposition was made of him afterwards. While we were passing between 
Dryades and Baronne streets the crowd followed him, yelling, "Hang him, kill him," and 
calling him hard names. A man had mounted on one of those wooden horses that are gener- 
ally placed under scaffolding, and with a rope attached to a lamp post, having a noose at the. 
end of it, he tried to throw the rope over Colonel Fish's head; but the rope fell and struck 
a policeman. The police with their revolvers pushed it away, and he walked away unharmed, 
except that some one struck him in the back with a brick at that time. Then I returned 
from the telegraph office and met a man named Haynes, who was being carried through the 
crowd in the same way. There were no attempts to lynch him, but the crowd were yelling 
nil, " llano- him." He passed through the crowd until he got to Canal or Carondelet. street, 
I forget which, without being injured. A short time, previous to all of this a bell rang; I do 
not know whether it was called a general alarm in New Orleans or not, but it was an alarm- 
bell that would attract attention. It was the main fire-bell of the city. I heard several 
persons cry out— one man in particular — "Now, the devil is to pay," and other such remarks, 
which led me to believe that it might be a signal. At the same time I saw the fourth district 
police marched forward, aud I thought it perhaps might have been a signal to bring the 
police from that district to the sceue of action. A fire company came down with their fire 
apparatus as if they were running to a fire, which is a very good way to collect a crowd, 
and arrived in front of the Institute. On seeing Haynes safe out of the immediate crowd 
around the Institute, I weut to General Baird's headquarters for the purpose of seeing if the 
military would be up or not. I remained there a length of time before 1 had an opportunity 
of seeing any one who would give me any information. When I returned I discovered that 
the Institute building was empty, and I understood from what I had seen myself and under* 
stood from others that no one had got out of it without being injured iu some way, or killed. 
About that time the military came up, and that ended the riot. 

By the Chairman: 

210. At what time in the morning did you yourself go to the Institute ? 
A few minutes before 12 o'clock. 

211. And how long did you remain there? 
About half an hour. 

212. Until their recess ? 
Yes, sir. 

213 After you left the Institute then, did you go into it again 1 

No, sir; not until after the end of the riot. When I said that the Institute was empty on 
my return, 1 meant to say empty of conventioners and freedmen. There, were none in it but 
rioters and policemen when I went into it last ou that day. 

211. You were not present when Mr. Horton was shot? 

No, sir. 

215. How many persons did you see wounded? 

I really cannot tell. I recollect counting the next day ten whom I had seen killed out- 
right — freedmen. 

21G. What other j ersons than the freedmen did you know to have been killed? 

I cannot say of my ow r n personal knowdedge that any one white man was killed, for I saw 
none killed. 

'21?. How many policemen should you suppose there were there? 

I should say there were probably 150 of the regular force there. That is a mere estimate. 

218. Did you observe what badge, if any, they had? 

They wore their usual badges. One of them I saw with his badge reversed, so that his 
number could not be seen. I do not know if it was carelessness or not. 

•210. Did you see other badges than those which the police wore? 

I did not notice any. 

220. Were the police armed? 

They were armed — doubly armed, it seemed to me. Isaw quite a number with two navy 
revolvers each, and others with navy revolvers who I know were not in the habit of carrying 
them at all. 

"221. You say you were at the office of the mayor some little time before? 

About half past eleven o'clock. 

222. Was anything said as to the intention of the convention to surrender on arrest ? 
Not at that time. 

223. Was anything said indicating a judgment on the part of the authorities as to what 
the convention would or would not do .' 

No, sir, there was not. A question was asked, "What will you do in the case of a riot?" 
and the reply was " We have no fear of a riot ; but, if there is a riot, the best way is to let 
the confederate soldiers break into the gun-stores and arm themselves." 

224. Who did you understand to be meant by the confederate soldiers ? 

Men who had been in the rebel service, and who were then at home — citizens of New 
Orleans. 



20 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

225. Was anything said about any extra police force? 

I asked that, and the reply was evasive. I did not get any satisfactory answer to that 
question. 

226. You do not recollect what the reply was? 

No, sir; I recollect 1 did not get any satisfactory reply to that question, although it was 
rumored that a number of extra constables or deputy sheriffs had been sworn in. 

•i','7. Did you know anything of persons there who were known to have belonged to what 
was called Hays's brigade '. 

Many of the members of the police force had been members of Hays's brigade. 

228. 1 >id you see Sheriff 1 lays there? 
I did not. 

229. Did the mayor say anything as to any application to the military on his part? 

I did not see the mayor, but his private secretary. The mayor was not in his office. 

230. Was anything said by the secretary on that point? 

Not regarding that matter. My object in going there was, as much as anything else, to let 
the mayor and municipal officers know who I was, so that if I got arrested or anything of 
that sort, I would get out. I felt certain at that time that there would be a riot, and 1 did 
not know but that I might be in the building. 

231. Did you state how many men there were in the procession that you met in the street? 
No, sir; and I could not form any reliable estimate. The tail end of the procession, as 

you might say, was mixed up with an indiscriminate crowd, so that you could hardly tell 
where it ended. As I came down stairs out of the building, walking toward Canal street, I 
fronted the procession — met it as it was coming up. 

232. What appearance did the procession make? As of men who were under command ? 
No, sir; it seemed to m'e that perhaps twenty-five men had got together with a drum and 

fife and a flag, and had marched through Burgundy street, and as they marched along other 
freedmen fell into the ranks, some carrying cotton-hooks, some saws, and some tools which 
they had been working with. They had evidently left their work as the procession passed, 
and joined in the ranks. 

233. Have you stated all the facts that occurred to you that were under your eye that 
day .' 

Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Taylor : 

234. Were any of the men in this procession, so far as you saw, armed? 

No, sir ; not with fire arms. They were not armed, unless you may call a saw a weapon. 
I saw one negro with a common carpenter's hand-saw. After a portion of the procession had 
got into the building, I saw pistols in the hands of the negroes tired from the windows. 
They may have been members of the procession, but that I don't know. 

235. You speak of thinking there would be a riot. What induced your thinking their 
would be a riot .' 

I had heard the talk in public places, not among respectable men, not among men who 
were considered as belonging to the better classes, but among the rowdies and firemen, and 
men who frequent hotels and lounge about. I had heard such talk, and then 1 supposed 1 
. knew what the designs of the convention were. 1 knew what the generally accepted design 
of the convention was; and from what I did know, from the experience I had had with tin- 
lower classes of the southern people, I knew there would be a riot. I had been in the south 
continually for twenty months. 

236. What did you suppose was the immediate cause that produced that feeling, looking 
to a riot, in the minds of those persons; was it an opposition to the government, State or 
federal .' 

My impression is that it was in opposition to the members of the convention, and to the 
principles which it was supposed the convention would adopt in its enactments. 

23J. What were those principles understood to be? 

Disfranchisement of men who had been in the rebel service, and enfranchisement -of all 
men who had been in the Union service, whether black or white. 

23d. Was that the design of the convention ? 

I cannot say it was the design of the convention, but it was the generally accepted opinion 
in reference to its designs. 

23'J. Was there any evidence of a disposition to oppose the government of the United 
States manifested in that riot .' 

i heard frequent cries of "Down with the. Yankees, damn the Yankees," which in the 
south is a synonymous term with the United States. 

By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 
•JUL Did you hear airy shouts for Jeff. Davis? 

1 do not recollect that] did. I heard quite frequently such shouts as "Damn the Y"ankee 
government,"' or something of that sort. 

'241. Did Mayor Monroe's officials there say they believed there would be no riot? 

Yes, sir; Mayor Monroe's private secretary made me that statement. At the same time I 



TESTIMONY OF EDWARD P. BROOKS. 21 

knew lie was telling me a falsehood, because 1 could sec the policemen lying around in 
i \ ette square and loafing around the police headquarters, evidently there because a rioi 
was anticipated. They had been taken off duty in other portions of the city, and brought up 
there to be on hand in ease they were needed. 

242. Have the goodness to state whether a letter which appeared in the New York Times, 
signed " E. P. B.," is yours. 

'It is. 

243. I see that you state in this letter you saw a Union man in the midst of a crowd of 
rebels who were pounding a negro and shouting for Jeff. Davis. I wish 3011 to refresh your 
memory and state whether you now remember hearing of such shouts. 

That' letter is correct. I can swear to that much better than I can swear to the facts now. 

24 I. In this letter you also allude to an eye-witness whose name you can furnish, and who 
says that he saw a policeman mounted on the cart, thrusting his revolver between the bodies 
of the dead men in the cart, and killed the poor fellows with one shot for each. I want you 
to state the name of that witness. 

I think his name is Fry. 

24"). Describe his occupation and place of business. 

He is connected in some way with the New Orleans Baggage Transfer Company, as 
superintendent or otherwise. Where his place of business is I do not know. My impression 
is that his name is Fry. I knew his name at that time, but I have forgotten it. 

246. I see in this letter that you allude to some of the police who were mortally wounde '. 
I wish you to state the name of any person whom you know from personal knowledge to 
have been killed or wounded, and who was of the enemies of the convention. 

I do not know of any. The statement in that letter I made upon the authority of Mr. 
Adams, the chief of police. I saw one policeman who I thought was mortally wounded, 
from the fact that he was shot in the stomach. I thought the ball had gone through his 
bowels. He said he was in great pain, and was going to die. I do not know his name. 

247. You do not know whether he did die? 

1 know from information that he did not die. 

2 18. Do you know how he got shot .' 

No, sir; t do not. I heard one policeman who was wounded damning another for shooting 
him. 

249. In all that you saw in the city, either among the members of the convention or its 
recognized friends, did. you see anything that indicated that there would be any breach of 
the peace on the part of the convention or its friends? 

No, sir, I cannot say that I did. I saw on the part of a number of them — among others 
Mr. Dostie and John Burke — a determination to resist any attempt that might be made to 
disperse them. I think, although I did not hear them express themselves to that effect, that 
they would be in favor of resisting any attempt to arrest them. I think there were a few 
members of the convention so inclined. 

250. That is, to resist the breaking' up of the convention forcibly? 

Yes, not only to resist its being broken up forcibly, but to resist any attempt to arrest 
them. 

251. How was it with the remainder of them? 

The disposition of the majority was to submit to arrest in case it was attempted. In fact, I 
heard prominent members of the convention express themselves to that effect. 

252. Do you know whether an order had been issued for the holding of an election on the 
3d of September to fill the vacancies in that convention? 

Yes. 

253. Do you know whether the purpose of the friends of the convention was to proceed to 
do business as a convention before these vacancies were filled? What were the general 
apprehension and understanding of the people at New Orleans in that regard, so far as you 
know ' 

I never talked with any people in New Orleans about that matter. I did talk, however, 
with members of the convention. 

254. State what you knew from them. 

I understood from them that they intended to call in as large a convention as they could 
get together, and then adjourn till after the election. 

255. And not to proceed to do business until after the election? 
No, sir. 

By Mr. Taylor : 

256. From whom did you understand that ? 
From members of the convention. 

257. Have you any idea as to whether the people of New Orleans as a mass were identified 
with the movement of this mob, if you choose to call it so, or this insurrection, or this rebel- 
lion, or what proportion of the people of New Orleans seemed to be actively engaged in this 
disastrous movement ? 

The police force was made up of citizens of New Orleans, and the white men on the streets 
I suppose were citizens. They were the attacking force. They were the enemies of the 



22 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

convention. They were the aggressors in every case that I saw. There were a few police- 
men who protected prisoners after they had become prisoners; but I did not see many of them 
attempting to protect freedmen in tin- vicinity of the mob. After the freedmen got away from 
the mob to where there were nobody to harm them, the policemen treated them decently. 

258. Did you know anything of a mob in New York within the last few years? 
Only by report. I was in the army at that time. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

259. General Sheridan, in one of his official letters, alludes to a part of that police force as 
constituted of the Thugs of New Orleans; what did he mean by that term ! 

It means a class of nun who are desperadoes, who will murder a man by coming up behind 
his back for five dollars, or for any small amount of money. 

260. Was any portion of that description of men known and recognized as such in the 
police ? 

Oh, yes, sir; the first Thug I ever had pointed out to me in New Orleans was a sergeant 
of police — a man whose reputation throughout the city is notorious as a Thug, 
26J. And was at the time he was put on the police? 
So I was informed. 

By Mr. Taylor : 

262. I understood you to say you were from Washington ? 
Washington is my home as much as any place. My mother lives here. 

263. Where were you born ? 
hi Ohio. 

•264. Were you reared there? 

No; partly in Wisconsin and in the northwest. I left Wisconsin to go into the United 
> ;, :itcs service in 1861. 

265. And you served through the war ? 

Yes, sir; I served until the 7th of January, 1865. When I went into the service my 
mother came to this city to reside, and my home has been here since. 



Washington, December 13, 1866. 
EUFUS WAPLES sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

266. You are a resident of Louisiana ? 
Yes, Sir. 

267. What part of it. 
New Orleans. 

268. For how long a time ? 
Since 1849 — seventeen years. 

269. Have you held official position there? 

None, excepting that of United States attorney from May, 1863, till the latter part of Oc- 
tober, 1865 .' 

27U. What is your age? 
Forty-one. 

271. Were you in New Orleans during July and August, 1866? 
Yes; I was there till the 17th of August. 

272. Were you a member of the convention ? 
I was not. 

27:!. On the day of the convention where were you? 
I was in my law office. 

274. Did you see anything of the occurrences of that day ? 

I was not at the Institute at all, and saw nothing of the occurrences there. 

275. Where is your office .' 

On the comer of Camp and Natchez streets, some three or four block from the Institute. 

276. Did you remain then- during the whole day? 

I remained in my office till about one o'clock, when 1 started to the Mechanics' Institute 
to see the convention in session. Before 1 had got half the way there, I met a gentleman 
who just came from there, and who said that the convention had taken a recess, and he in- 
vited me to go with him to his law office, which I did. 

277 Who was that gentleman ? 

Judge Hoffman. 

278; How long did you remaiu there ? 

I remained there until between two and three o'clock — probably half-past two o'clock. 
\\ bile there, news came of the massacre which was going on at the Institute. Directly in 
front of Judge Hoffman's office were the New Orleans Times and Picayune offices; and 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS WAPLES. 23 

while still there, 1 saw posted, in large letters, in front of the offices a statement that some 
fifteen persons had been already killed, and that the massacre was still going on. 

279. How long did you remain (hen- .' 

1 think thai aboul half-past two o'cloek I wont down the street, took a horse car, and 
vt\ nt to my home in the upper part of the city, a mile and a half above that place.. 

280. And you remained at home the rest of the day ? 

^ es. sir : except that about five o'clock 1 walked over about a couple of blocks to inquire 
about the events of the day, and ascertain what friends had been killed. I was out 1 sup- 
pose half an hour. With that exception, I remained at home the rest of the day and night. 

281. V. i n you at the meeting that was called on the Friday before the convention met .' 

1 V, 

282. Where was it held? 

In the Mechanics' Institute building. There were two meetings going on at the same 
time : one in the Institute, and the other on a stand erected in front of it on the street. 

283. Did you speak in the hall ? 

Yes. I addressed the meeting and heard all the speeches that were made in the hall. 

284. What was the object of the meeting ! 

It was apolitical meeting. I know not of any particular object beyond that of any other 
political meeting, except that the convention was to meet on the following Monday. The 
meeting, I suppose, was to instruct, the public mind as to the object of the convention. I 
recollect that in the call of the meeting it was set forth that the object was to take into con- 
sideration the subject of the convention. There w T as also some national subject in question. 
I do not know whether it was the constitutional amendment or not. I know there were two 
points announced as the objects of the meeting. 

28.3. What was the character of the meeting ? 

It was very well-tempered in the hall. I was not out of doors, and I cannot speak of the 
meeting outside. In the hall everything was well-behaved ; no disturbance whatever and no 
unusual excitement. 

286. Were you there when the meeting broke up ? 
Yes. I was there when the meeting adjourned. 

287. So far as you saw, was there any evidence of disturbance outside or inside ? 

None, whatever. I left the hall, walked across to St. Charles street and stood on the side- 
walk, while the procession, which had been formed under the leadership of Dr. Dostie and 
others, passed by. As that procession passed by. I heard remarks made by men on the side- 
walk, by persons adverse to the principles of the Union men, saying that that should not be 
allowed, and complaining that negroes were in the procession. lint I saw or heard nothing 
disturbing the public peace. 

288. Did you say what the purpose of the convention was 1 

I think I did fully, because I knew many of the leading members of the convention and 
had conversed with them freely, particularly with Judge Howell, who presided over it, and a 
number of other prominent men connected with it, and I think they expressed their sincere 
sentiments and objects to me. 

289. What was their contemplated action? 

Their contemplated action, as expressed to me, was to meet on that day; and as they did 
not think that they would have a quorum on the first day, to adjourn from time to time until 
they should have a quorum — seventy-six having been previously fixed as a quorum. The 
probability was that there would not be a quorum until the parishes, which were not repre- 
sented in 18(i4, should be represented by an election to be held under the proclamation of 
Governor Wells, which had been already published, and it was probable, that the convention 
would adjourn over until that time. Then they hoped to have a small majority in favor of 
colored suffrage ; and they intended, if they should have that majority, to adopt colored 
suffrage for Louisiana. Some were in favor of disfranchising leading rebels. I am not pre- 
pared to say that they had fixed 'upon that as another of the objects of the convention. I 
think that was rather a mooted point among the radical members of the convention. But I 
think it was settled that they would extend suffrage in Louisiana to the colored people, and 
then submit this constitution which they proposed to make to the loyal people — black and 
white. I do not know whether the objeet was to disfranchise any or not; but I know that 
the sentiment among the leading members of the convention was to enfranchise the colored 
people, then to submit this convention for ratification to the people ; then, if adopted, not to 
attempt to put it into force until they should have submitted it to Congress. That was re- 
peatedly expressed to me, particularly by Judge Howell, who presided over the convention. 
Then, if admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other States on that constitu- 
tion emanating from the people, they hoped that Congress would give them force sufficient 
to put it into operation. That that was the object of those men I am well convinced from 
their own statements made before and since, and I did not undertaud any other object to 
exist. 

290. So far as you can judge, was that understood or not generally in the city? 

I am not prepared to say that I know what was generally understood. That was generally 
understood among those whom I knew. 



24 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

291. State whether su/ch purposes as those were avowed in the speeches which you have 
alluded to as having; been made to the people. 

They were avowed by myself as one of the speakers, if I recollect rig-lit. 

292. Publicly? 

Yes. Speaking of those speeches I wish to say that I heard no one in the speeches made 
in the hall advise the negroes to come armed to the convention to defend it, and 1 did not un- 
derstand at the time by the speeches, or by any previous conversation, that there would be 
any difficulty at all on Monday, and T certainly did not anticipate any when I was on my 
■way to the convention at one o'clock on the day of the massacre. 1 was in conference with 
the radical Union men of that convention, and not one of them ever intimated to me that they 
were going there armed or that they expected any conflict. 

29o*. Have you stated all the facts that came under your observation on that day connected 
with the riotous proceedings? 

I have not stated all the minutiae, but I do not know of .any important fact that I have 
omitted. 

294. Have you any means of knowing how many people were killed and wounded on that 
occasion ? 

1 cannot say how many. I visited the hospital where the wounded were; I saw Doctor 
Horton die, and was with Doctor Dostie on the day of his death — a little while before his 
death. In that hospital, which was the marine hospital, I saw, six days after the massacre, 
(for I did not move about much for the first few days afterwards,) some fifty persons who 
were badly hurt — some of them very badly hurt and others less so. Some were suffering from 
pistol or gunshot wounds, and some were wounded with sharp instruments and some with 
blunt instruments; one had a severe gash in the head, apparently from an axe; one had his 
foot very badly hurt from jumping from a two-story window in the Mechanics' Institute, as 
I was told by Doctor Harris, the surgeon in charge of the hospital. 

295. How many persons were killed or wounded, within your knowledge, who were un- 
friendly to the purposes of the convention? 

All whom I saw killed or wounded I understood to be persons wdio were friendly to the 
convention. I was not on the ground on the day of the massacre, and did not visit, Doctor 
Bertholow's office, where most of the police who were hurt had their wounds dressed, and I, 
therefore, cannot speak of the number who were hurt. 1 have never seen one person hurt 
who was unfriendly to the convention, though 1 understood there were some. 

296. Have you said that your profession was that of a lawyer? 
Yes. 

297. Are you well acquainted with the decisions and law of the former State of Louisiana .' 
I know more of them in that than in any other State, as I have practiced there and there 

only. 

298. Is there any law of Louisiana which provides for the suppressing of illegal conven- 
tions or assemblages ? and if so, state what the law is. 

I do not know of any statute for that purpose. In Louisiana we usually adopt the com- 
mon law. The jurisprudence of Louisiana does not differ materially from that of other States 
in criminal matters. We adopt the common law. 

299. Is there anything in the statutes of Louisiana to meet the case of this convention and 
authorize the arrest of its members ? 

1 know of nothing. It was considered perfectly legal for any body of men to meet and 
discuss any subject,' provided they did not disturb the public peace. Having been the United 
States attorney there for a long time during the rebellion, and having libelled a large portion 
of rebel property, and condemned it under the Constitution and laws, I was, of course, more 
obnoxious than' most other Union men there to the rebels, and I did not move about much 
after the massacre. 

300. From all you know of the preparations and purposes in the conduct of the convention 
and ils friends, was there any occasion to believe that there would be a breach of the peace 
in their part on the iiUth of July ? 

None whatever. 

By Mr. Taylor: 

301. Do you know whether there was any purpose on the part of the citizens of New Or- 
leans to disturb the proceedings of that convention by previous agreement among them- 
selves, or to use force to suppress it? Was there any thing like a conspiracy of that sort ? 

I thought then, just tit the time of the massacre— and the more I have reflected upon it 
since the more I have been satisfied I was right — that this was not a mere popular outbreak, 
but a deeply concerted scheme, coolly plotted. But to say that the citizens of New Orleans 
at large plotted it, would In- more than I propose to say. 

'MX. Give us the facts which led to that conclusion. 

In giving the facts which looked tc that conclusion, I cannot, of course, be confined alto- 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS WAPLES. 25 

tether to personal knowledge, because my opinion is made up from facts which I learned 
from others, [fyou allow me to take that latitude, I will give you the facts. 

303. We want to gel ai the real tarts of the case. 

The reason why I think so is thai I have been informed, under such circumstances as to 
lead me to believe it, that on the Sunday night previous to the massacre the police were 
armed with pistols paid for out of the city treasury. I am credibly informed thai the signal — 
the tap of the bell — was different from the usual firemen's tap, and had been agreed upon be- 
forehand as the signal to bring the police force from all parts of the city together. lam 
credibly informed that many of those who called themselves citizens were really policemen 
in citizen's dress, aiding and abetting the police in the attack. I am credibly informed that 
almost every member of that police force had been selected from Hays's brigade, with the 
exception of a few who were from Gibson's battery. 

304. Explain what was Hays's brigade. 

Hays was a, brigadier general in the rebel army, and his brigade was made up of persons 
who came from New Orleans ; and, although disbanded, I am credibly informed that the 
organization is in some way kept up, whether by secret meetings or not I do not know. I 
am also credibly informed that, when applications were made for appointments on the police 
force, the applicants were invariably asked if they had served in the rebel army, and that 
thai was made an indispensable qualification to getting on the police. The fact that they 
went there so well armed, which was unusual for police in keeping order in the city, and the 
fact that other members of a former confederate company rushed, upon a signal, to their 
assistance, and that all were acting harmoniously together, makes the conclusion irresistible 
to my mind that the whole matter was not a mere popular outbreak, but was a deeply-plotted 
scheme. I was not there, but am told that the Washington artillery badge, which is a little 
cannon, was worn, and that other badges of military companies were worn. 

.'in."). You speak of being informed ; was your information of tacts that brought this con- 
clusion to your mind, or was it the result of conjecture on the part of your informers ? 

Generally speaking-, the persons who told me saw what they said, or heard it from policemen 
or other former prominent rebels; but, in times of such excitement, one is informed of many 
things, and if I were asked to name the individuals wdio gave me this fact or that fact I 
would not be able to do so in every instance. In some instances I could ; but I must say 
that it was in that way I arrived at that conclusion, and I just as firmly believe it as I believe 
that the rebellion itself was a plotted thing. I did not see the plotters when they got up the 
rebellion, but I have the same sort of knowledge, and the same reason to support my con- 
clusion that this was a plotted thing, and not the result of outbreak or excitement, as I have 
that the rebellion was. 

306. Was this convention a legally authorized body? 

I never thought much of it when it was in session in 1864. I was not one of that class 
of Union men who believed iu galvanizing a convention in that way under a military order; 
but I was in favor of the convention meeting- at that time, because I thought it might pro 
duce a better state of things than we had. 

MO?. State briefly the origin and history of that convention. 

That convention was called by a proclamation issued by General Banks. 

308. And met accordingly iu May, 1864, and framed this constitution, as I understand? 
Yes, sir. 

309. When they adjourned, did they adjourn sine die? 

They did not. "They adjourned to meet on the call of the president. 

310. Was that legal'.' 
That is a disputed cpiestion. 

"ill. A question dependent ou tlie laws and constitution of Louisiana 1 
No, sir. There is nothing- peculiar in the laws of Louisiana in regard to it. There is no 
statute as to whether the convention could adjourn that way or not. If it would be legal 
anywhere for a convention to adjourn with such conditions, it would be in Louisiana. 

312. This convention proposed, as I understand you, under this renewed convocation, to 
consider the question of suffrage in two regards, one as to the enfranchisement of the negro 
population, and the other as to the disfranchisement of a portion of the rebel population? 

I understood it to be the purpose of all the radical members with whom I conversed to 
recognize the right of the colored people to vote, but they were not unanimous upon the 
other point — of the disfranchisement of any other class. 

313. What is your opinion of the sentiments of the Union party or loyal people of Louisi- 
ana in reference to theTeassembling of that convention? 

They were divided on that subject. 

314. In what proportion do you suppose they were divided? 

I would not be able to say definitely. I think a majority of them would be in favor of it. 

315. Were the rebel population unanimous against it? 

I think so. I might say that I think that the Union people were almost unanimous in 
favor of negro suffrage. Some did not want it done by that convention — not looking upon 
the origin of the convention of 18H4 as a desirable one; but upon the result to be obtained 
the sentiment was almost unanimous among the Union men of Louisiana at that time. In 



26 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

using - the word "Union" I do not mean all who style themselves Unionists, but those who 
have been Unionists throughout the war. 

316. About what proportion, as near as yoti can judge, under the general definition just 
given by you, would that bear with that which was identified with the rebellion iu the State 
of Louisiana? 

Confining my answer to the white population, I do not think that one-tenth were Union 
men iu that sense. 

317. You think a majority of that one-tenth, however, were in favor of negro suffrage? 

Over nine-tenths were, and are at this time They have not always been so. It is pos- 
sible that that may be too large a proportion now. Certainly a very large majority of them 
are in favor of negro suffrage. 

318. AVith the rebel population how is it ? 

I think they are, almost to a man, opposed to it. 

319. Please state whether you think this riot was the result of an apprehension in the 
public mind, so far as tlmse who were engaged in the riot, or sympathized with it, were con- 
cerned, that the convention was about to establish negro suffrage, or whether it was the 
manifestation of public sentiment against the government of the United States. 

I am inclined to think it was both. 

320. Please state any facts upon which you base your conclusion that it was the disposi- 
tion to rebel against the United States government, or a manifestation of opposition to the 
United States government. 

I was in the habit of hearing prominent men who were rebels speak against the govern- 
ment of the United States; and when I say government, I mean in all its branches; I do not 
mean the executive department particularly. I heard thern frequently speak of not beiDg 
ashamed of having engaged in the rebellion. I heard them glory in it I know they were 
in the habit of boasting over their victories and laurels won. In the city and State elections 
that took place but a little while ago, during the canvass, so far as I saw their speeches re- 
ported, they were in the habit of righting their battles over again. It was understood that 
no man could be elected, or be a candidate for office, who had not served the full four years 
in the rebel army. There was a disposition to continue the popularity of the rebellion, and 
to render obnoxious any man who adhered to the government of the United States. These 
are soaie of the reasons that lead me to that conclusion. 

321. Yon think, therefore, that this riot resulted in part from opposition to the United 
States government? 

Yes, I think it did, in part; opposition to the measiwes of Congress particularly. 

322. Were any of the measures of Congress involved in the issues of that cam-ass ? 

In this way they were involved : A large body of true Union men looked upon Congress 
as the only legal legislature for Louisiana — having the right to legislate directly for us in 
the absence of a State government which was believed to have no legal existence. These 
views were advocated publicly in meetings. I have myself advocated that doctrine more 
than once in speeches in public meetings. Those views have been commented upon in the 
public press, and the men denounced who advocated them. 

323. What majority of Union men there believe that the State government is not a legal 
government ? 

I think a majority of the radicals believe that ; and almost all the Union men who were 
Unionists throughout the war are radicals in Louisiana, using the word radical in its proper 
signification. 

By Mr. Shei.labarger : 

324. What constitution have you in force there now ? What is the recognized constitu- 
tion of the State as understood by a majority of the white citizens of Louisiana .' 

The constitution of 18(i4, made under General Banks's order, is the only one attempted to 
be enforced there, and the rebels, so far as there is any expression through their speeches or 
their press, seem to assent to it. 

325. Do they maintain that to be the legal State constitution of Louisiana/ 

There is a difference of opinion, but they all seem to acquiesce in it. There was a dispo- 
sition perhaps in tlie last rebel legislature to order a new constitution, but it was deemed 
advisable not to do it then. The constitution of 1864 lias been acquiesced in. 

326. You state that seventy-six was regarded as a quorum of the convention; would that be 
regarded as a quorum of the whole number with each parish in the State represented 
according to the State constitution ? 

Yes, sir. When the convention met, in 1864 there were a good many parishes not repre- 
sented, but they fixed the quorum at a point that would make it a majority with every parish 
represented. Seventy-six would, therefore, now be a quorum if every parish in tiie State 
were represented. 

o\.'?. Who, by the constitution of 1864, were the electors ? 

White males above the age of twenty-one. 

328. Without regard either to loyalty or to anything else ? 

Yes; nobody is disfranchised except the blacks and persons convicted of infamous 
crimes, Ac. 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS WAPLES. 27 

• 

320. Can any one obtain an office, either by election or by appointment, in Louisiana, who 
has been known as a loyalist during the war ' 

For a State appointment or a city appointment or a parish appointment I may say he could 
not up to it recent period, and cannot now, so far as elective offices are concerned. As to 
appointing officers, I believe that Governor Wells, although he was formerly in the habit of 
appointing rebels, has changed his tactics so far as to appoint Union men. 

330. Then no man who is a Union man could be elected in Louisiana? 

I am sure he could not, with the definition of a Union man 1 have given. I am well 
convinced that any man, running distinctly as a Union man — for instance, a man who has 
served in the Union army — against a man who had served in the confederate army, both 
being equal in respect to popularity and other respects. In such a contest the rebel would 
gel nine votes where the Union man would get one; and I think, really, there would be a 
greater difference than that. In the elections that have been held, tickets styled Union 
tickets have been defeated, but they have been tickets made out to suit the times, and the 
men have not been run distinctly on the ground that they were Union men. 

331. Suppose that portion of the people of Louisiana who were engaged in the rebellion 
should deem that they saw an opportunity of successfully resisting the government of the 
United States, aimed at in the late rebellion, either through the assistance of a foreign war or 
other cause ; from all you know would they unite in another rebellion, or in resisting the 
government? 

You of course ask merely my opinion. My opinion is, that the rebel leaders would, and 
the rank and tile would follow suit if they saw a chance of successful resistance. If they 
believed they could successfully, by the assistance 'of a foreign power, obtain their independ- 
ence, I think the leaders would be in favor of it, and through their influence they would 
lead on the body of the rebel people. 

332. What would be the proper course for the government to take in reference to Louisi- 
ana, so as to protect the rights and the loyal opinions of the loyal people of that State ? 

I think it would be lor Congress to adopt a form of government adapted to Louisiana, 
under the idea, which I believe to be true, that no legal government now exists there. The 
government so established could be known as a territorial government, or the government of 
an insurrectionary State, or by whatever terms would be considered preferable, and it should 
be supported by military force. The right of suffrage should then be conferred upon all the 
people of the State, white and black, and upon such disloyal people as is thought might be 
trusted. As to what proportion that should be, I do not know. I think we should avoid 
having too large a proportion of dissatisfied men among us. The colored men would neu- 
tralize the rebel vote to a great extent, and insure the Union majorities ; but it seems to me 
that in order to make treason odious, and to put loyalty at a premium, the leaders of the 
rebellion should he disfranchised. The mass of the people, who are merely led by the nose, 
1 think certainly in a few years could be made a better use of by giving them the right of 
suffrage. 

33o. You think the black vote would neutralize the rebel vote. I wish to ask you whether 
the colored vote or Louisiana, if the negroes should be enfranchised, would not be controled 
by those who had been the leaders in the rebellion in Louisiana ? 

I answer that I think the negroes are well educated to hate slavery and treason ; better 
educated on these {mints than any other class ; that they would not be controlled so as to vote 
in favor of those who have been directly opposed to them on these two subjects. I would 
answer in the second place, that even if they should vote into office men who have been pro- 
minent pro-slavery men, or rebels, I know of no more effective way of taking the poison out 
of such public men. I think they would make pretty clever officers, if elected by negroes. 
In other words, if the prejudice against the negroes, which has been the fruitful source of all 
our woes, could lie eradicated by the elevation of these rebels to office through the medium 
of negro votes, a great object would be accomplished. But I have not the slightest idea that 
these men would control the votes of the negroes. They may in some instances on some 
plantations, for human nature is the same there, and in the negro as in the white man, taking 
into consideration, of course, the difference of race. 

By Mr. Taylor : 

334. In your opinion where does the sovereignty of the state government reside ? 

In the people of the state. 

3:55. That being true, do you think it important or unimportant that those who wield that 
sovereignty should be skilled to some extent in the knowledge of the government? 

I think it very important that they should be skilled in the knowledge of government. 

3361 Do you think the negro population of Louisiana is prepared to vote intelligently, and 
to act wisely, as a part of the sovereignty of Louisiana I 

I answer that I think they are prepared to act wisely, but they may not vote so intelli- 
gently on all subjects as men better educated. And I answer, further, that I think they will 
vote, all of them, more in the interest of the government, and will in the interest of Louisi- 
ana, than those who have been arrayed against the government. 

3:57. You think they are better prepared to exercise that sovereignty than those who have 
been anayed against the government? 



28 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I do, because T think the loyalty of the elector a very essential qualification. I think, in 
other words, that the most ignorant negro on any plantation of Louisiana would vote more 
in the interest of the government than such a man as John Slidell, although he has not the 
knowledge or education that Slidell has. 

338. Suppose the negroes of Louisiana enfranchised, and the rebel population, or those on 
the side of the confederacy during the war, were disfranchised, what proportion would the 
negro vote bear to the remaining white vote of the State'? 

I am not a very good statistician, and really could not answer. 

339. I will put the question in a different form : Could you give me an approximation of 
the entire vote of the State under the present constitution? 

I would not like to undertake to do that. There will be others before you whose judgment 
will be much more reliable on that point. During the last few years the elections there have 
been very irregular. 

3 10. 1 >o \ ou recollect what the vote of the State was just before the war? 

I cannot recollect the Qgures. 

341. The point of my inquiry is this: By a disfranchisement of the rebel vote of the State, 
or those persons who have been identified with the rebellion, and by enfranchising the negroes 
of the State, will not the negro vote largely exceed the white vote of the S ate .' 

O. yes. In other words, there are a great many more Union negroes than there are Union 
white men in Louisiana. 

342. Then I ask you if the result of that operation wouj)il not be to place the political power 
of Louisiana in the hands of the negro population? 

"Were they to vote as a class it would give them a majority ; but I am not prepared to say 
that they would vote as a class tit all. 

:!!:'> Do you not think that the large mass of the negro vote in any of the ex-slave States 
would be peculiarly liable to be influenced by men having their guidance ami direction — as 
employers, tor instance I 

I think through kindness they are easily influenced, but not easily influenced any other 
way. 

344. My question was upon the hypothesis that those who employed them would be dis- 
posed to treat them kindly, particularly since they are free and it is for their interest to do so. 

That is certainly a very desirable result to be produced. 

345. The point of my inquiry is this : Whether, in your opinion, the negro, in his present 
condition, if enfranchised, would not be easily influenced by those whom he regarded with 
confidence and would treat him kindly.' 

I think the large body of them would. Those who are educated would not. 

346. What proportion of them, in your judgment, are educated? 

There tire a great many in New Orleans who read and write and who have been free 
for many years. Many of them are property-holders. 

347. Can you give me anything like the proportion in New Orleans? 

I cannot. There has been such an influx of negro population there for the last few years 
that I cannot undertake to give you the proportion. 

318. Thai class of negroes is largely concentrated in New Orleans, is it not .' 

I think so. I have lived in the city during the hist seventeen years and am well acquainted. 
in the parishes. 

34!>. What influence do you think the Freedmen's Bureau or similar agencies- would have 
upon the feelings, opinions, and actions of the negro population if enfranchised .' 

I think if the freedmen's Bureau bill were executed by subordinate officers, and by aU 
officers, in its true spirit, it would be, in most respects, beneficial. Yet I doubt the wisdom 
of that portion of it relating to the making of contracts, authorizing the making of contracts 
and not leaving labor to find its own level. But I am under the impression thai many a gents 
of the Freedmen's Bureau, when they get into a community where a large majority of tiio.se 
who have influence are adverse to negro freedom, do not carry out always the spirit of the 
bureau in good faith. I say I am under that impression. I do not speak from personal 
knowledge. I have no names to give and do not know of individual instances. 



Washington, Friday, December 14, 1866. 
RUFUS KING CUTLER sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

350. What is your age ? .. 
Forty-one. 

351. Where do you reside > 

In the city of New Orleans, State of Louisiana. 

352. For how long have you resided there? 

About twenty-two years in Louisiana : not in New Orleans all the time, but in the vicinity. 

353. Have you held official place there .' 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS KING CUTLER. 29 

Yes; I have been constable, justice of the peace, judge, alderman, member of the convention, 
Mid was elected to the United States Senate in 1864. 
:C>4. Were youa member of the convention of 1864 .' 
Yes, sir; of the constitutional State convention that met in 1864. 

355. Were yen present at its deliberations, and when it adjourned, in 18G4? 
Yes. sir; I attended regularly neatly every day during the session. 

356. Were yon present at the reassembling of the convention in July, 1866 .' 
Yes, sir. 

:!.")?. State, if you please, the facts that came under your observation, and the occurrences 
of the 30th of. inly, front the time you left your house in the morning until yon returned to it. 

I do not think there was anything unusual before I left home in the morning. On arriving 
at my office I was informed that the members of the convention were awaiting my presence 
at the custom-house, where we held a preliminary meeting prior to going to the Mechanics' 
Institute. On arriving at the custom-house I learned from several of the members that, in 
their opinion, we had better proceed at once to the hall, and that there was no danger of dis- 
turbance or interruption, in which I coincided, and we went up to the hall. On_going to 
the hall and entering it I discovered nothing unusual, no assemblage of person's, and no ap- 
pearance at all of any disturbance Tins was about twelve o'clock in the day — the hour 
when we were'to meet. The meeting was called to order by the president pro tern., Judge 
Howell, at about twelve o'clock. There was prayer by Rev. Mr. Horton, and the convention 
proceeded to business. On the roll-call there was not a quorum present, and on my motion 
the sorgeaut-at-anrVs was ordered to go out and brine- in the absent members, a recess for an 

hour being granted for that purpose. During the recess, and at about o'clock p. m., tiring 

commenced on the street in front of the Mechanics' Institute. I stepped to the side window 
and saw policemen tiring at colored people on Dryades street, and ten ortwelve negroes throw- 
ing brickbats at the policemen. Shortly afterwards several shots were fired by the police- 
men through the windows, into the hall, on the Canal street side. At about the same time 
many persons, both white and colored, ran up stairs into the vestibule, in the front part of 
the hall, exclaiming that the police were tiring on the colored people in the street. A moment 
afterwards shots were rited from the streets through the windows into the hall on the Common 
street side. Shortly after that several shots were fired from the street through the windows 
into the hall on the Canal street side again. 

358. You do uot mean that the shots were fired from those streets, but from the direction of 
them ' 

From those sides. The building fronts on Dryades street, with the two sides towards Canal 
and Common streets. About that time many persons, white and colored, rushed from the front of 
the hall down towards the street, leaving in the hall, I think, from eighty to one hundred 
white persons, and from forty to fifty colored persons. Then the firing on the street, in front 
of the hall, seemed to be quite genera] and extensive. I remained in the hall all the time. 
The alarm was then given that the police would charge on the people in the hall. I ordered 
the windows and doors to be shut. On inquiry, it was found that no one in the hall had 
weapons. All took their seats and remained quiet, awaiting the attack At that time the 
shooting seemed to be quite general in front, and on both sides of the building. Shortly 
afterwards ten or twelve policemen appeared at the head of the stairs and near the hall doors 
with revolvers. Three of them entered the hall, asked no questions, nor did they say r anything, 
but immediately commenced tiring on those who were seated in the hall. No resistance was 
offered; though the police were requested not to fire, as we were unarmed and desired pro- 
tection. This request was made by Dr. Dostie. The police, however, continued their firing 
for a short time, and succeeded in killing two black or colored men and in severely wounding 
two white men — the reverend Mr. Jackson being shot through the body, and the reverend 
Mr. Horton being shot in the hand; another gentleman, whose name I do not know, 
was beaten on the head with a club or pistol. During this whole time there were shots 
fired, occasionally, from the street, through the windows into the hall, and a great rejoicing 
on the part of the persons on the street, who used words to this effect: "We have the con- 
ventioners now — the damned Yankee sons of bitches — and will kill them all, damn them." 
That was the main character of the words. The firing was constant, by persons on the street. 
A short consultation took place, I think, between Dr. Dostie, Ex-Governor Halm, Mr. Shaw, 
Rev. Mr. Horton, and myself, in the vestibule, after the first attack on the hall. It resulted 
in waving our white pocket-handkerchiefs to the crowd on the street in front of the hall, and 
running the Amencan flag, with a white pocket-handkerchief ou the end of it, out through a 
side window of the hall. These tokens were disregarded, and the police, in larger force, 
entered the building and came up into the hall. The Rev. Mr. Horton, in the mean time, 
implored the police not to fire upon the people in the hall, as they were defenceless and had 
done nothing. I know that not one shot was fired, or missile of any kind thrown from or by 
any person in the hall, during the whole time. I then went up-stairs to get out of the way 
of the mob and policemen. I went to the upper story of the building, three floors above the 
hall. I found three white persons and several colored persons up there. I remained there 
until about half-past three p. m., when I was arrested by four policemen and conveyed to 
the first district station-house by three of them. Although not much personally injured, I 
was very severely abused, in language, and bruised by the policemen. I remained in jail 



30 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS 

for about one no. .1 prior td my release by the military. While in the upper room of the 
building, and just before my arrest, four policemen entered, shot, stabbed, and killed a negro 
man, who was in the back part of the room, on the cross-timbers that support the roof. He 
was shot, and fell to the floor, then stabbed, dragged to and rolled down the stairs, and in 
a few moments afterwards I was taken. 

:!.">'.). Did you go into the hall again after yon went up stairs? 

No, sir; I did not return to the hall, hut in passing down the stairs in the custody of the 
police officers, I was permitted — or made — to look into the hall by the policemen. I did 
look. The hall was all bloody and strewn with dead, and the chairs and railings were all 
broken to pieces, and there were bullet-holes all over the walls. I staid, perhaps, a few 
seconds looking at it: the floor was covered with blood, and in walking down stairs the 
blood splashed under the soles of my boots. 

"nil!. Before you went up stairs, had the Rev. Mr. Horton left the hall? 

He had left the hall, I think. The last I saw of him, he was shot in the arm and the left 
side while imploring the policemen, with uplifted hands, not to go up there to shoot down 
those innocent men, as they were defenceless and harmless, and desired to surrender. He 
then fell toward the policemen coming up stairs, and I saw no more of him. 

:'.()!. Who was with him ! 

There was no person with him except the policemen. 

362. Where was Mr. Fish at that time ? 

Just previous to that moment, Mr. Fish turned to go into the hall from the vestibule. I 
was at the railing of the balusters looking down at Mr. Horton when thi.s^ook place. 

363. Can you state who shot him ? 

No, sir, I cannot. They were in police dress, but I do not know their names, 
"•il. Where was Mr. Jackson when he was shot? 
He was in the hall. 

365. Sitting down ? 

I am not certain whether he was sitting down or standing up. He was on the left of me 
in the hall ; I faced the doors, standing or sitting on the speaker's platform, and he was on 
my left, on the side of the hall fronting Commou street. 

366. Where did the police carry you? 

To the first district station — to the lock-up. 

367. How long were you there ? 
I think a little over an hour. 

368. You knew the feelings of the citizens of New Orleans, and of the men in authority 
there, toward the members of the convention, before you went to the hall that day ? 

I had not spoken to some of those gentlemen for four or five years. I knew the feeling 
from rumor and from information which was received in our caucuses, and through the 
newspapers. 

369. You knew it to be what ? 

That they were bitterly opposed to the reassembling of the convention. 

370. You say you did not expect the convention to be attacked? 
No, sir. 

371. How did it happen that you supposed the convention would be allowed to meet and 
not be attacked I 

There were various rumors that the convention would be attacked and broken up. But 
the proclamation of Mayor Munroe, issued on Monday morning, the 30th of July, the day 
of the meeting, together with the general disbelief that prevailed on the part of the loyal men 
as to the rebels executing their plan, caused me, in common with other members, to believe 
that we would not be disturbed. 

372. What proclamation of the mayor do you allude to? 

The tenor of it was requesting the people of the city of New Orleans not to visit or gd 
about the Mechanics' Institute that day, but to attend to their daily vocations. I think the 
purport of it was that if the convention did meet, the President of the United States would 
not recognize it, or that it would be equivalent to a farce — something to that effect. 

'.'>!'■'>. Have you or not reason to believe that at the time that proclamation was issued 
arrangements had been made to suppress your meeting by force .' 

I a. a convinced of the fact, but I did not know it at that time. 

374. (Jive the reasons that now satisfy you that it was preconcerted. 

The letter of .Mayor Munroe to General Baird, together with his answer, and the fact that 
at the tap of the bell at one o'clock on Monday, the 30th, the police were all gathered in 
front of the Mechanics' Institute, and the fact that they did execute the plan by shooting 
and stabbing and wounding the members of the convention and others. 

:'>"."). You say "the police." State more particularly how many there were, and what 
appearance, if any, they presented of prearrangemeut. 

All I know about their being police is that they were in the uniform prescribed by the 
authorities of New Orleans for the police, with their badges on. Some of these men who 
participated had only a badge, some had only a hat-band, and some participated who did not 
wear the ordinary police uniform. The number I am not prepared to say, but, judging 
from the number of shots and the men whom I saw in Dryades street, Canal street, and 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS KING CUTLER. 31 

Common street, I would suppose! the number to be from four to six hundred persons who 
were engaged in that massacre. 

376. Who appointed these police? 

I think that by the municipal law the mayor of the city of New Orleans — Mui 
appointed them. 

377. What was their character? 

Their reputation there is that they are all returned rebels, I believe, without an exception, 
belonging principally to Hays's brigade and some to Gibson's brigade. 

378. l»iil the members of the convention go there armed in any way ? 

1 knew of no member of the convention going there armed or prepared in any way for 
any difficulty. 

379. State what it was the design of the convention to do; what business did it expect to 
transact that day, if any? 

The object < f the convention, as ascertained by me previous to the meeting-, in caucuses 
held in my law office, was, first, after organization and a quorum 

380. What was your expectation to do that day ! 

Our intention was to go to business and to pass the constitutional amendment, grant negro 
and colored suffrage, and disfranchise rebels. That is what we intended to do. 

381. l>id you expect to do that on the 30th of July? 
We intended to do it as soon as we got organized. 

382. What do you mean by organizing? 
Having a quorum of the body. 

383. And before that time what did you expect to do? 
The only object was to perfect the organization. 

384. Was it your purpose to act before the organization was complete ? 

No, sir; it was not our intention to act until we had a quorum. The legal quorum con- 
sisted of seventy-six members, which was a majority of one hundred and fifty — the whole 
number. 

385. At what time were the writs of election returnable under the proclamation of tire 
governor ? 

I think on the 3d of September, 1866. 

386. Did you expect, then, to transact the regular business of that convention before that 
time ? 

If we had had a quorum I think we would certainly have proceeded to business : but I 
think it was generally believed that we would not have a quorum until after the election. 

387. How manj- members, in fact, were present on the 30th? 

I think twenty-five who first answered to the roll call. There were several others coming, 
and there were a good many others in the city. I think it is likely we could have had pres- 
ent that day, by the aid of our sergeaut-at-arms, if he had been unmolested, from fifty to sixty 
members, perhaps sixty-five. 

388. IIa<! you come to any conclusion as to what to do in case of arrest by the civil au- 
thorities ? 

It was talked of by the members of the convention, and I, for one, did not believe that we 
would be even arrested ; but it was agreed, jocularly, among us, that if we were we would 
at once submit to the authorities. 

3-D. Was there or not any necessity for using force to keep the peace, so far as you reon- 
vention was concerned ? 

Not on the part ot' the conventioners ; there wasno necessity at all. If they had let its alone 
we should not have disturbed anybody ; but as it turned out on the part of the police and 
their rebel allies, it was absolutely necessary that we should have protection. 

390. Would or would not the police have had any difficulty in protecting the convention 
and keeping the peace if they had seen fit to do so ? 

None whatever. It would have been no trouble for them to have kept the peace if they 
had kept it themselves. There would have been no necessity for even a police officer. No 
member of the convention and none of its friends were disposed to disturb any one. 

391. How many were killed that day besides those who were friendly to the convention ? 
I do not know of any except by hearsay. It was said that a man named Cenas, a young 

rebel, was shot accidentally in the medical college. I know of no one who was killed 
except the members or friends of the convention. 

392. How many were killed and wounded in all, as nearly as you can state? 

It is difficult for me to state. It is all hearsay. I saw three killed, but I know of others 
having died of their wounds received theie. I saw a number of others dead, but how 
many I cannot state. It is variously estimated at from fifty to one hundred and fifty. I do 
not know how many were killed. 

393. What in your judgment was the cause for that massacre? 

I think it all centres in rebel hate. The explanation in detail might be because the Union 
men were disposed to re-convene their convention. The rebels got up this counter-move- 
ment, and despising the Union cause, and particularly that body, this counter-movement 
ripened into the action of the 30th. The immediate cause I attribute to nothing else than 



32 NEAV ORLEANS RIOTS. 

rebel hate. It is quite probable that if we had not met there would have been no massacre, 
and therefore the meeting of the convention may have been the original cause. 

394 Were you at the meeting of Friday night before the convention, and did you speak 
at that meeting .' 

Yes, sir. 

395. State the character of that mee'ting and how it was conducted. 

There were two meetings, one in the hall and one in the street in front of the hall. The 
one in the street in front of the hall I did not attend. I was in the ball at the time. The 
speakers inside were Michael Hahn, ex-governor, Colonel A. P. Field, Mr. Rufus Waples, 
H. C. Dibble, and myself. This meeting was gotten up on the part of loyalists there, not 
members of the convention, as a ratification of the proceedings taken by the members of 
the convention and ils president pro ton. I think that I am the only member of the con- 
vention who made a speech on the occasion, either inside or outside The character of my 
remarks was consonant with what I have stated. I firmly believed, and so said, that the 
time had arrived when we should so change our constitution as to extend negro and colored 
suffrage, that we should adopt the constitutional amendment, and that it behooved us now 
to disfranchise rebels. I spoke of President Johnson. I did not speak lightly of the gen- 
tleman, nor kindly. I spoke of his policy as being that which had brought the ruin upon us 
that we were undergoing and suffering. I advocated the righteousness of our cause, the re- 
convocation of the convention, and its legality. That was about, the substance of my re- 
marks. 

396. Were those the subjects ordinarily spoken to by the gentlemen who were engaged in 
that meeting f 

I will state, as I was the only member of the convention who spoke, that my remarks 
were in the character of a reply to an address of welcome or sanction on the pai t of the con- 
vention. The other gentlemen spoke generally of the war, of the condition of things as they 
existed in Louisiana, being unfavorable to the Union men, as to the power of the rebels to 
rule there, against the policy of President Johnson, in favor of the policy of Congress, and 
in favor of the adoption of the constitutional amendment. 

397. How long did that meeting continue? 

It was probably between half-past ten and eleven o'clock when we adjourned in the hall. 

:'>!K What was the character of the proceedings'? 

Perfectly orderly in the hall, as much so as any assemblage I ever saw. 

399. What was the state of things when you went out .' 
It was quiet and peaceable when I went out. 

400. Stale in whose hands, as to their being Union men or otherwise, are the municipal 
offices of the city of New Orleans. 

The municipal offices are exclusively in the hands of returned rebels. 

401. How does it happen that Union men are not also holding office .' 
Because they are not in power, and the rebels are in possession of the offices. 

402. How is the fact in the State of Louisiana so far as you know 1 

So tar as the State and parochial offices are concerned we have one loyal man on the su- 
preme bench, perhaps two ; and I think we have three other loyal judges' in the State. We 
may have two or three loyal sheriffs. The balance, so far as my knowledge goes, are rebels. 

403. Slate whether or not, in your judgment, the lives and property of Union men are 
safe in Louisiana at this time. 

They are not, in my judgment. 

404. Why not ! 

Because of the recent manifestations of the rebels as against Union men. 

405. Has that slate of things continued from the time of the surrender of bee's army .' 
No, sir. Immediately on the return of the rebels they were quite humble and meek, and 

ready to obey almost any dictation of the Union party. ' It was not until the policy of the 
President reached them and was made known and was then reiterated to them and sanc- 
tioned by Governor Wells, that they became insolent ; and they succeeded at the first elec- 
tion in electing all their candidates to office. That was the start of it. It then continued 
down t<> the lime of my departure. It got worse and worse up to the time of the massacre 
and some days afterwards; in fact, it did not abate anything up to the time of my departure, 
on the 30th of < >ctober. 

406. State on your oath and your knowledge of the condition of affairs there, what should, 
in your judgment, be done. 

The loyal men should be protected; and, in my judgment, the basis of reconstruction, 
particularly in Louisiana, should be the adoption of the constitutional amendment ; at any 
rate, the enforcement pf its provisions there. There should be negro and colored suffrage; 
the total abolition of (he present government, and the enforcement of these provisions by 
military power, as I firmly believe the rebel element there cannot be suppressed by any 
other means than by force. 

By Mr. Shellabakcf.r : 

407. You speak in your last answer of a "rebel element." What proportion of the white 
people of Louisiana do you include in what you call the rebel element ? 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS KING CUTLER. 33 

I think that five-eighths of the entire white people of the State are rebels, or rehel sympa- 
thizers, in opposition to the Union people. 

408. Suppose that this element, which you call the rebel element, should see what they 
deemed a fair chance of success in another rebellion, and should be called upon by their late 
rebel leaders to engage in oue, would they or not be likely to engage iu another rebellion 
against the government? 

It is my opinion that if they could now vote unmolested and freely, they would vote for 
immediate separation (the five-eighths I have mentioned) and for the formation of an inde- 
pendent government ; and that they would freely enter into another rebellion if they thought 
the opportunity was favorable. 

409. Would it be safe to intrust the government of the United States to those people ? 
Most assuredly not, in my judgment. 

410. Suppose that the political power and influence of what has been the leading and con- 
trolling class in Louisiana should alone be taken away, leaving the common people to enjoy 
the elective franchise along with what you call colored suffrage, would that answer the pur- 
pose as the basis of a loyal State government in Louisiana '. 

I think it would. We have from thirty to thirty five thousand negro and colored voters 
in Louisiana, and about twenty-eight to thirty thousand white voters. We could have 
all the negro and colored men to vote with the Union men, and that, with the disfranchise- 
ment of the leading rebels, would give the ascendency to the Unionists, and I think they 
could sustain themselves. I think that with a sufficient military force to enforce these pro- 
visions we could establish a government which would be substantial, and we could sustain 
it after its establishment. 

411. .State from all you know of that people whether a majority of those who are now 
electors und«r the constitution of Louisiana desire the permanence and success of the gov- 
ernment of the United States ? 

I think they do not. 

4 12. Give all the facts that have come to j-our knowledge and that are to be seen in the 
conduct of that people indicating that your last answer is right. 

In the city of New Orleans many societies have been formed by the rebels, such as the 
society among merchants not to employ a clerk in their business except he be of rebel senti- 
ments ; a society among the clerks not to be employed by any but rebel employers; and 
among steamboat captains and steamboat pilots not to be employed by any but rebels. In 
fact, I think, from information received, that those societies are formed in every department 
of business in the city of New Orleans. They have other societies, secret in their character, 
which I know of by general information. In social society they discard the Union- 
ists, and as a general thing associate only with their own class. They scoff and scorn 
those of their neighbors who do hold social intercourse with (as they call them) Yankees. 
The condition of public sentiment is shown by the demonstration of the 30th of July, together 
with the oft-repeated slanders of the Union people by the rebels generally in the city, such as 
" I wish Jeff. Davis was President of the United States," " I wish to God that the military 
were out of this city and State, and we would show these Union men what would become of 
them," "We must and will give these Union dogs their passports." This has been pretty 
genera] in the city of New Orleans among the rebels. On some occasions persons have worn 
pans of the confederate uniform as a means of insult to the loyalists. As to their churches 
1 am not prepared to speak personally, but from information given to me, they are exclu- 
sive — the Unionists going to their church and the rebels to theirs. Public schools are con- 
ducted pretty generally in the same way, private schools more particularly so. The press I 
consider to be almost entirely disloyal. I know of but one or two loyal papers in Louisiana. 
The New Orleans Tribune, edited by colored people, and the Christian Advocate are the only 
loyal papers in the city of New Orleans. The Homer Iliad is the only one I know of in the 
country parishes. In professional business, more especially among the lawyers, (as I am 
one I can speak of it more readily,) I think that the Union lawyers have generally" lost their 
business, aud that the rebel lawyers, in consequence of their predominance there, have the 
business. Among the rebels the general system is to give all" their business and trade aud 
their sociability to none but rebels. The rumor is. and if is understood, that the old rebel 
military organizations are still kept up secretly. The female portion of the community are 
far more vindictive than the male. The women lend all the encouragement in their power 
to the male rebels to injure, to abuse, and to drive out of the city Union men, and to retain 
to themselves the political power in the State. 

4 lb*. Did you see any of the blue badges that have been spoken of by some of the wit- 
nesses worn on the occasion of that riot? 

I saw some two or three, being confined in the hall during the general mele ; and from 
that to half past three o'clock I could not see into the street, and therefore, did not see these 
badges spoken of by others who did see them ; but on going out of the hall with the officers 
to prison, I did see a few, perhaps half a dozen. I think I saw one or two crosses aud some- 
thing of an inverted hat-band that had some kind of badge upon it. I do not recollect the 
style or shape. It was something to designate them; and some more a white handkerchief 
around the neck as a signal. 

3 N. 0. 



34 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

414. Do you know whether any preparation had been made by the convention, or by its 
friends, for its forcible defence on the 30th of July .' 

None whatever; and if there was I certainly should have known it, because every caucus 
that '.\ as held ii. reference to the reassembling of the convention was held in my law office, 
and there was no such thing discussed. 

415. Could the members of the convention have been arrested without violence had that 
been desired by the municipal authorities ? 

'I'm \ could have been arrested without the slightest hindrance whatever. All that was 
necessary was fur the sheriff to show his writ and we would have surrendered at once. We 
would have surrendered to a police officer. 

416. State whether that was so talked out freely in your intercourse with the people. 
Just prior to our meeting it was talked of in the hall, and had been talked of for a few 

days previously. Since the charge by Judge Abell to the grand jury it had been talked of 
freely. 

417. Was there any difficulty in the mayor of the city ascertaining the fact that the mem- 
bers of that convention would submit to arrest without violence — could he have found out 
that tart if he desired ? 

Easily, either previously or on the day. Had he come into the hall himself and said 
" Gentlemen, I demand your surrender," there would have been no resistance offered. We 
would have surrendered. That I am satisfied of. 

416. Was there any purpose to put in operation the proposed constitution to be formed by 
the convention of which you were a member without first submitting that constitution to a 
vote of the people of Louisiana, and also to the Congress of the United States? 

I think the conclusion arrived at by the majority was that it should first be submitted to 
the people and to Congress. There were some who differed on that question. That, I think, 
was the conclusion arrived at in the caucus by the majority. 

lii'. Could that fait have been known to the people of Louisiana and to the municipal 
authorities of New Orleans, had they desired to know it .' 

It could have easily become known to the authorities of New Orleans. As to the country 
districts, that was more difficult. The people there could have ascertained the fact within 
ten or fifteen days prior to our meeting on the 30th. 

420. State whether the purposes and plans of the convention, so far as they were formed 
and known to the members of the convention, were kept secret among themselves, or were 
freebj communicated to their fellow-citizens. 

They were freely communicated to sympathizers with us, but they were not generally 
communicated to the rebels. They were communicated often in hearing of rebels, but not 
directly to them that I am aware of. 

By the Chairman: 

421. What steps have been taken by the civil authorities to arrest and punish any persons 
engaged in the massacre of July 30, in New Orleans ! 

No steps whatever that I am aware of. 

422. State when you left New Orleans. 
On the 30th of October last. 

423. Why? 

The principal reason why I left, New Orleans was that, in consequence of participating 
considerably in the Union cause there 1 had made myself very obnoxious to the rebels. I 
was daily scoffed and scorned, and my business lost, so I made up my mind to leave there 
with my family, and not to return until there was a change — until New Orleans became a 
loyal city, ami Louisiana a loyal .State. I had, however, some other reasons for leaving 
there of. a private business character. 



New ORLEANS, La., December 22, 1866. 
STEPHEN F. FISH sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRMAN: 

421. Stall' your name and residence. 

Stephen F. Fish ; my residence is New Orleans. 

425. What is your age? 
I am twenty-seven. 

426. How long have you resided in New Orleans? 
Since November, 1864. 

427. Were you a member of the convention of 1864 ? 
1 was not ; I came here after the session closed. 

428. Were you in New Orleans in July and August of 1866 .' 
1 was. 



TESTIMONY OF STEPHEN F. FISH. 35 

429. Ave you related to Mr. Fish who was a member of the convention ? 

1 am ; he was my uncle. 

4:50. Were you in New Orleans on the day of the sitting of the convention in July ? 

I was. 

431. Were you in the Mechanics' Institute on that day ? 

I was, but not during the session of that day ; I went there during the recess. 

432. How long did you stay in the hall .' 

I arrived there but a short time before the riot broke out, and was there until after the 
pel ire hml broken in the last time — until they had entered the fourth time. 

433. You may now go on and state, in your own way, all that you saw of the disturbance 
which occurred on Friday. 

Previous to the meeting of the convention, after the caucus, which was held in the fore 
part of June or the last of May, there had been violent threats both against the body and 
against individuals. I know that quite a number of the conductors were threatened with 
personal violence ; I mean those who were known to be members of the convention, as well 
as against other persons who were known to have been, before and during the war, Union 
men; that if they did not leave by a certain time they would be assassinated. Some of 
these threats were by anonymous loitww^ some of which were referred to General Sheridan ; 
I do not know how many. Also, before the convention, it was whispered about iu various 
ways that the meeting would be broken up, or that they would not be permitted to assemble ; 
but as these threats were by anonymous letters we did not think there would be any attempt 
at the execution of these threats. The charges also of Judge Abel created some excitement, 
and had a tendency to give confidence to the feeling of opposition to the convention. I was 
associated with many members of the convention, seeing some of them nearly every day.. 
I know that they expected to be arrested by the sheriff on indictment of the grand jury, am 
then to have it determined by the laws of the State whether they had a right to assemble 
but they did not mean to offer any resistance. I heard this from a good many men befon 
the meeting of the convention, and they wished to have that question decided before the - 
courts. On the 30th, before 12 o'clock, the hour for the meeting, I was at the Institute, 
sitting there a few minutes conversing with different members of the convention and with: 
others who were their friends, who happened to be present, and then went away back to my 
office, and remained there till nearly 1 o'clock, when I started over again to the Institute. . 
On the way there, on St. Charles street, I saw a negro arrested, or being conducted through 
the streets between two policemeu, and a crowd following. I should say that, ordinarily, , 
the arrest of a negro creates no excitement in this city ; on this occasion it* created a crowd. 
The public mind seemed to be burdened with some expectation, and it occasioned great com- 
motion. I did not, however, give this matter any serious thought, and went down towards 
the. Institute. On Common street I overtook Mr. Davis and Mr. Stauffer, two members of;" 
the convention. This was after the recess was taken; and I went back to the hall with 
them. On the corner of Common and Dryades streets there was a large number of white 
citizens, many of them dressed in gray. They were talking excitedly, and appeared to 
be excited about something, and demonstrative. But even after seeing this I could Dot 
realize that there was to be any serious difficulty, except the arrest of the members of the 
convention by the sheriff and posse. And I had heard the police were massed at the different 
stations — there are four police stations in the. city — about a quarter being at each station. 
There was a large body of negroes in front of the Institute, friends of the convention, I sup 
pose, and there were quite a number iu the hall ; and no demonstrations that I saw were 
made by them. They were peaceable and quiet, and seemed to be simply in expectation of 
hearing the speaking, gathered together as men ordinarily are at a public meeting. I went 
into the, hall, and very soon afterwards the firing commenced. Immediately the Rev. Mr. 
Ilortoii, who hail opened the meeting with prayer, and who was afterwards murdered, and 
Mr. Cutler, stepped upon the rostrum, and in a loud voice called upon ail persons in the hall 
intake seats inside of the bar and be quiet, and above all things to. keep away from the 
windows, and to fire nothing from the windows, and to close the windows, which was done. 
The assembly who were in the hall did come in, and all sat down that there, were chairs for. 
A rally on the hall was heard after the firing had been going on some minutes, and the body out- 
side had begun to fire, and many inside had a disposition to go out ; but the more. influential 
men inside exerted themselves to keep those present quiet, to be seated, and to remain inside 
the bar and away from the windows. There was not, to my knowledge, any firing from the 
hall, except at the door, which I will speak of afterwards. If there was any firing at all 
from the windows outside, there were not more than three or four shots. The windows were 
closed, and there were no ball-holes through the windows, except high up, so that they could 
not have been fired from the inside; but many balls passed through the hall. We could.- 
hear them whistle through. 

Upon the first entrance to the hall white handkerchiefs were waved, and the police were 
called upon by Mr. Horton, members of the convention, and others, not to fire ; that no re- 
sistance would be offered. They came in and commenced firing. The instant they com- 
menced firing those inside could not be restrained ; they rose and drove them out. There 
were a few among the negroes who had pistols. I did not see a pistol in the hands of any 
white man, and but few in the hands of the negroes. There were probably not more armed 



36 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

on this occasion than on ordinary occasions. Quite a number of persons in this city carry 
(inns, both white and black. With chairs and pistols — the few who had them — the police 
'.vera driven <>ut, and the doors were closed and barricaded with a large pile of chairs before 
the doors; there were two sets of double (lours. The doors unfortunately opened outwards, 
and they could not be fastened. The second time the police rallied Mr. O'Connor and some 
one rise stepped to the door and spoke with the head man of the police. As the police found 
they could not get in this man raised a white handkerchief, remarking that he wanted 
those inside to surrender, and that he would protect them. Mr. O'Connor asked him if he 
was sincere, and he said he was, and Mr. O'Connor took the policeman's hand in token 
of sincerity — that he would arrest those inside and protect them. On this O'Connor and 
others assisted them in taking away the chairs, so that they could come in and arrest them. 
When they came in they formed a line in front of the chairs and opened a fire. I think at 
this entrance of the police Mr. Horton was upon the stage. He had a large handkerchief 
and tied it upon a staff, a little staff (in which had been one of the little flags hung up in the 
room. He had this handkerchief tied on this staff, and waved it to the policemen for them 
not to fire, stating that no resistance would be made; that they desired to be arrested and 
protected from violence, and that they were unarmed ; Dut they emptied their revolvers, and 
continued to tire after they had agreed not to fire. They were driven out a second time, for 
the people were exasperated, and almost every man grasped a chair, and wrenching off a 
'leg for a weapon they drove the police down stairs and closed the doors again. Nearly all 
these policemen have been put upon the force since the close of the war. There was no 
attempt to restrain the filing on the part of either citizens or policemen. I am not certain 
whether I saw any citizens or not at the third and fourth entrances. At each time the doors 
were opened by the police many went out. Dr. Dostie, I think, went out the first time. 
Many went out the second time, and some went up into the gallery, and some out the 
second-story windows, while others hid themselves in little ante-rooms of the hall. ' At every 
entrance the police were requested not to lire, and no firing was made upon the police until 
after they had begun firing, nor was any violence offered them. At the time of the fourth 
entrance there were not a great many in the hall. There had been one or two ineffectual 
attempts to enter. There were more than four rallies on the hall. Once or twice they did 
not succeed in getting in. They entered four times, and the last time the doors were not 
closed upon them. At the time of the fourth entrance I stood near the southwest corner of 
the hall. Michael Halm was there with me. Rev. Mr. Jackson, who was wounded the 
game day, was there at this time. Mr. Horton was still in the hall, but not in the corner 
■where I was. Mr. Horton, I think, was wounded at the second entrance, when he was on the 
sta;:e with his white handkerchief, which he waved, and with which he advanced, and was 
• deliberately shot at by the police that stood in line in the hall. Persons inside had helped 
'le police to gain an entrance, on supposition that they would be protected. 

4.34. I >id 3 mi see Mr. Horton shot ' 

I did, and saw him immediately afterwards, and I should judge it was nearly an hour be- 
t re lie left the hall. I am not certain whether he was hit in the arm or side, but his arm and 
side were bloody. It was probably only a flesh wound, as it did not seem to disable him. 
'Dr. Ih're was there. None of the parties I have named were wounded, except Mr. Horton ; 
but there were others whose names I do not know. There were but few of us there then, 
and we felt that there was no use in attempting to drive theiu out ; there were not enough of 
us, and we were not armed. I thought 1 would choose the lesser evil; there was a possi- 
bility of escaping it I got out, but there was none inside. At the door I met a young man, a 
stranger to me. 1 have not been able to recognize him since, though I have seen one I 
thought was the same. 1 asked him if he, being a leader of the party and head of the po- 
licemen — would arrest me and secure me from personal violence. 1 will state here, 
what I told him at the time, that I hail taken no part in the resistance or in driving 
the police out of the hall ; that 1 had been perfectly passive, excepl urging those inside 
to keep quiet. When 1 asked this man for protection to arrest me, he said, with an 
oath, "No, sir ; none of you can get out here alive." He had a club, formed apparently of a 
rough piece of wood three inches wide, one inch thick, and three feet long. As I attempted 
to run by liim he struck at me with this board, but 1 dodged him. Going through the door 
I met a policeman in uniform; I offered myself to him, hut he would not arrest me. Going 
down stairs .' passed two other policemen. At the time I passed them they had a negro in 
charge, ami were knocking him down the stairs with their policemen's clubs, pounding him 
over the head, he at the same time begging that they would spare him. They did not turn 
their attention to me. As 1 arrived on the second floor, 1 was seized by two citizens. One 
of them was a "rough" — one of the low order of Irishmen, I should think; the other was 
what appeared to he one of the chivalry — a well-dressed person, of middle age. They both 
seized me by the collar and commenced striking me with their lists in the face. I shook them 
off without any serious injury, at least to myself, and went on. Going out of the door 1 met 
ou the steps another policeman. 1 offered myself to him. I had a huge white handkerchief 
in my hand, and held it up. It was in my right hand and held up when I met this police- 
man on the steps. I asked him to arrest me and protect me. His reply was, " Yes, damn 
you, I will give you protection," drawing out a large revolver, bright and new. I judge it 
was one of Colt's --inch revolvers. He drew that up and knocked me down ou the lauding, 



TESTIMONY OF STEPHEN F. FISH. 37 

and stunned me for the time being. The blow did not cut the flesh at all, for I had 
on a thick plaited straw hat, and my hair at the time was quite thick, but it lcl'i a 
large lump on my forehead. I gathered myself up as well as I could and staggered 
to another policeman in the middle of the street, and asked him, as well as I could, 
being considerably confused by the effects of the blow I had received, but I had not 
quite pot to him, when he drew up his revolver and shot at me. I was not more than 
three or tour feet from him at the time, but his ball did not take effect. I darted from him, 
and started towards Carondolet street. There were a great many people, and though my 
head was whirling all this time I could hear the firing as though it was an irregular mus- 
ketry iiriug. It sounded to me like the second firing of a company as I have heard it on the 
battle-field. I had no very distinct idea of what was going on, but I saw clubs raised, and 
I heard revolvers firing. I was going on all-fours part of the time, and replacing my hat 
when I could, but this I might have done intuitively. I got half way to Common street be- 
fore any policeman would arrest me and take me in charge ; then I was arrested by a man 
only partially in policeman's clothing. He had on a policeman's coat, but had not the hat. 
He told me that he was an extra policeman, that came out when the alarm was given. He 
went a little way, as far as Common street; the crowd thickened there, and appeared to be 
very threatening, calling out " Kill the Yankee nigger," " Shoot the nigger son of a bitch;" 
"There goes another nigger," "There goes another damned Yankee." Such expressions as 
these I heard, and a great many others of like import. This policeman, or fireman, called 
another to his assistance, and the two together seemed to make great exertions to keep the 
crowd off till I got to the police station. I went through Common street to Carondelet, and 
up Lafayette to the first district station. When I arrived there I was much exhausted from 
exertion and loss of blood. I stated to the man at the desk in policeman's uniform, a short 
stout man. that I was very weak, and begged him to send me wherever I was to go to. 
" You will be weaker before you get through with this," s.iid he, very gravely. After some 
delay he sent me into a back cell, the southwest cnrner cell on the lower floor of the station. 
There were one or two persons in the cell when I got there. Other persons who were in the 
ball when I got there were soon brought in. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Horton were soon 
brought in. Mr. Horton was partially conscious when he was first brought in. He begged 
me to take him to the Carrollton depot, that he might get home. I told him I could not do 
more than he. Soon Mr. Waters, a member of the convention, was brought in, and a num- 
ber of others who were in the hall when I went away. I had, with the assistance of some 
persons in there, got upon a shelf in the cell, and lay there, and got my coat off. Mr. Waters 
took off his undershirt and wetted it. I had to wash the blood off to cool my head. How 
long I remained there I do not know. Mr. Horton soon after came in and began to talk 
wildly, and I have been informed never had his senses afterwards. I never saw him after I 
was taken from the cell. 

435. Where were you taken to from the cell ? 

Up stairs into the lieutenant's parlor. There were several surgeons called in who were of 
the confederate army; one of them was Dr. Hart, an old acquaintance of my uncle's before 
the war. He was asked by my uucle to hunt me up. He had heard that I was dangerously 
wounded. He wished him to find me and get me released if possible. I do not know 
whether he got permission of the mayor or not, but he came down some time, probably an 
hour, after I had been there. I was then taken out and got up stairs. As I lay upon 
the floor he looked over my wounds and pronounced two of those on my head gunshot 
wounds ; and while he attended me, for three days, he held to that opinion. He found a 
ball wound in my back — he did not probe it — and another went through my arm. There 
were three severe wounds on my head — my scalp was laid open to the skull — and a large 
number of smaller wounds. After being there in the hall some time, (I think, but am not 
certain, after General Baird's order to release the prisoners,) I was taken to the Hotel Dieu. 
My uncle dared not send me home for fear the riot would break out again in the night, and 
if it did our house would be one of the first that would be torn down. The Hotel Dieu was 
under the charge of the Sisters of Charity, and he supposed the sanctity of the place would 
prevent any violence. 

436. How long did you remain there? 

Six days. On the way there, Dr. Hart was in the carriage with me ; he remarked that it 
was a sad affair ; said he, the son of one of our best citizens. Dr. Cenas, has been killed. 
This young man was a confederate. It is asserted, and not disputed, that he was engaged 
with the police in the assault ; he certainly was not on the other side, and he was the only 
one killed that day friendly to the police, and only one or two were wounded. Only one 
of the police died that day, and he from sunstroke, and not from any wounds. Dr. Hart 
said it was a sad affair; that he pitied the poor negroes; that they were made the dupes of 
white people. _ "For the white people," said he, "I do not care; I have no charity for 
them ; but I pity the poor negro." "Dr. Hart," said I, " I am not in a condition to discuss 
this matter; you will please to cease from any further conversation on the subject." He 
went with me to the hotel, staid there a few minutes, gave some directions about my diet, 
and the dressing of my wounds. He did not dress them, and did not probe, them. He 
called on me next morning, but did not examine my wounds then, and for three days he 
called on me once a day until I discharged him, and employed another surgeon. He did 
not examine my wounds at all. One wound in my back was of a character that was uncer- 



38 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

tain ; it was not known where the ball was lodged, and the hall is still in. At the time I 
discharged him and employed another physician, my wounds had become so inflamed that 
they could not be probed, but it turned out that (hey were not dangerous ; they had healed 
without the ball being extracted. 

4157. When were the balls extracted? 

The one in my arm went through ; the one in my back has never been extracted ; the 
wounds in my head proved, en examination by the other surgeon, not to be bullet wounds, 
but wounds or cuts from clubs ; one of them appeared to be the cut from the muzzle end of 
a revolver. The surgeon said that it had this appearance. After being there some six days, 
I was taken to the residence of my uncle. 

438. You spoke of the firemen who came out when the alarm was given ; what alarm do 
you refer to ' 

I refer to the special alarm given between twelve and one o'clock, which was a preconcerted 
signal. I do not know this from positive knowledge, but I know from information it was a 
preconcerted signal that was given, at which the firemen all scattered. I did not hear the signal. 

439. Do you know who shot Mr. Horton ? 
I do not. 

44d. Do you know how many of the police were out that day ? 
I do not. 

441. Did you observe any badges, other than police badges, among the parties in the 
streets 1 

I cannot say that I did. I saw but very little of what was going on in the streets until I 
went into the Institute. 

442. Have you any reason to know that arrangements ot any sort had been made for 
armed aid to the convention I 

I have reasons for knowing that there were none. I am well acquainted with Judge 
Howell, chairman pro tan., Dr. Dostie, Gov. Hahn, and of course with my uncle, with Mr. 
Cutler, and with all the other leading men of the convention, and the influential Union men, 
also Judge Easton. I saw them nearly every day. Many of them had offices near mine, 
and I knew all aboiit their plans, and was at their caucuses on many occasions. I never 
heard of any armed aid, but I had heard it spoken of that caution should be used not to 
have armed men there, and I know, too, that Dr. Dostie, who nearly always carried a 
revolver with him, that day took it off from his person and left it with a barber in this city, 
by whom he was accustomed to be shaved. 

443. Were you present at the meeting on the Friday evening, the 27th ? 
I was. 

444. Did you speak ? 
I did not. 

445. Did you hear the speaking inside of the hall? 
Yes, sir; and nearly all of- it outside. 

4 16. Tell, In icily, what the character of the meeting was, and how it was conducted. 

The sentiments uttered at that meeting were radical; that cannot be disputed. It was 
proposed by some of the speakers that the friends of universal suffrage should meet together 
with the convention at the meeting on Monday, in a large body, to show them, by their 
sympathy and countenance, that they approved of their course, that they indorsed it, and 
would sustain it. 1 heard of no statement, as has been asserted by one of the other side be 
fore tin' military commission, or request by any of the speakers in the hall, for anybody to 
come there armed. I heard the speeches of Governor Hahn, Colonel Field, part of Mr. 
Waples, also the remarks of .Mr. Cutler and Mr. Keeble. 

447. State whether there was anything, and, if anything, what, that looked to the employ, 
ment of force. 

Nothing — nothing that I heard. 

448. Were you present when the meeting was dissolved I 

I was ; and I afterwards went in with the procession up to the front seat of the hall, and 
was there when Dr. Dostie made the speech that is said to lie inflammatory. I did not hear 
much of the speaking outside from the stand in front of the Institute. 

1 19. Were \ on at the City Hall during the continuation of the meeting until it adjourned? 

Yes, sir. 

450. Was it orderly or disorderly? 

It was orderly, so far as anything I saw. If there had been any disturbance I should 
have known it. 

451. Was anything said by Dr. Dostie as to the employment of force? 
Nothing. 

452. What was the character of Dr. Dostie's speech ? Was it peaceable or otherwise ? 
Towards the close of his speech he used this language. I will repeat one sentence almost 

word for word, and this was the language that looked most towards violence or incendiarism 
of any that 1 heard there. They were mostly negroes there. It was a procession formed of 
negroes. They had come to the meeting, and Dr. Dostie liked to make a demonstrative 
speech. He took pleasure in doing it. In his speech he called them brethren and so forth. 
Near the close of his speech he said: "Now, friends, go home peaceably, quietly; make 
no noise; disturb no person;" "but," said he, "I learu" — which was true, too — "that 



TESTIMONY OF STEPHEN F. FISH. 39 

there are prowling bands of armed men out to waylay you. As you separate go home. Tf 
you are insulted by any of these bands of men, pay no attention to theoi; go home right 
by them without saying a word to them; hut if they strike you, kill them." That was the 
substance of his last sen.euee, and nearly word tor word. That was spoken from the. steps 
of the City Hall, and that was the only language I heard in his speech that encouraged any 
violence at all, and that was in self-defence. 

453 State what, in your judgment, the condition of things in Louisiana calls for on the 
part, of Congress, if anything. 

Iu the first place, there is no means of obtaining justice between parties where one has 
been a confederate and the other has been a Union man. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

4.". 1. Which side would fail to get justice done ? 

The Union man would fail to tret it. No jury here can be empanelled which would con- 
vict a confederate where the injury had been done to a Union man, not even in the United 
States court. There was a case of which I know some of the facts. 

By the Chairman : 

455. Did the facts come under your own knowledge ? 
Not my visible observation. 

456. How are the public offices filled in New Orleans at this time ? 

The State offices were filled by an election last fall, in which the principal qualification was 
meritorious service in the confederate army. 

457. Is the fact of having been in the Union army a disqualification ? 

It is, unless that man has done, as a few have done, taken sides with the confederate party 
here, and demands immediate and unconditional admission of the State to the Union. 

458. So far as you know, is this the state of facts iu the State generally 1 
So far as I know, it is. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

459. You began your statement by alluding to the purpose of that convention, as known 
to yourself, to be to submit to legal trial. I wish to know if that purpose was kept con-» 
cealed among the members of the convention and their friends, or whether, on the other 
band, it was talked ahout freely to the citizens, so as to become known to the citizens here .' 

I do not know of any attempt to conceal it, nor do I know that there was any object in 
proclaiming it upon the streets. 

460. I want to know if the members and friends of the convention would submit to arrest 
without any extraordinary measures ; whether or not the authorities here had the means of 
knowing that fact, if they had chosen to avail themselves of that knowledge? 

I do not know that they did know it, but they might have known it had they taken the 
trouble to ask anybody. 

461. Have there been any persons arrested, up to this time, for the carnage of that day ? 
No, sir. 

462. Could prosecutions be successfully carried through in cases of clear guilt against that 
class of persons here ? 

Not in the criminal court here. The views of the judge expressed iu his charges preclude 
any such idea. 

463. Could they be in any court under the control of the influence that now controls 
Louisiana .' 

No jury would convict any such one. 

464. What is your profession? 
I am a lawyer. 

465. You have already alluded to the character of the meetings of Friday night, and also 
to the meeting in the hall where the convention met on the 30th. I want to ask you whether 
there was anything apparent in the meetings that made them come within the denomination 
of "unlawful assemblage ? " I ask the question without regard to the origin of the conven- 
tion. I will read from Judge Ahell's charge his definition of an unlawful assembly, quoting 
from Sergeant Hawkins : "Any meeting of great numbers of people with such circumstances 
of terror as cannot but endanger the public peace, and raise fears and jealousies among the 
king's subjects." 

Of that law I will state that it is from the old Digest. It was passed in 1803, long before this 
State was any part of the United States. In 1824 the civil code of Louisiana was revised, 
and adjusted. The statutes have been revised several times amendatory of the civil code or 
otherwise, and there is no mention made of this law, and the fact of their going back to the 
old territorial law of Louisiana seems to me conclusive evidence that there is no law for un- 
lawful assemblages at all. 
By the Chairman: 

466. The question assumed that the law existed. Supposing it had ; was the meeting of such 
a character as to bring it within the scope of that law .' 

I saw nothing and heard nothing to bring it within the scope of that law. 

467. Could the assembly at that meeting have been arrested without violence? 



40 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

They could by the sheriff. 

468. Could the persons assembled there, and sympathizing with the convention, have been 
disperse! without violence and bloodshed, had it been desired ? 

They could. 

401). Did the police in any -way aid in preserving the peace ? Need there have been any dis 
tuvbance or violence at all there ? 

There would have been no disturbance at ail had the police kept away. There was no 
need of their aid to prevent violence and bloodshed. 

470. Do you know of any facts that are now within your knowledge that tend to show 
that the meeting and violence on the part of the police were preconcerted? 

I do not of my own knowledge. I have heard statements that convince me that they were 
preconcerted at the mayor's hall, in the mayor's parlor, on Saturday evening, but I do not 
know anything of these facts myself. 



New Orleans, December 22, 1866. 
II. C. WARMOUTH sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

471. State your name and where you reside. 

II. C. Warmouth. I reside at No. J39 Custom-house street. 

472. How long have you been a resident of this city ? 

(1 think about two and a half years. 
473. What is your profession .' 
J am a lawyer. 
47:!.}. What is your age? 
I am nearly twenty-five years old. 

474. Were you in this city on the 27 th and 30th of July last? 
I was. I was here till the Kith of August. 

17."). Were you a member of the convention that attempted to assemble here on the 30th? 
No. sir. 

476. Did you witness any of the disturbances that occurred in this city on the 30th of July 
last? 

I did. 

477. I wish you would now state carefully and fully what you saw of these disturbances. 
In the morning, about half-past eleven o'clock, I went to the Mechanics' Institute, which 

is the capitol of the State, and is the building in which the convention assembled. About 
twelve o'clock, as I went up the street, and when I arrived at Dryades street, which is only the 
length of one block running from Common to Canal street, I saw on the corner of Canal and 
Burgundy streets a large crowd of young men with their arms folded, looking anxiously 
down into the crowd of people in front of the capitol, on Dryades street. I saw but one or two 
policemen in the crowd; I turned to the left and went down to the capitol, and there I found 
some three hundred people, white and black men. At twelve o'clock Judge Howell called 
the convention to order. The Rev. Mr. Horton delivered the prayer, and the roll was called. 
Twenty-six answered to their names. There not being a quorum, a, member moved to ad- 
journ for one hour, and that the sergeaut-at-arms be instructed to bring in absentees who 
were in town. After the adjournment took place! left the capitol and walked out into Dryades 
and Canal streets, where 1 found the crowd greatly augmented. I walked on down Canal 
street till I arrived at No. 150, which is between Carondelet and Baronne streets. I went 
into a house there and I found the people excited. They asked me what was the news. I 
told them what had occurred in the convention, and while we were talking I heard pistol 
shots. 1 went out on the gallery where I could see up and down Canal street, and up 
towards Dryades, and I saw these young men who were stationed at Burgundy: and Canal, 
on both corners, and 1 saw them deploy, like skirmishers, along Canal street, moving up 
Dryades, and firing upon the people who were there. They advanced into I >ryades street, and 
! did not see them any more, but heard firing all the time. I did not see them any more till 
I saw them retreat and run back to the middle of Canal street. In the mean time large bodies 
of policemen were coming from all quarters — one hundred to one hundred and fifty in b 
crowd — coming in crowds on the double-quick; and in thirty to forty minutes I suppose 
there m u st have bi en three hundred to four hundred policemen in the crowd with these cit- 
izens. Then the indiscriminate killing began. My friends who were present, supposing 
1 would be an object of their vengeance, would not allow me to remain in the gallery, and 
made me go back into the bouse, so that I did not see anything that occurred on the corner 
of Canal street during this time, but I did see two negroes killed by policemen right in front 
of this house. This occurred about a block and a half from the Mechanics' Institute. 

478. Had the negn es apparently any thing to do with the meeting' or with the procession ? 
No, sir. The negroes I saw killed came out of Baronne street, followed by citizens and 

policemen. The citizens threw rocks at them, and finally in each case the negro fell upon 
his lace, and 1 saw men in the uniform of policemen walk right up and discharge their pistols 



TESTIMONY OF H. C. WARMOUTH. 41 

through them as they lay upon the ground, and I saw them quiver and die. 1 saw a negro 
with a policeman <>n each side of him, and a large crowd of citizens after him, throwing 
stones and damning him, and one policeman behind him hitting him repeatedly upon the 
head. I watched this till my friends caught me by the collar and pulled me back into the house. 

479. Had these three negroes anything to do with the convention? 

No, sir, 1 believe not. I was with General Lee, of our army, and Mr. Calhoun, and I 
believe they saw more of this than I did, as they were on the gallery all the time. 

480. Where is General Lee? 

lie is in Kansas. Neither is Mr. Calhoun here. General Lee left me about half past one 
o'clock to go, I think, to General Band, with whom he had an interview; he told him what 
was going on and then returned, and in about half an hour from that time the troops arrived, 
coming up from the river; first the artillery, which formed on the right at the Clay statue, 
which is at the end of St. Charles street, iu the middle of Canal. I then heard shouting up 
(anal street to my left, and I saw the three negroes run down the middle of Canal, followed 
by a large crowd of citizens and boys, with rocks and clubs, and pistols and knives. One 
of these negroes I think escaped, the other two I think were killed, and within one hundred 
and fifty yards of our artillery. I supposed, of course, that the artillery would open upon 
them, hut they did not. There must have been seventy-five to one hundred people after 
these two negroes. I saw Mr. Fish, senior, a member of the convention, brought down to 
Canal street. He had a policeman on each side of him and a policeman behind him. I 
suppose there were fifty or sixty people after him with knives and pistols, shouting, "kill 
him," "hang him," "shoot him, God damn him," and all that sort of thing. They all 
seemed very much to rejoice at the capture of Mr. Fish. At the front of the house where. I 
was I could not stand it any longer, and I rushed out to the gallery, arid in front of the 
house I saw the policeman strike him with his club. He was going along with him, waving 
his handkerchief all the time, and while doing this he told the policeman he must not strike him. 
Mr. Fish told me afterwards that the blow did not do him any serious injury. Afterwards, 
when the infantry arrived and the streets were cleared, immediately when the people knew 
that the troops had arrived the firing ceased. I suppose there must have been rive thousand 
people, mostly young men, congregated round this artillery, and stood there with folded 
arms, and I expected if they did open fire upon them that they would have taken the guns 
away. Soon after the infantry arrived the streets were cleared at the point of the bayonet. 

481. Please give us your judgment as to the number of policemen you saw out and armed. 
I must have seen two hundred and fifty. 

482. Did you observe any badges worn by citizens other than those the police had on? 
No, sir; I did not. 

483. To what extent, if at all, did the citizens appear to be armed that you saw ? 
I saw none but what appeared to be armed. 

484. Had the convention taken any steps to protect themselves by force ? 
I knew of none. 

485. Are you aware of any arrangements of any sort tending to a forcible maintenance 
of their ground ? 

I knew of none ; I think none were made. 

486. What, if an attempt had been made to arrest members of the convention by civil 
process, would have been the result? 

I think they expected they would be arrested. The judge had charged the grand jury to 
indict tin m ; and I heard numbers say that they expected tojoe arrested, and they should 
submit to legal process. 

487. Can you give us an estimate of the number of lives that were lost on that day, or 
that were wounded? 

No, sir I saw none but those I have spoken of. 

488. Have you any knowledge of the amount of property destroyed? 
No, sir. 

489. Of those who were killed and wounded, how many were there who were unfriendly 
to the convention .' 

I heard of none. I believe a young man by the name of Cenas was killed. I was told 
that he was killed by accident, by the discharge of a pistol held by a policeman. I did not 
hear that any policeman had been killed. I heard one or two had been slightly wounded, 
and I believe one died frojn the heat. 

490. So far as you have power to judge what would the result have been had the policemen 
endeavored to maintain order on that day? 

There would not have been any disturbance whatever. Tbe policemen and citizens com- 
menced it, and they are the only people, so far as I have been able to learn, who did any 
killing, or who* attempted to kill anybody. 

491. So far as you know, how are the municipal offices in New Orleans now filled? by 
what character of officers? 

I know nothing of them personally. I believe they are filled by men who have been most 
prominent in the rebellion, or by men who have made themselves most obnoxious to the 
United States government. 

492. Can you say that the fact of having been in the Union army, or being a' Union cit- 
izen, is a recommendation or otherwise for office? 



42 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I think that a man engaged in the United States army could not be elected to any office. 

493. Can you .state what is the social feeling existing in New Orleans? 

It is certainly hostile to Union men; whether they are from the north or south, they are 
denominated Yankees. 

494. What is your profession? 

I am a lawyer, but am not now in practice. 

495. What is the feeling here as to the employment, professionally, of Union men ? 

The people very wisely abstain from employing Union attorneys, because, Jbefore a jury 
of the city of New Orleans, they would lie certain to ruin their cause. 

496. Does that feeling prevail in religious matters or in religious circles? 
I do not know, sir. 

497. Does it affect female society in this city ? 

Our dear ladies are the most bitter of Ml our population. 

49S. What in your judgment is the legislative remedy, if any, for this state of things ? 

That is a very difficult question to answer. It is impossible to tell anything that is neces- 
sary to change this state of feeling, but I think it is absolutely necessary that treason should 
be made odious, ami that loyalty should be protected and made respectable ; and it is not 
respectable here, as far as I have been able to judge. 

499. Have you arrived at a conclusion in your own mind, from your own knowledge of 
affairs in Louisiana, as to what should be done to bring' about a state of loyalty and good order? 

I think the Congress of the United States ought to pass a bill establishing a temporary 
military government in Louisiana. I think that every male colored as well as white citizen 
in the United States, who has beenloj-al to the government during the war, ought to be per- 
mitted to vote; and that the army of the United States ought to be maintained here for the 
purpose' of protecting them in the exercise of their rights. I think that without the black 
element is invoked the loyal men will have no protection in the south when the troops are 
withdrawn. I do not believe to-day that there would be any safety or security for the life, 
liberty, or property of a Uniou man, were it not for the presence of the military forces of the 
United States. 

5(K». If an occasion should arise when the aid of loyal men should be required in Louisiana 
to sustain the government of the United States, state whether or not there is in your opinion 
that degree of loyalty here at present that would voluntarily furnish it, that is, including all 
the citizens of Louisiana? 

I do not think outside of the black population of this city there are 10,000 men who would 
take up arms for the United States against any foreign troops that might be landed on 
our soil. I believe if Farnce were to land an army from the Mississippi river, that 75 per 
cent, of the white population would encourage the hope of success or take up arms for 
the French flag. I think that nine-tenths of those who were in the confederate army would 
do so throughout the State. I do not think there are any men who were in the rebel army 
who have any love or sympathy with the government, except those men who deserted from 
the confederate army, and who are now being persecuted and ostracized for deserting. I do 
not know of a single exception. They all, in their private conversation, unite in saying 
that they hate the government of the United States, and that they never expect to love it. 

501. Do you remember to have seen a printed circular giving notice of the death of the 
convention of 1864, and its proposed interment on the night of Sunday, the 29th of July? 

Yes, sir, I saw it; it was circulated several days before the convention met. 

502. Will you state what, if any, action you took respecting the convention of 1861, and 
its proceedings ? 

1 have always been opposed to the entire movement. I do not wish to be understood that I 
was opposed to the movement that took place here in July. I was opposed to the organiza- 
tion of a State government, as commenced by Geueral Banks ; but so far as the movement of 
the30th ot July is concerned, that I consider quite as legal as the first convention. 

503. And that the state of things then existing seemed to call for some action? 

Yes, sir. I wish to state here that, as it regards the press of this city, most of the news- 
papers are edited by colonels and generals and other officers in the confederate army, and 
that the tone of the press is hostile to the northern people and to the sentiments generally 
entertained by the northern people. And I do not think that there were any of the police- 
men who were engaged in the disturbances who were not engaged in the rebellion in someway. 

504. Do you know if any of those engaged in the riots were kn»wn as belonging to what 
is known as Hays's brigade, or Thugs ? 

There is a difference between Hayes's brigade and the Thugs. There was an organization 
here previous to the war, under the Know-nothing regime, known as thugs. It was headed 
by Mayor Monroe and his friends. I believe Mr. .Monroe was elected to office by its influ- 
ence, and I think that the mass of those men denominated Thugs were at the time oi this con- 
vention upon the special police rolls of this city. This information 1 derive from an article 
which appeared in the New Orleans 1'icayune shortly after the murder of Bob Johnson, who 
was a notorious Thug. He had killed several men in cold blood upon the street. He him- 
self was killed in a gambling-house some time ago, ami the newspapers announced that upon 
his person was found an appointment from Mayor Monroe as special policeman or detective, 
and the Picayune went on to say that there were some eighteen or twenty of those who were 
still members of this police force, and unless they were dismissed it would' publish the names. 



TESTIMONY OF EDWARD HART. 43 

I think the killing of Rob Johnson gave universal satisfaction to tlio citizens here. Hays's 
brigade was composed of young men of the city — perhaps a fair average of the yonng men. 
I do not think theyshould be called Thugs. They would be an average of the young men 
who belonged to the confederate army. I understood that a good many of Hays's brigade 
and Gibson's brigade belonged to the police force. 

Ry Mr. Shellabarger : 

505. Have an}- of the men who participated in the riots been arrested ? 

No, sir; none. An attempt was made, but the United States commissioner, from fear or 
from other considerations, failed to act. 

Ry the Chairman : 

506. If they had been arrested, what would the probability of punishment have been? 

I do not think there would have been any. I do not think that a man having the sympa- 
thies of the confederates who would kill a Union man here would be convicted of murder by 
any jury that could be empanelled here. 

Ry Mr. Shellabarger : 

507. You have alluded to the way in which some people here speak of the government of 
the United States. I wish to inquire how general was that way of speaking? 

I think 1 may safely say that nine-tenths of those who were engaged in the rebellion, with 
whom I have conversed, unite in saying that they hate the government of the United States 
and should rejoice in its downfall. 

508. Is that way of speaking against the government done in a concealed or in a defiant 
manner ? 

What I have heard was in private conversation, but they make no secret of it. 

509. Would it be safe, in your judgment, to entrust the control of the State government 
exclusively to those who are electors under the present constitution — I mean so far as its 
safety is affected by the loyalty of the people? 

I think, sir, it would be eminently dangerous. 



New Orleans, December 22, 1866. 
EDWARD HART sworn and examined. 

Ry the Chairman : 

510. State your name and residence. 
Edward Hart. I live in New Orleans. 

511. How long have you resided here? 

I have lived here all my life except six years that I passed at college in the State of Alabama. 

512. Where is your home ? 

In the Third district, in this city. 

513. Were you a member of the convention of '64 ? 
I was. 

514. What are you engaged in ? 

I am at present holding the position of a receiver of the public moneys for the federal gov- 
ernment. 

515. Did you attend the meeting of the convention on the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir; I answered to my name on that occasion. 

516. Please to state, in your own way, the facts that came under your own observation 
on the 30th from the time you left your house. 

I went to the convention that day and answered to my name, in common with about twenty 
or thirty other members of that body. As no quorum was present, a motion was made and 
carried that a recess of an hour be given, and that the sergeant-at-arms be instructed to en- 
force the attendance of absent members. As the weather was rather sultry, and as I found it 
hot inside the building, I availed myself of the opportunity of the recess to walk to the post 
office to obtain letters, should I find any. When 1 was about three squares distant from the 
Institute I met some friends, with whom I stopped to converse. While standing there the 
firing commenced, and I did not return. 

517. State what you saw, if anything. 

As it became necessary for me to pass near to the Institute on my way home, I took the 
cars. I saw a large crowd and heard some firing. When I came out of the Mechanics' In- 
stitute when the recess was given, the street was crowded with people, both black and white 
and I then feared some disturbance would occur, but I thought tlie military would suppress it. 

518. How many policemen did you see, and were those you saw armed ? 

I only spoke to two. There may have been others in the crowd. 1 believe the chief force 
of the police appeared on the ground subsequent to my departure. 

519. State whether or not the members of the convention were prepared to resist by force 
any attempt that should be made to arrest them ? 



44 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I am not aware that any member of the convention was armed that day. I was not armed 
myself. 

520. What would have been the result if an arrest of the members had been made under 
civil process ? 

I ill ink a peaceable surrender would have been the result. 

521. Have you any doubt upon that point ? 

I certainly would not have offered any resistance. I have no reason to believe that any 
resistance would have been offered by any one. ' 

522. Do you know of any armed force prepared to protect the convention? 
I do not know that there was any such force in existence. 

5215. So far as you know, as a member of the convention, what necessity, if any, was there 
for an armed force to preserve the peace as against the convention, to prevent them from 
breaking the peace? , 

I do not think an armed force was necessary to keep the convention in order or to keep 
them from disturbing the peace. 

524. Were you present at the Friday evening meeting, before the convention? 

Only for a few moments. I obtained the information I have of the meeting from reading 
the papers next morning. 

525. What is the feeling ot the people of New Orleans towards the United States govern- 
ment ? 

I think that there is a feeling against it by most of those who participated in the rebellion. 

526. To what extent does that prevail ? 

The Union men who are here must necessarily have means in order to procure a subsist- 
ence, as it is difficult and almost impossible to obtain a position in this city under the State 
government unless the applicant has the qualification of having been in the confederate 
service. 

527. You went to your home on the day of the convention without returning, did you ? 

I went home about 2 o'clock and did not leave my home during the remainder of the day 
or night; but as I passed on my way down the street in the car I saw that the fighting was 
going on. I went in company of a friend of mine, a member of the convention. 



New Orleans, December 22, 1866. 
CHARLES S. SOUVINET sworn and examined. 
By the CHAIRMAN : 

528. State your name and where you reside. 

Charles S. Souviuet. I live in this city of New Orleans. 

529. How long h'ave you lived here? 
Ever since. I was born. 

530. Have you held any official position here? 

No, sir ; 1 was an officer in the United States army at the time General Butler first arrived. 
I tendered my services three or four days after his arrival, and was appointed translator of 
the provost court to Judge Bell. When the colored regiments were raised. I was one of the 
first sent for, and was instrumental in raising the 1st and 2d regiments. I started with the 
2d regiment as quartermaster, and was afterwards promoted to captain, assistant quarter- 
master, and in the latter part of July, 1865, I was honorably discharged by order of the 
President 1 

531. Were you'eonuected in any way with the convention of 1864 ? 
1 was not. 

532. Were yon present in New Orleans on the day of its meeting on the aOth of July last ? 
I was in the city, but I did not go to the Mechanics' Institute oil that day. i attended the 

meeting which was called on Friday evening, before the convention met, and acted as one of 
the vice-presidents. 

533. Did you hear the speaking that took place in the hall that evening? 

I heard part of it. I did not stay in the hall all the time; it being so warm, I went into 
the street. 

534. During the time you were there, what was the character of the speeches, and the 
character of the meeting, as to its being orderly or otherwise.' 

All the time I was up stairs the meeting was orderly. 1 heard the speech of Mr. Waples ; 
it was only a short one — a few remarks. I also heard part of the remarks of Judge Field. 
As well as 1 can remember, the purport was that they would support the convention when it 
should meet, ft was composed, he said, of loyal men. and they would extend the right ot 
suffrage to the loyal men, to colored people. 1 then went down into the street, and when I 
was there I was too far away to hear the remarks of the speakers. 

By Mr. SHELLABERGER : 

535. Do you know whether any preconcerted plan existed amongst the enemies of the 
convention to break it up, that is before the meeting .' 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES S. SOUVINET. 45 

T could not swear to that. I do not know it of my own personal knowledge. 

536. Do you know of any personal facts that have come to your knowledge since or at 
the time that indicated that the disturbances of that day weir preconcerted ' 

The only thingwhich might have led me to that conclusion would have been the marching 
to the convention of the police in force. 

r>:!7. I (id you see the badges of blue worn by some ? 

I did not. I was not by the Institute during the whole day. I merely saw what I judge 
to 1»' the police force of the first and fourth districts pass in front of my office, on Carondelet 
Street ; and very soon after they had passed, sufficient time, I should judge, for them to get to 
the Mechanics' Institute, the disturbances began. My first attention to it was called by my 
porter coming into my office, and calling me out doors, saying they are fighting, because. 
everybody is running, and almost immediately I heard the alarm, and I saw an engine pass 
by my place. 

538. What was that alarm like, was it a usual or an unusual one ? 

It sounded to me' unusual, because I counted more than the usual number of strokes. 
• 539. What is the highest number of strokes given for the usual fire alarm ? 

Nine, I believe, is the highest, because that is the highest number of the wards. 

540. What is the state of feeling existing- in New Orleans and in Louisiana towards the 
government of the United States on the part of those engaged in the rebellion? 

I believe, sir, they are just as much rebel to-day, and just as inimical to the government of 
the United States, as they ever were. 

541. In case of a foreign war, from all you know of the conduct and purposes of this peo- 
ple, would they fight on the side of the government or against it? 

They would fight against it, according to my idea. 

542. Would it be sate, so far as safety depends upon the loyalty of the electors, to entrust 
the government of one of the States of the United States to those people who are now elect- 
ors here? 

No. sir; not if the basis is not changed: if things are to remain as they are, with the same 
kind of electors, it would not be safe at all. 

543. Could there be such a change made in the electors of the State as that the loyal peo- 
ple, both white and colored, may be permitted to vote ? 

In the first elections I think they would still manage to retain power, but at subsequent 
elections 1 think the loyal element — the thoroughly loyal element; by that I mean the col- 
ored masses and also the few Union men that are here — would set things right. 

544. What is the state of feeling of the colored people,., as a class, towards our govern- 
ment ? 

Intensely loyal. 

545. Have they intelligence enough to understand the relations which they sustain to the 
government, and which the government sustained to them in giving them their freedom ? 

I am prepared to answer that question. There is not a colored man who dues not under- 
stand what he owes to the government of the United States. There is net one but would do 
everything for the government. I presume the black man here in Louisiana could wield the 
ballot as well as the musket. 

546. What reason have you to believe that the black men would not continue in future 
elections under the control and influence of those who have been their masters 1 

Because of this, sir; that they are learning every day, and as scon as the colored popula- 
tion possess the right of suffrage, there are enough of very intelligent colored people in all the 
large centres of population and in some of the parishes who would canvass tin- city and par- 
ishes, and every place in fact. The colored men here in New Orleans, as well as in Boston, 
as soon as they have the light of suffrage, would put forward men of wealth and education, 
men highly respectable, who might cany some of the offices. 

547. What is their inclination since they became free about learning to read, and as to the 
desire to become intelligent ? 

As a class their disposition is very good. If they were not annoyed, and if they were pro- 
tected, every one of them would send their children to school. Old men, to my knowledge, 
are learning every day to read and write, and if I were allowed to speak of what I have seeu 
in my regiment, as soon as they were free of their regular duties, they all had their book's, 
and you could see them all day long trying to learn. Out of my regiment 1 presume there 
are sonic '2(10 men that went in who were slaves before the war and who came out of the reg- 
iment knowing how to read passably. 

548. State whether a successful prosecution could be carried through the courts here for 
any violation of the rights of Union citizens? 

I do not believe there could be. 

549. lias there been any change in the feelings of the white population of Louisiana to- 
wards our government since the time that immediately followed Lie's surrender — are they 
any more or le*s defiant and arrogant now than they were immediately after the surrender .' 

immediately after the surrender they were perfectly tame, but as matters progressed they 
have changed considerably, until they have got to be thoroughly defiant. 

550. Is that unfriendly disposition of which you speak an unfriendliness to what is 
called the congressional party, or is it an unfriendliness towards the government itself and 

ts perpetuity 1 



46 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I believe, sir, that there is, as I have stated before, a good deal of hostility towards 
the government itself; it may be that the hostility would not be so strongly defiant if they 
had their own way, or could have it. The feeling of hostility against the government really 
existed, but it has manifested itself more since the radical party came into power. 

By the Chairman : 

551. State in what way or ways the feeling of distrust and hostility that you have referred 
to on the part of citizens shows itself against loyal men? 

It shows itself by words, by cross looks, as though they were trying to cow down parties. 
It shows itself sometimes by direct insult, as in the case of the Rev. Mr. Harris, who is chief 
financial inspector of the Freedmen's Bureau, of which 1 am cashier. I have been in the 
street cars when a gentleman began to curse and damn the Yankees: he had fought against 
them four years, and God damn them, he would kill several others before he got through. 

552. What is the social feeling here? 

The social feeling against the men who have served in the Union army is perhaps most 
bitter against those who were born here. Northern men they can get along with better than 
with those who were bom here and who remained loyal and fought against them. These 
they cannot bear. 

553. What is the general tone of the press of this city ? 
The tone of the press here is rebel, decidedly. 

554. Have you knowledge enough to state what would be the result if the press should 
come out in New Orleans as a decidedly loyal press, sustaining the government — what would 
be the effect upon their circulation? 

They would be losers thereby. 

555. What makes you say so? 

Several of the papers advocate and keep up a spirit of rebellion against the government; 
if they were to advocate any other course they would not be sustained; they would lose 
their subscriptions and their custom in the shape of advertisements. 

556. Have you any knowledge of the state of affairs outside of Xew Orleans? 
No, sir ; except what I read in the papers. 



New Orleans, December 22, 1866. 
RUFUS K. HOWELL sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

557. State your residence? 

New Orleans. 

558. How long have you resided here? 

1 have resided in New Orleans since the fall of 1850, with an intermission of a few months 
in 1855 and 1856. 

559. State during that time what public offices you have held? 

The first public office I held was that of school director ; I held that some years. In April, 
1857, I was elected to the bench of the district court of the city of New Orleans, and was re- 
elected, in 1861, after the secession of the State of Louisiana. I held that office until March, 
1864, when I was transferred to another of the district courts, the probate court, and resigned 
that position in July, 1^04. The first of April, 1865, I was appointed by Governor Wells 
associate justice of the supreme court of the State of Louisiana, which position I now hold. 
1 was a member of the convention of 1864, elected from the seventh representative district of 
the city oi New < >i leans, while holding a commission as judge of the second district. 

560. What office in the convention did you hold 1 

I was merely a member. 1 was a defeated candidate for president. Judge Durell was 
elected president. At the second meeting of the convention, on the 26th of June, L86.6 — a 
preliminary meeting held for the purpose of calling the convention together — I was elected 
president. Judge Durell had then left the city, having notified the convention previously 
of his intention so to do. 

501. State what steps you took for calling the convention. 

1 simply drew up a call under the direction of that preliminary meeting, composed of some 
forty-five members, and published it. The call was issued on the 8th. 

562. Have you with you a copy of the call then issued / 

I have. It is as follows : 

PROCLAMATION 

By R. K. Howell, president pro ton. of tin convention for the revision and amendment of the 

constitution of Louisiana. 

Whereas, by the wise, just, and patriotic policy developed by the Congress now in session, 
it is essential that tin- organic law of the Sjtate of Louisiana should lie revised and amended, 
so as to form a civil government in this State in harmony with the general government, 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS K. HOWELL. 47 

establish impartial justice, insure domestic tranquillity, secure the blessings of liberty to 
all citizens alike, and restore the. State to a proper and permanent position in the great Union 
of States, with ample guarantees againsi any future disturbance of that Union: and whereas 
it is provided by resolutions adopted on the 25th day of July, 18(14, by the convention for 
the revision and amendment of the constitution of Louisiana, that when said convention 
adjourns it shall be at the call of the president, whose duty it shall be to recenvoke the con- 
vention for any cause ; and that he shall also, in that case, call upon the proper officers of 
the State to cause elections to be held to fill any vacancies that may exist in the convention 
in parishes where the same may be practicable: and whereas, at a meeting held in New 
Orleans on the 26th of June, 1806, the members of said convention recognized the existence 
of the contingency provided for in said resolutions, expressed their belief that the wishes 
and interests of the loyal people of this State demand the reassembling of said convention, 
and requested and duly authorized the undersigned to act as president pro tern., for the pur- 
pose of reconvoking said convention, and in conjunction with his excelleucy the governor 
of the State to issue the requisite proclamations reconvoking said convention, and ordering 
the necessary elections as soon as possible : and whereas, further, it is important that the 
proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States should be acted upon in this 
State within the shortest delay practicable: 

Now, therefore, I, Kufus K. Howell, president pro tern, of the convention aforesaid, by 
virtue of the power and authority thus conferred on me. and in pursuance of the aforesaid 
resolutions of adjournment, do issue this my proclamation, reconvoking the said "conven- 
tion for the revision and amendment of the constitution of Louisiana," and I do hereby 
notify and request all the delegates to said convention to assemble in the hall of the house 
of representatives, Mechanics' Institute building, in the city of New Orleans, on the fifth 
Monday (thirtieth day) of July, 1866, at the hour of J2 o'clock m. And I do further call 
upon his excellency the governor of this State to issue the necessary writs of election to 
elect delegates to the said convention in parishes not now represented therein. 

Done and signed at the city of New Orleans, this seventh day of July, A. D. 1866, and 
of the independence of the United States the ninety-first. 

E. K. HOWELL, President pro tern. 

Attest ■ 

JOHN E. NEELIS, Secretary. 

563. Pursuant to this call what took place ? 

Some twenty-five members of the convention assembled in answer to their names on the 
30th of July, a few minutes after twelve o'clock. There being so small a number present, a 
motion was made to take a recess of an hour to give the sergeant-at-arms an opportunity to 
go out and notify members known to be in town that we were assembled and would await 
their attendance. Some five or six other members came in immediately. It took some lit- 
tle time for the sergeant-at-arms to select his messengers to go around to the different places 
and notify members. We had information that there were sixty or over in town. There 
were some fifty members residing in town, and some ten or fifteen in the country who had 
come in. While' the sergeant-at-arms pro tern. — selected for the occasion — was selecting 
his messengers, we heard music in the direction of Canal street, and the report of a pistol, 
as well as we could distinguish from that distance. A few minutes afterwards a band of 
music appeared in the middle of the street, coming up from Canal street, attended by a flag 
and followed by an indiscriminate crowd, filling the entire street. I could not estimate the 
number — it was not a very large crowd. It passed from beyond my view from the side 
window in the building where I was standing. I went down to the governor's office. I had 
received a message that the adjutant of General Baird was there and desired to see me. As 
I went down this flag was carried up into the hall. I had an interview with General Baird's 
adjutant as to the character of the crowd and the prospects of the convention. Captain Ca- 
ziark. I believe, was the adjutant's name. He asked me when we were going to meet. I 
told him that we had already met and adjourned. He said, "Don't you meet at 6 o'clock ? " 
I replied that we would not; that if we were to assemble so late in the afternoon it might en- 
courage some disposition to disturb us ; that we would not sit later than 3 o'clock ; that we 
expected to assemble again about half past 1 o'clock, and before three would adjourn till 
the next day. The crowd by this time was increasing in front of the Mechanics' Institute 
building, but Captain Caziark and I parted under the impression that there would be no 
disturbance at all. He said the object of his mission to me was to know whether there was 
likely to be any disturbance at the Institute. I immediately returned to the hall up stairs, 
but had scarcely got into the room when the tiring was renewed just in front of the building, 
and apparently continued for two or three minutes. A good deal of consternation appeared 
in the room where we were. The room was about one-third full, I suppose. I determined 
to go to the. governor's office and see if we could devise any means to prevent the disturb- 
ance from extending. I went through the back way, and as I passed the platform I saw the 
corpse of a negro lying on the opposite side of the street. When I got into the front room 
occupied by the governor's private secretary, the street was entirely clear in front of the 
building down nearly to Canal street. There was a mass of persons who seemed to be kept 
back by a line of policemen, while in the other direction on my left was another crowd 
headed apparently by a larger number of policemen than on my right. The governor was 



48 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

not there ; lie had left at ] 1 o'clock. I sat down to write to General Baird informing' him 
of what was going on ; but I had scarcely written three lines when this crowd on my left be- 
gan to move simultaneously on the building, and commenced tiring- into the windows. They 
seemed to be shooting into the side as well as at the front windows. I moved from there, of 
course, and the crowd from below at this moment began to move up. There was general 
confusion and excitement. I was advised by the governor's son to take my position with 
some others in his father's room, which occupied the lower floor, immediately under one side 
of the hall. He remarked that if they saw me in there they would certainly shoot me. I 
was not an eye-witness to anything more that occurred after that as to attacks in the build- 
ing. I remained in the governor's parlor during the whole day. Missiles of various kinds, 
brickbats, bullets, &c, pretty frequently came into the room where we were. There was an 
open lot just at the side of the building, and I could occasionally see, through the curtains, 
what was going on there. There was an almost uninterrupted tiring- and yelling in that lot 
for some time. The lot. I learned afterwards, was occupied by a family of negroes. 

564. How long did you remain in the governor's room ? 

From one o'clock until after four. Seeing then that the military were apparently in pos- 
session of the city, I thought it safe for me to attempt to get home. I knew that my family 
were anxious. As I went out into the private secretary's room, a police officer standing there, 
inquired how I got into that building. I replied that I had been there all day. He then 
said, "you are my prisoner," and ordered me to go with him. Just at that moment three 
officers of the army, whom I had seen approaching, came to the steps, and one of them asked 
me if I was a member of the convention. 1 told him I was, and asked him if I should ac- 
company this policeman. One of them replied he knew nothing about it. The policeman, 
who had released me and stepped back when the officer spoke to me, again stepped up, took 
me by the collar, jerked me out, and blew his whistle for help. The military sentinels who 
had possession of the street let a policeman through, and he came to the assistance of the one 
having me in charge, both drawing their revolvers. I remarked that it was unnecessary to 
make such demonstrations ; that 1 should certainly not attempt to make my escape, and pre- 
vailed upon them to let go of me. I walked along, aud they with me. After they knew 
who I was, they were exceedingly abusive all the way to the station of the first district, where 
they conducted me. They were only restrained when I told them that I was in their power, 
and they could of course say what they pleased. Occasionally, as we passed along, some of 
the crowd would use offensive language, but there was no active violence. They stated that 
their object in keeping their pistols in their hands was to keep the crowd off', but the crowd 
of citizens was pretty well dispersed by that time. It was nearly five o'clock when I arrived 
at the police station, where I was locked up. 

565. How many police were out at that time ? 

I did not see many as I was going to the police station. 

566. How long did you remain at the police office? 

I was in the cell about half an hour, I suppose, when General Baird sent to Colonel Crosby 
to have me released. While I was waiting for the turnkey to let me out, the mayor and 
Lieutenant Governor Voorhees came up, and said they had just heard of my arrest, aud pro- 
posed to release me on my parole, and I was let out with the understanding that if my ser- 
vices were needed during the night to repel any disturbance, they would call on me. The 
lieutenant governor proposed to walk with me towards my residence, and protect me from 
the crowd on the streets. He did accompany me several squares, and until we had gone be- 
yond where there was anything like a collection of persons, and I then walked hum,, alone. 
I remained in my house pretty closely for two weeks. After a few days my attention was 
called to the movements of an individual who seemed to be hanging around the house, and 
watching it. lie proved to be Lucieu Adams, of the mayor's secret corps. I learned indi- 
rectly that his motive was to see that I did not assemble the convention in my residence. 
\\ bother that was true or not, I do not know. He was round my house every morning and 
night for about two weeks. I was out the next day after the riot to call upon several who 
had been wounded or hurt. 

567. Can you state how many were wounded or killed on the 30th? 

I know ol but one member of the convention who was killed — Mr. Henderson. Dr. Dostie 
was killed, ami the Rev. Mr. Horton. They were the only white persons who were killed 
to my personal knowledge. 

568. How many negroes were killed ? 

That is problematical. My belief is that the specific number will never be ascertained. 

569. Mow many to the best of your judgment ? 

To the best of my judgment, between fifty and one hundred — probably as many as one 
hundred. 

570. How many were killed or wounded excepting those who were friendly to the conven- 
tion, if any .' 

1 have heard of but one who was killed on the opposite side. Some eight or teu were 
wounded, ;i s 1 learned from hearsay. That one was killed in the yardof the Medical Institute. 

571. What was his name ? 



Cenas, the son or nephew of Dr. Cenas. 
572. Are you able to state how that man w 



as killed ? 



TESTIMONY OF EUFUS K. HOWELL. 49 

I am not, from my personal knowledge. 

,">?:>. Can yiui state whether any arrangement of any kind had been made by members of 
onvention to resist by force any attempt to arrest members of thai body ! 

On the contrary, I know i; was the general understanding of those with whom I conversed 
that we would submit quietly to an arrest, if attempted by any proper authority. It was 
talked over freely before the meeting. 

574. Will you slate whether you really anticipated an attack from any quarter? 

I did not anticipate any attack, or any violence or disturbance, whatever. 

.">?.">. Did you not know what the condition of feeling was then existing? 

I knew theie had been a good deal said, but you must bear in mind that I was absent after 
the call was published, until two or three days before the meeting. I went on to Washing- 
ton and was there during that time. I returned home about a week before the convention 
was assembled, but I was sick in my bed a part of that week, and only heard what was 
going on through members of the convention who came in. On Saturday evening preced- 
ing the meeting several gentlemen came into my house and told me that the general effect 
of the meeting of Friday evening was favorable to quiet. The impression of the governor 
was to the same effect, that it would disincline the people of the city to interfere with the 
convention at all. They gave as their reason, that the meeting was a very large one, which 
was an indication that the assembling of the convention was popular, and consequently they 
thought there would be no disturbance. I did not attend that meeting on Friday evening. 
I was in bed, sick. I did not scrutinize the maj'or's proclamation of Monday morning, but 
it produced the impression that there would be no effort on his part to arrest the convention, 
or disperse it, as he had threatened to do, and that was the only source from which I had 
anticipated aii3 r trouble prior to the mayor's proclamation. 

576. Then you had no reason to beiieve any forcible attempt would! be made to disperse 
your body under the mayor, and you came to the conclusion that there would be none made 
by any one ? 

Ye6, sir. 

f>77. Were you, yourself, armed? 

No, sir, and I saw but one person inside the hall, after the firing had begun, who had a 
weapon, and who was a friend of the convention. His was the only weapon I saw among the 
friends of the convention. There would of course have been others, if anything of the kind 
had been anticipated. 

578. Was that a revolver ? 

I am not sure. I think it was a little Derringer he carried, stuck in the side ot his pants. 
After I came into the governor's room, there was a man there who kept constantly opening 
the door into the secretary's room. We tried to prevent him, as it would attract attention, 
but he would not regard any of our remonstrances. This man who had the weapon at last 
became excited, and putting his hand to his pistol, said : " if you open that door again I will 
shoot you." It had the effect of preventing him from going to the door any more. He was 
very much alarmed and excited. 

579. You say you had no quorum, and adjourned. Writs of election for filling vacancies 
had been issued, had they not .' 

Yes, sir. 

580. Was it your intention to transact business before these writs of election were returned ? 
No, sir; the express understanding between the governor and those who were moving in 

this matter was that we would get together and ascertain the number of vacancies that had 
occurred since the adjournment in 1864, and give him official notice of them. He said that 
he had already information, which he deemed official, of the vacancies that existed at the 
first assembling of the convention. He considered the fact that election returns had never 
been made from a parish, official notice that a vacancy existed ; but he required notice of the 
vacancies that had occurred subsequent to the adjournment in 1864, and we were to get to- 
gether and ascertain who had died, who had resigned, and who had refused to attend ; and 
notify him, when he would order special writs for about the same time for which he had 
ordered writs of election for the balance of the State. Having done that, it was our intention 
to adjourn until after the election. 

58 1 . Was that intention on the part of the convention kept secret, or was it spoken of . ? 
Spoken of freeiy. 

562. What reason have you to believe that it was known to the authorities? 

I cannot say that I have any reason for knowing that, except the public manner in which 
it was spoken of. I had no conversation with the authorities, civil or military, with regard 
to it. 

583. Would there have been any difficulty in ascertaining what the intentions of the con- 
vention were, upon inquiry ? 

None at all. 

584. Is it your judgment that the attack upon the convention was arranged beforehand? 
That is my opinion now. 

585. Will you state to the committee what are your reasons for that opinion? 

Only from information that has been obtained since. I do not know that I can give any 
facts of my own personal knowledge. My information comes from parties who it seems were 
4 N. o. 



50 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS 

examined before the military commission. 1 heard o a meeting held at the mayor's office 
tin- Saturday night before the convention, upon this matter. I know, from the statements of 
various parties, and I Relieve it is referred to in the charge of Judge Abell, that the .sheriff, 
on .Saturday, had sworn in two or three hundred special deputies. 

5SG. Did you have any anonymous letters addressed to you? 

None to me. There were some containing my name addressed to other parties — one to 
Governor Hahn, I believe, one to Mr. Field, one to Mr. Cutler, and three or four others. 
These letters contained my name, and notified us that we would not be permitted to remain 
in the city. 

587. Was that before the assembling of the convention? 

It was. When the attack was made upon the hall of the convention IJthink there could 
not have been more than ten or fifteen members in the building. 

58S. How many friends of the conven ion were in the hall? 

A pretty good number. From the size of the hall I suppose there must have been over 
two hundred, but I left just as the second firing began. There were three distinct brings. 
The first was one or two shots fired just when the procession reached Canal street. Then 
everything was quiet. In the course of ten or fifteen minutes, perhaps, the firing began 
again in front of the building, and many went up into the building for safety from the firing. 
Then a general attack took place while I was in the governor's office writing to General 
lfainl. 

589. Did you look into the hall, or go into it afterwards at all ? 

Not that day. 

59U. What is the state of feeling existing in Louisiana, so far as your knowledge goes, upon 
the part of the citizens towards the general government 1 

The feeling of enmity against the government and against southern loyalists is, in my 
opinion, more intense than it has been the last twelve mouths, and, if possible, more intense 
than it was during the war. 

591. What, in your judgment, is that owing to? 

The policy of the government in restoring local control to the confederates. 

592. Is it the fact that the local control throughout the State has been restored to the con- 
federates ? 

It is. Except in occasional neighborhoods, no loyal man can -be elected or appointed to 
office. 

593. Do you mean that the entire offices are in the hands of rebel leaders ? 

No, sir, not all. Before the election at which these offices passed into the hands of the 
confederates, the governor had made appointments through the State, and among them there 
were a good many loyal men. Occasionally a district judge was loyal. The supreme bench 
was loyal. But, with very few exceptions, every officer who has been appointed or elected 
since the time Governor Wells and Lieutenant Governor Vorhees and the legislature were 
elected, all are disloyal, in my opinion, judging- from the manner of their actions, from their 
language, and from their history. I have had persons from different parishes in the State 
admit to me, very frankly, that no man known as a Union man could be elected to any office. 
Persons from various parts of the State have made that admission, and the fact is, that with 
the exception of those who held over, and whose terms of office had not expired, they are all 
confederates. 

594. Setting aside the colored element state what proportion of white citizens, in your 
judgment, would be found to be loyal? 

At this time the percentage is very small. At one time, immediately after the surrender, 
I think it would have been a pretty close vote. Not that they were all known as loyal men ; 
but they came home from the army, and from various portions of the country where they had 
taken refuge, with the determination, in good faith, as I believe, to sustain the government 
of the United States, and were rather anxious to see the Union restored and continued But 
after the policy ot the President began to be understood, that the men who controlled the 
rebellion were to have possession of the local governments, the old feeling of bitterness and 
hatred returned. 

595. What do you mean by what you call the policy of the President? 

I mean his policy as developed in his North Carolina proclamation, and his disposition to 
restore the local control of the southern States to any who would accept amnesty from him. 
It is that policy which, in its practical effect, has made the people of Louisiana, as far as my 
knowledge extends, believe that the rebellion was no indiscretion even; that it was a mere 
political contest in which no wrong has been done to the government or against society; 
that the doctrine of State sovereignty is a correct doctrine, which ought to be continued ; and 
that those who are opposed to it are enemies of the States. 

596. State, if you please, what, from your knowledge of the affairs in Louisiana, is the 
proper mode of action for the remedy ot these difficulties. 

That is a question 1 have thought upon very deeply and earnestly for a long time, and I 
am able to come to but one conclusion as a solution of the whole matter, and that is, that 
the first essential step is to break the local power of the secession element. In other words, 
to take the local control out of the present hands, and hold the State until the people them- 
selves have developed a sufficient attachment to the government of the United States to do 



TESTIMONY OF EUFI7S K. HOWELL. 51 

justice to all the inhabitants of the State, irrespective of color or origin. I do not believe 
general amnesty arid universal suffrage would improve our condition of affairs one iota for 
years to come, with the control of the State in the hands of the secessionists. They would 
control the elections just as they have always done. If the local governments arc placed in 
the hands and control of loyal men the moral influence of the government at least would 
be in favor of the rights of all, and there would be some encouragement for all to exercise 
the rights lo which they are entitled. 

597. ll tin present state of things should continue, what will the result be, so far as loy- 
alists air concerned .' 

From intimidation, from loss of business, privation of rights, and social proscription, they 
would gradually leave the State, and those who remained would either have to change or 
entirely conceal their sentiments. 

598. 1 >o .you or not believe that to be the judgment of the loyal men of Louisiana ? 

I know of only two or three of my acquaintances with whom I have conversed upon the 
subject at all — loyal men — who doubt it in the least. They are persons living here, and 
with these exceptions that is the universal sentiment among Union men, so far as my ac- 
quaintance extends. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

599. You say that universal suffrage and universal amnesty would not remedy the present 
evils ; what legislation on the part of Congress would you think advisable? 

The establishment of a provisional government; and then it would take time to give con- 
fidence and opportunity for the Union sentiment to develop. Encouragement should then 
be given to the loyal element of the State to vote. I doubt whether, even after the estab- 
lishment of a provisional government at the election first succeeding, or within a short time, 
the effect would be practically beneficial, because the people of this State, of which alone I 
can speak, have not yet recovered from this terrible despotism of opinion which has always 
existed here, and which is now as bad as I have known it to be. There are Union men 
here now, who are subpoeaned before this committee to give testimony as witnesses, fearing 
it will break up their business. They are requesting their friends not to let it be known 
that they have any kuovvledge on the subject of the riot. I do not pretend to say there 
would be any universal murdering or shooting of individual or any sj'stem of universal 
violence, but the immunity which attends violence upon Union men will encourage that, 
and increase tin- apprehension and timidity upon the part of Unionists. 

600. Suppose, instead of establishing a provisional or military government, you should 
exclude from the elective franchise, and power of holding office, the men who were excepted 
in President Johnson's amnesty proclamation, and then extend the right to all other people, 
without distinction, would that, in your judgment, afford a remedy for these difficulties .' 

I think not. 

601. Is this enmity developed since the close of the war, as you have described, an oppo- 
sition to what is called the congressional party merely, or is it an opposition to and disloy- 
alty towards the government of the United States ? 

I believe it to be disloyalty towards the government of the United States ? 

(>02. In the event of a foreign war, which might furnish some prospect of success to what 
is called the southern cause, which side would those who have participated in the rebellion 
take ? 

I am satisfied that a majority of them would take sides with the foreign power. I have 
conversed with men from different portions of the south since these local elections have oc- 
curred, and I have known the sentiment to be expressed, that if the peculiar interests and in- 
stitutions of the south can gam the ascendency and control of the government, they would 
be willing to continue in the Union; but that if their doctrines are to be overcome by what they 
designate northern doctrines, they would prefer to be separate. They say, that with the control 
of the United States government passing into the southern interest, they will repay or compen- 
sate slave-owners for their slaves which have been emancipated, and will either repudiate the 
federal debt, or assume the confederate debt. They look upon that as more important than the 
exclusion of their leaders from office. I have had prominent men tell me that in four years 
the south will have control of the government, and that measures will have to be adopted to 
furnish compensation for their slaves, and the assumption of the confederate debt. 

<><i - ,'.y. What is the grade of the court of which you are now a judge? 

It is the highest court in the State; the court of last resort, composed of five judges ap- 
pointed for ten years. 

603. Please give, in your own way, as briefly as possible, what reasons you, as a lawyer, 
had to suppose there was a legal right to assemble on the 3Uth of July the convention of 
lrftil i. 

Simply from the fact that that convention adjourned to meet on the call of the president, 
and that they had the right to come together under that resolution of adjournment ; but their 
right to represent the State would have first to be inquired into after assembling. The reso- 
lution under which they adjourned was as follows: 

"Resoteed, That when this convention adjourn, it shall be at the call of the president, whose 
duty it shall be to reconvoke the cow -entiou for any cause, or in case the constitution should 



52 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



not be ratified, for the purpose of taking such measures as may be necessary for the forma 
tion of a civil government for the State of Louisiana." 

The first point presented was, is the action of the president absolutely necessary .' I did 
not believe and do not now believe that it was the intention to depend upon the will of who- 
ever happened to be president. Had he died it would not have destroyed the right of the 
convention to assemble. That any member of the. convention, with the assistance of others, 
or even by himself might suggest a call, and it would then rest with the members whether 
they would respect such call. When they would assemble, they would either ratify 
or disavow it. If they ratified it, it was equivalent to a call by the president. It was, 
in my opinion, a mere question of form, dependent entirely upon the action of the 
members of the convention whether it should be ratified or not. It was my opinion 
that no number less than a majority of the whole convention could*act. I based the right of 
the convention to come together on the will of the people as expressed in the elections. 
A majority of the parishes had never been represented in the convention, although a majority 
of the membership had been elected. A majority of the districts in the State had, however, 
never held elections. I concluded that if the people, under the call of the governor, would 
hold their elections for delegates to the convention, it would be a ratification of the right of 
the convention to meet, and I would be further confirmed in my opinions by the elections 
that would be held in the parishes which were represented. It so happened, accidentally 
possibly, that in nearly every parish there would be special elections. I looked upon that 
as a consent of the people for the assembly of this convention to propose amendments to 
the constitution of the State, to be acted upon by the people. The convention was simply 
to propose amendments to the constitution and submit them to the people on a certain day. 
We would not have attempted to assemble had the governor refused to co-operate with us in 
ordering an election of members, and in ordering an election for the ratification of the pro- 
posed amendments. 

604. State whether there was any plan or purpose by which the constitution was to be put 
in force as the result of the action of that convention, without its being submitted to the 
entire people for ratification. 

None. On the contrary, so far as the members of the convention with whom I conversed 
expressed any opinion, it was a determination to submit their work to the people, and not to 
assume to dictate a constitution. Indeed, it, was almost the unanimous sentiment of the 
convention of 1864 that a constitution would have no validity unless the people should 
ratify it, and the same sentiment existed when we attempted to reassemble, that no measure 
that should be proposed would be considered as final with anything less than a ratification 
by the people of the. State. 

605. Assuming that you are right in what you say in regard to the power to call the con- 
vention together not being depending on the action of the president merely, still would there 
be any power in the convention to assemble when the constitution passed by a former con- 
vention, put into force, and which had become the constitution of the State, provided for 
the method of its own amendment, and provided nothing about the reassembling of the first 
convention ? 

That is a question of considerable importance, and has had a practical application in 
Louisiana on three different occasions. We have never amended our constitution in accord- 
ance with the mode prescribed by the constitution itself. We had a constitution in 1812, in 
1845, and in 1852. In each one of these constitutions we had a mode prescribed for the 
amendment of that constitution. No one of them was ever amended in that mode. It was 
always done by calling a convention and taking the whole constitution under consideration; 
so that in Louisiana we have never acted upon tin- principle that a constitution can control 
the people in their fundamental organization. 

606. In other words, you mean that the people themselves, as the source of power, had a 
right to amend the constitution in their own way, and that, although they would not con- 
form to the mode prescribed, it would not be revolutionary .' 

Yes, sir; we have never considered it revolutionary here, and I did not consider it so now. 
I hud always thought that whatever the people proposed to do, if they were unrestricted and 
uninfluenced in theiraction, if not inconsistent with the government of the United States, was 
binding upon them. 

607. What was the use of any convention assembling at all in July, if they did not intend 
to act until after the election ! 

Simply to get what the governor required— authentic evidence of the vacancies to be filled. 

608. Could not that authentic evidence be found without the assembling ot the convention'/ 
No, sir; we did not know officially who had died or who had refused to attend. There 

were some who we thought would refuse, and who would send in their resignation. There 
was one man who had said he would send in his resignation. 

609. Will you examine the paper now submitted to you, and state whether it is a correct 
copy of a statement submitted by you 1 whether the fuels there narrated are correct or not 
and if not, make any corrections that now may seem to be required? 

I will. 



TESTIMONY OF EUFUS K. HOWELL. 53 

New Orleans, December 27, 186G. 
RUFUS K. HOWELL recalled and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

CIO. Have you examined tlir statement submitted to you when you were last before the 
committee ' if so state whether it is correct, and whether you desire to make any explanation 
relative to any part of it. 

I have, and find it substantially correct. I wish to make an explanation in relation to this 
paragraph : 

"The plan of reassembling the convention was frequently discussed, and in April last began 
to command attention and approval. President Johnson was then informed of the proposi- 
tion, and has /nice been frequently spoken to in relation to it. Members of Congress were 
consulted." 

These statements I made simply from rumors that came to me at the time I took part 
actively in assembling the convention. They were not tacts within my own knowledge. 
After I issued the call, as requested to do by the preliminary meeting, I determined to satisfy 
myself in relation to these matters, and went to Washington to consult with 'gentlemen 
whom I might meet, and to ascertaiu if any legal difficulty existed in the plan we had pro- 
posed, which would induce Congress to reject the action of the convention if they could suc- 
ceed in remodeling or amending the constitution, and getting the people to ratify it. In other 
respects I believe the statement is accurate. 

The statement presented by the witness is as follows : 

JUDGE HOWELL'S STATEMENT. 

To the loyal people of the country : 

By virtue of a military order, the people of Louisiana were called upon, in 1864, to elect 
delegates to a convention to revise and amend the constitution of the State, so as to conform 
to the Constitution of the United States, and restore Louisiana to the Union. This conven- 
tion was to consist of one hundred and fifty members, but only ninety-three or ninety-six 
were voted for, as, at the time, a large portion of the territory of the State was in the posses- 
sion of the rebels, in which no such election could be held. Some who were elected never 
attended. The convention assembled in New Orleans on the Gth of April, 1864, organized, 
fixed seventy-six as a quorum, proceeded to work, and adjourned on the 25th of July follow- 
ing, after adopting the following resolutions : 

''Resolved, That when this convention adjourn, it shall be at the call of the president, 
whose duty it shall be to recouvoke the convention for any cause, or in case the constitution 
should not be ratified, for the purpose of taking such measures as may be necessary for the 
formation of a civil government for the State of Louisiana. He shall also, in that case, call 
upon the proper officers of the State to cause elections to be held to fill any vacancies that 
may exist in the convention, in parishes where the same may be practicable. 

" Resolved, That in case of the ratification of the constitution, it shall be in the power of 
the legislature of the State, at its first session, to recouvoke the convention, in like manner, 
in case it should be deemed expedient or necessary, for the purpose of making amendments 
or additions to the constitution that may, in the opinion of the legislature, require a reassem- 
bling of the convention, or in case of the occurrence of any emergency requiring its 
action. 

" Resolved, That no per diem of members shall be allowed during the adjournment.*' 

It will be observed that the first resolution provides generally for reconvoking the conven- 
tion by the president for any cause, and also, by using a disjunctive conjunction, in case the 
constitution should not be ratified; and that the second resolution authorizes the legislature, 
at its first session after the ratification of the constitution, to recouvoke the convention. * 
Thus clearly and perhaps wisely, contemplating its reassembling, although the constitution 
be ratified. 

The second resolution not being inconsistent with, did not supersede the authority conferred 
by the first, and no limit as to time is fixed for the reassembling, except at the call of the 
legislature, which could be dune only at its first session under the constitution. The action 
is unusual, but not wholly without precedent or parallel. A constitutional convention was 
assembled in Missouri during the war, which continued its existence and work from time to 
time, subject to call, for at least two years. The convention in North Carolina, called by 
President Johnson's provisional governor, continued its existence and powers for a considera- 
ble time by adjournments. The one in Mississippi, created under a provisional governor, 
also continued its existence for six mouths after its adjournment. It could as well have made 
the time indi finite, limited only by the admission of the State into the Union, after which 
event the normal State condition would be established, and the usual forms of State action 
become possible and regular. 

All this rested upon the fact that these attempts to establish civil governments in the insur- 
rectionaiy States were necessarily attended with irregularities growing out of a state of civil 
war. 



54 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Nothing- in regard to government lias been regular or usual in the southern States since 
the presidential election in I860, which was followed by a total subversion of all the State 
governments by reckless conspirators and a four years' war to subvert the national govern- 
ment ; and it is very difficult to conceive any mode of restoration which would be free from 
most glaring irregularities, when tested by our former experience in State and national func- 
tions. Charges of irregularities, revolution, and conspiracy come with a bad grace from 
those who inaugurated the troubles and confusion which have convulsed and well-nigh de- 
stroyed our nation. Those who are now making all the noise are the authors of all the 
trouble, all the sad results. They should recollect the deception, fraud, and violence used 
by them in effecting secession, and the hundreds of thousands of lives and millions of prop- 
erty destroyed, for which they are justly held responsible, by an impartial world. 

The government thus established in Louisiana, and not yet recognized as in harmony with 
the general government, was conducted by loyal men, until the summer and fall of 1865, 
when, after the collapse of the rebellion, the policy adopted by President Johnson caused 
another revolution, which resulted in placing eaten branch of the government, so far as it 
could tin n lie /lone, in the hands of the " returned rebels." A system of social, business, and 
political proscription and terrorism severely enforced by them, the secret confederate organi- 
zations, the unconcealed hostility to the Union, and the prospect of restoration thus delayed, 
forced the loyal people to look around for some relief and a mode of getting the State into 
the Union. The unfortunate split between Congress and the President shut off all imme- 
diate hope in that direction from the general government. 

The plan of reassembling the convention was frequently discussed, and, in April last, be- 
gan to command attention and approval. President Johnson was then informed of the 
proposition, and has since been frequently spoken to in relation to it. Members of Congress 
were consulted. The president of the body addressed a telegram, in June last, to the chair- 
man of the Reconstruction Committee, asserting, in direct words, his power and right to re- 
convoke the convention, and asking if Congress would act in a certain manner upon certain 
contingencies. Not receiving a reply, he declined to call the convention, for reasons which 
did not deny its right to reassemble. 

At a meeting, on the 26th of June, of forty of the members, convened at the instance of the 
governor of the State, the undersigned member was chosen to act for them in reconvoking 
the body. This raised a question of form, to be decided only by the members themselves, 
in case they should answer the call. That they never entertained, for a moment, the 
insane idea of usurping or overturning the powers of government is shown by all their pro- 
ceedings and the objects in view, as publicly avowed in the proclamation of the ?th of July, 
by the president pro tempore, which declares that, "by the wise, just, and patriotic policy 
developed by the Congress now in session, it is essential that the organic law of the State of 
Louisiana should be revised and amended, so as to form a civil government in harmony with 
the, general government, establish impartial justice, insure domestic tranquility, secure the bless- 
ings of liberty to all citizens alike, and restore the State to a proper and permanent position in 
the great Union of States, with ample guarantees against any future disturbance of that 
Union/' 

Believing that the convention existed and had the right to reassemble, they contemplated 
doing nothing more than other constitutional conventions had done or could rightfully do, as 
representatives of the people. Their former course in submitting their work to the people, 
is a guarantee that they again would do so; but my position enabled me to know that such 
was their determination, and that, following the example of the convention of |S4f>, they 
would submit it to all who are now legal voters and also those to whom the right of suf- 
frage would be extended by their action. 

But the convention had first to assemble and reorganize, before it could do any work. To 
do this, it was necessary that the governor and people should take some part, it was officially 
known how many parishes were not represented in consequence of rebel occupation in 1864. 
To have theseduly represented, the governor was called upon to order the requisite elections. 
Owing to his temporary absence from the city, Ins proclamation for that purpose was not 
published until three days before the day of assembling'. This meeting, in advance of the 
elections, was necessary in order to ascertain what vacancies, by death or otherwise, had oc- 
curred in the body since the adjournment under the above resolutions, and give official notice 
thereof to the governor, who was to issue special writs, on shorter notice to the voh rs, so as 
to have all the elections about the same time, and the convention would then adjourn until 
titter the i lections, when the whole Slate would thus be represented, and the convention be 
authoritatively recognized by the people, if any such recognition were necessary. 

That the existence of the convention and the necessity lor its reassembling were admitted 
and sanctioned by the governor, I need only refer to his election proclamatiou of the 27th of 
July last, and his able, calm address of the 7th instant. That the Union sentiments of the 
State favored and demanded the movement, I had satisfactory evidence in the constant en- 
couragement I received from Union men in every station of life. Many who had opposed 
•'equal suffrage," now expressed the opinion that it is the only solution of the question, and 
there seen ed to be a conviction among all, that the reassembling of this convention presented 
the last and only hope of deliverance from existing troubles, and of the restoration of the 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS K, HOWELL. 55 

State on just and true republican principles, with the rights of all citizens alike recognized 
and securely protected. 

It is, of course, impossible to say with certainty, what would be the precise action of a 
body of one hundred and fifty members thus chosen; but the secessionists now in office 
seemed to apprehend that it would uecessafily result in their displacement, and hence their 
predetermined, violent resistance, which, being directed against the authority of the Chief 
Executive, may well be termed rebellion. Whatever the result, it would have flown from 
the will of the whole loyal people, and not from any usurpation on the part of the conven- 
tion, whose action would have been no more revolutionary than that of any other constitu- 
tional convention. 

The loyal people of the State are the proper arbiters in this case, and the friends of the 
movement had no apprehension as to their decision in maintaining the convention and the 
true principles of republican government. 

It was this spirit of resistance, persecution and intolerance, exhibited in originating and 
prosecuting the late rebellion against the United States, rekindled by the policy of the Pres- 
ident and inflamed by an incendiary press and the dread of seeing justice to an oppressed 
people established, that produced the fearful massacre of July 30, 1866. 

The members of the convention well knew that violence could result only in the defeat of 
their objects, and hence could have had no part in provoking or inviting it. Any attempt to 
connect the convention with, or hold it responsible for language alleged to have been uttered 
by one or two individuals at a mass meeting, prior to its assembling, will be pronounced 
vain and preposterous by all reflecting persons. Not having attended, I cannot decide, if it 
were important, between the conflicting reports of the character of the two speeches referred 
to at said meeting. 

So far as my knowledge extends, the members did not, on the morning of July 30, "ex- 
pect, and tiny iccre not 'prepared for any violent disturbance of the convention." They re- 
lied upon the proper authorities to preserve peace and order. They had learned that a grand 
jury, in session on that day for the purpose, might, under the charge of the judge, indict 
them as an " unlawful assembly," and that the sheriff might arrest them ; and it was under- 
stood among them that, although there was no law against such assemblies, they would 
quietly submit to any attempted arrest, however unwarranted by law, give bail and proceed 
in their efforts to obtain a quorum. They were not aware of the agreement which three 
prominent officials say they had already made with General Baird in regard to the arrest. It 
is well here to state the fact, that the grand jury did not find " a true bill" against any of 
the members until after the adjournment on the 30th of July and after the police and mob 
had begun their work of death. The jury did not receive a list of those present until after 
the adjournment. 

A few minutes past 12 o'clock the meeting was called to order ; prayer was offered by the 
Rev. J. W. Horton ; the roll was called amid perfect quiet, and, only twenty-five answering 
to their names, a motion to adjourn for an hour was adopted, to procure the attendance of 
many who were known to be in the city. It was expected that several days might be occu- 
pied in obtaining a quormn: 

When the scenes of violence and bloodshed were commenced in the streets, about 1 o'clock, 
the meeting had adjourned and nearly one-half of those who answered to the roll-call had 
gone out of the room. Upon hearing the pistol shooting outside, I went down stairs to the 
governor's office, in the same building, to consult with him as to the necessity and means of 
preventing or stopping the trouble ; but not finding him, and seeing the attack then made 
by the police on the building, I remaiued, with several other gentlemen, in the governor's 
parlor, expecting every moment the doors to be burst open and all of us murdered. Provi- 
dentially the minds of the mob were not directed to that room, and after the military seemed 
to have control, I quietly walked out (about 5 p. m.,) through the private secretary's office, 
and a policeman standing at the front door of the building declared me to be his prisoner, 
and calling another to his assistance, conducted me to the lock-up, amid their rejoicings over 
the number who had been killed and wounded, mentioning my name among the latter. 

I did not request the military to protect the convention, because I did not think it neces- 
sary. I could not realize the necessity nor probability of such a disturbance. Those com- 
posing the convention had an undoubted right to meet as they did, ami they could be pro- 
perly disturbed in the exercise of that right only when they abused it by doing something in 
violation of law or public order. The simple act of assembling was no offence, and certainly 
no excuse nor warrant for their murder. Up to the time of the attack, those present had done 
absolutely nothing, except to answer to their names, direct the absent members to be sent 
for (which, by the rules, any ten could do) and adjourn. 

Surely, twenty-five men, one-sixth of a yet unassembled convention, meeting publicly in 
the capitol building, could do very little toward overturning the government of the great 
State of Louisiana, and it is wonderful how much terror they created among the recent de- 
stroyers of the State and national governments ! 

Had they not been so savagely and summarily "dispersed," there is reason to believe that 
a quorum might have been obtained, that the elections would have taken place, and the " na- 
tional democracy" taken part therein, and that the convention, after having its numbers 
completed, would have performed its work (including, probably, the adoption of "equal 



56 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

suffrage") and submitted it to the people for ratification ; which, would have been followed 
by the admission of Louisiar a as a [oral State into the Union. 

It was to prevent this that the massacre of that day was perpetrated by the opponents of 
the convention and the Union. 

But if the "assembly'' had not attained the proportions and authority of a constitutional 
convention, it could have clone no harm, nor endangered the public peace. General Baird, 
in his admirable and unanswerable letter to the mayor, presents the whole question in one 
sentence: " If the assemblage in question has the legal right to remodel the State govern- 
ment, it should be protected in doing so ; if it has not, then its labors must be looked upon 
as a harmless pleasantry to which no one ought to object." 

Even if it was " an unlawful assembly," there was no excuse, no palliation, for the course 
adopted for its suppression, and the ojficinl maiming and massacre of its members, and perhaps 
hunch eds of its friends, or supposed friends. There is no proof yet that one of the assailing 
party was killed.' 

The members were perfectly willing to submit the legal question to any proper tribunal. 
They, in advance, appealed to the governor and the people, withoat whose co-operation 
th-y knew they could do nothing. Tluy did not expect, however, to be condemned and ex- 
ecuted without a hearing. 

As to the reassembling of the convention, about which I am so frequently questioned by 
Union men, I must say that I consider the telegram of President Johnson to the .State attor- 
ney general, as an ex parte decision in favor of the rebel side of the question, without citation 
or hearing on our part, and as authority to that officer to use the United States military forces 
to prevent, for the present, another meeting of a body which he has in advance decided to be 
illegal. 

But there is a power above even the President — the loyal people of the nation — to 
whom, in this contest between loyalty and disloyalty, unionism and disunionism, we, as loyal 
citizens, take our appeal, in perfect confidence as to j their decision, and the ultimate estab- 
lishment of peace, harmony, and good will. 

R. K. HOWELL. 

New Orleans, August 15, 1866. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

631. Was the result of your consultations at Washington satisfactory to your views as 
respects the propriety of calling tire convention? 

They were not as satisfactory as I had desired or expected from what I had heard ; in this 
respect — I had the impression that there were Congressmen who had suggested the reassem- 
bling of the convention, and the submission of their work to Congress for its acceptance. 
That I did not find to be the case. 

612. Did you consult members of Congress upon that subject? 

I showed this call to several members, ten or twelve I think, and told them what we wanted 
to do, and the reasons why we were led to take this course. Some of them said: "Well, 
get before us and we will act; we cannot promise you anything, but if your people adopt a 
constitution with the principles you mention embodied in it, we will entertain it as favorably 
as we can as individual mi mbers of Congress." 

61 o. Was there any caucus held to your knowledge by any members of Congiess upon 
that subject 1 

No, sir. There was a caucus held after I got there, and I saw it announced in the papers 
that the subject was alluded to in that caucus. Some remarks were reported to have been 
made by Mr. Boutwell. I heard when 1 got there that there was to be a caucus. 

614. And Mr. Boutwell's views, as reported, were favorable to the calling of the conven- 
tion, were they not ? 

My recollection is that he simply stated that a gentleman from New Orleans had informed 
him that there was to be a convention held in Louisiana. 

615. Were you the gentleman from New Oilcans referred to ? 

1 presume so: though there were other gentlemen in the city. 

616. Can you at this time give the date when the caucus was held ? 

It wjts on Saturday, the next day after my arrival ; I think about the middle of July last. 

I [earned that the caucus was held in regard to the adjournment of Congress, and that Mr. 

Boutwell used this as an argument for not adjourning. 
til?. Had you consulted with Mr. Boutwell upon this subjecl before that ' 
1 was introduced to him in the hall of the House one morning, and held a conversation with 

him in order to learn the views of persons in and out of Congress. 

618. Did he encourage you in the movement .' 

Hi said very frankly, "These aie the principles which 1 advocate, the principles enunciated 
in the call." 

619. 1 »id you show him the call ? 

I did. I hail a letter of introduction to him containing the call, and it was the enrmcia- 

* One lad was killed, as 1 have since Learned, 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS K. HOWELL. 57 

funis of that call which he approved. But ho said lie could not say anything about our local 
affairs here; that he could not regulate anything, or suggest anything more than his individ- 
ual opinion. 

620. To what other members of Congress did you show the call? 

I suppose there were a dozen copies sent to different persons, members of Congress, and 
others. 

621. What members of Congress did you personally see upon the subject ? 

Just those to whom I happened to be introduced. I went into the ball with General 
Banks and he introduced me to various gentlemen, among others I believe he introduced me 
to Mr. Shellabarger, of this committee. I suppose I made the acquaintance of ten or twelve 
gentlemen there ? 

H22. Were you introduced to Mr. Eliot, the chairman of this committee there? 

No, sir; I had not the pleasure of meeting Mr. Eliot? I did not know him. 

623. Were you introduced to Mr. Thaddeus Stevens? 
Yes, sir. 

624. Did you consult him upon the subject? 

Yes. sir; and he rather discouraged it because he thought his plan for an enabling act, a 
bill for which he had already presented, was preferable. 

625. Did he state to you that in his opinion a convocation of the convention was illegal ? 
I do not recollect that he expressed any opinion to that effect. I do not think there was 

any decided opinion expressed by any one, for or against it. I was frequently asked the 
question if I thought it could be made practicable. 

626. The principal point of discussion then was in reference to the practicability? 

Do not understand me to say that there were discussions at all. I simply wanted to 
know from gentlemen in and out of Congress whether they thought there were such legal 
objections to the plan we proposed as to make it impracticable. 

627. And as the result of the consultations you. speak of you came home and went on 
with the call of the convention ? 

The result was that I did not find such legal difficulties in the way as to prevent our 
making an effort to amend the constitution in that mode. 

626. Besides Mr. Boutwell, Mr. Thadeus Stevens, and Mr. Shellabarger, can you name 
any other members of Congress with whom you consulted upon the subject ? 

I did not consult with Mr. Shellabarger. I had consultations with General Banks and 
with Mr. Roscoe Conklin, who postponed the discussion of the question with me till another 
time, and that time never arrived, because I came home. I think I spoke with General 
Paine and a gentleman by the name of Morris, I think, from New York State ; also with 
Judge Kelly. They were probably the only ones with whom I had any lengthy views on 
the subject of the convention. I was introduced to several others, to whom I mentioned the 
proposed plan, and was met pretty generally with the same tenor of reply, that "if you get 
before Congress with a constitution imbodying these principles we will probably favor its 
acceptance." Mr. Grinnell was one with whom I conversed. I cannot recollect the names 
of others. If I had the list before me I might probably mention every one. I spoke with 
persous also who were not members of Congress, from whom I received more encourage- 
ment probably than from membeis of Congress. The opinion expressed — when any opinion 
at all was decidedly expressed — was that under the resolutions o*f adjournment the members 
had a right to come together again. As to their right to represent the people, that was 
another question which had to be investigated. All the members of Congress met me with 
the statement that they could only make laws; that they had no authority, nor right, nor 
power to execute them. I know that by letter and personally the request was made for 
some congressional action to be had to encourage the meeting of the convention, but it was 
not done. 

629. Action at that time? 

Some action, some resolution, or something to encourage the meeting of the convention ; 
but they declined it as not belonging to the action of Congress. I know that a despatch was 
sent by the president of the convention to the chairman of the reconstruction committee stating 
that he had the power to reconvene the convention of 1864, and desiring to know whether 
if that convention should assemble and adopt universal suffrage ami some other amend- 
ments which I do not now recollect, and the constitution thus amended be ratified by the 
people, Congress would admit representatives from this State elected tuider it. The chair- 
man of the committee stated to me that he had received the despatch, but said he considered 
it a foolish inquiry, and that as they would have to send an answer which might not be 
agreeable, because they thought it a foolish inquiry, or no answer at all, they therefore con- 
cluded not to notice it, and did not reply. 

630. Who was the president of the convention you refer to? 
Judge Durell. 

631. Have you a copy of the proclamation or order issued by General Banks in conformity 
to or under the authority of which the convention of 1864 was assembled ' 

I have not; but I think I can procure you a copy within twenty-four hours. 
A copy of the order referred to was subsequently brought in by the witness, and is as 
follows : 



58 . NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

[General Orders No. 35.] 

Headquarters Department of the Gulf, 

New Orleans, March II, J 864. 

I. An election will be held on Monday, the 28th day of March, at 9 o'clock a. m , in each 
of tlir election precincts established by law in this State, for the choice of delegates to a con- 
tention, to be held for the revision and amendment of the constitution of Louisiana. 

II. The several parishes shall be entitled to elect the number of delegates herein assigned 
to each, upon the basis of white population exhibited by the census of I860, to be chosen in 
each parish on one ticket by the qualified voters of the parish, except iu the parish of Or- 
leans, in which parish the election shall be held in the several representative districts estab- 
lished by law, fur the number of delegates herein assigned to each district, to be chosen on 
one ticket, by the qualified voters of the district, as follows, viz: 

White No. of 
Parishes. population, deli-gatea 

Ascension 3,940 2 

Assumption 7, 189 3 

Avoyelles 5, 908 2 

Baton Rouge, east 6, 944 3 

Baton Rouge, west 1 , 859 1 

Bienville 5,900 2 

Bossier 3, 348 1 

Caddo 4, 733 2 

Calcasieu 4, 452 2 

Caldwell 2,888 1 

Carroll 4, I -J I 2 

Catahoula ; 5, 492 3 

Claiborne 8,996 4 

Concordia ], 242 1 

De Soto 4,777 2 

Feliciana, east 4,081 2 

Feliciana, west 2,036 1 

Franklin 2, 758 1 

Iberville 3,793 2 

Jackson 5,367 2 

Jefferson 9,965 4 

Lafayette 4,309 2 

Lafourche 7, :>no 3 

Livingston 3,120 1 

Madison \ 1,640 1 

Morehouse 3 7^4 2 

Natchitoches 6, 306 3 

Orleans 149,' 008 — 

First representative district 7 

Second representative district 11 

Third representative district 9 

Fourth representative district 5 

Fifth representative district 5 

Sixth representative district 4 

Seventh representative district 4 

Eighth representative district 3 

Ninth representative district 3 

Tenth representative district 10 

Right Bank (Algiers) 2 

Ouachita 1,887 1 

Plaquemine 2,595 1 

Pointe Coupee 4,094 2 

Rapides 9,711 4 

Sabine 4,115 2 

St. Bernard 1,771 1 

St. Charles 938 1 

St.Helena.ji 3,413 1 

St. .lames 3, 348 1 

St. John Baptist .- 3,037 1 

St. Landry 10,703 4 

St. Martins 5,005 2 

St. Mary 3,508 1 

Si Tammany 3,153 1 

Tensas 1,479 1 

Terrebonne 5, 234 2 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS K. HOWELL. 59 

Parishes. White No. of 

population, delegates. 

Union 6,641 3 

Vermillion 3,001 1 

Washington 2,996 2 

Winn 5,481 2 

357,629 150 

III. Anv parish not now within the, lines of the army shall he entitled to elect delegates as 
herein specified, at any time before the dissolution of the convention, should such parish bo 
brought within the lines of the army. 

IV. Every free white male, twenty-one years of age, who has been a resident of the State 
twelve months, and six months in the parish in which he offers to vote, who is a citizen of 
the United States, and who shall have taken the oath prescribed by the President in his proc- 
lamation of the 8th December, 1863, shall have the right to vote in the election of delegates. 

V. Citizens of the State who have been expelled from their homes by the public enemy on 
account of their devotion to the Union, and who would be qualified voters in the parishes to 
which they belong, will be allowed to vote for delegates in the election precincts in which, 
or the time being, they may reside. 

VI. Citizens of the State who have volunteered for the defence of the country in the army 
or navy, and who are otherwise qualified voters, will be allowed to vote in the election pre- 
cincts in which they may be found on the day of election. 

VII. The commissioners of election appointed to superintend the polls at the election of 
State officers, February 22, 1864, are authorized and directed, in the absence of other orders, 
to fulfil and discharge all the duties of commissioners of election in their respective precincts 
for this election. 

VIII. The commissioners of election, at any election precinct, are authorized to adminis- 
ter the oath of allegiance, as prescribed by the President, to any person otherwise qualified 
to vote, and to register the name of such voter in New Orleans, where a register is required, 
or to receive it in other parishes where no register is required, at any time before the polls 
are closed on the day of election. 

IX. The commissioners in the. several parishes will make prompt returns of the votes given 
to the sheriff of the parish, as provided by law, or, in his absence, to the provost marshal, 
who will immediately return the same to the secretary of State in the same manner and form 
as for members of the general assembly. 

X. The sheriffs of the several parishes, and in the : r absence the provost marshals, will 
take especial care that the polls are properly opened, and that suitable judges of election and 
other officers are appointed. It is desirable that all persons properly qualified shall vote, 
but it is more important that the integrity of the election shall not be vitiated by illegal or 
fraudulent acts. 

XI. The delegates duly elected to the convention shall meet at Liberty Hall, executive 
building, in the city of New Orleans, at 12 o'clock m., on Wednesday, the 6th day of April, 
1864. In case any vacancy occurs, by resignation or death, after the organization of the 
convention, a writ of election shall be issued by the convention'to fill the vacancy. 

By command of Major General hanks: 

RICHARD B. IRWIN, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 
Official : 

NATHANIEL BURBANK, 
Acting Assistant Adjutant General. 
Headquarters District of Louisiana, * 

New Orleans, December 28, 1866. 

632. Did the convention of 1864 assemble and adopt a constitution? 

Yes, sir. 

633 Was that constitution submitted to the people of Louisiana, and ratified by them? 

Yes, sir; in those portions of the State then under the control of the federal forces. 

634. Did it afterwards go into effect as the constitution of Louisiana? 
Yes, sir, it did. 

635. Was it not in full force and effect at the time the convention of 1864 was called to re- 
assemble on the 30th of July? 

Just in the same force that it had been from the time of its adoption. 

636. Who was the president of the convention of 1864 at the time of its adjournment ? 
Judge Durell. 

637. When did Judge Durell cease to be president of the convention, if at all? 
He did not cease at all that I know of. 

638. Did he order the convention that attempted to re-assemble in July last, to be assembled ? 
No, sir. 

639. Then how came you to issue that call as President? 



60 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

Because I was so requested to do by a preliminary meeting of the members of the conven- 
tion held on the 26th of June. I attended the meeting upon this notice : 

New Orleans, June 23, 1866. 
Silt: Several members of the convention, as well as the executive, request you to attend a 
meeting of the members of the constitutional convention of the State of Louisiana, at the 
Mechanics' Institute, New Orleans, on Tuesday the 26th inst . at 2 o'clock, p. m. 

JOHN E. NEELIS, Secretary. 
Hon. E. K. Howell. 

At that meeting I was selected by the members present to act in the capacity of president, 
upon the refusal of Judge Durell to act, and his statement that he intended to leave the city. 
(ill i. Did lie leave the city? 
He did leave the city to be absent during the summer. 

641. You do not mean that he stated he was going to leave the city permanently? 
That he was going off for the summer. 

642. Then by his refusal to act, you mean that he refused to call the convention? 
Yes, sir, at that time ; he did once agree to do it. 

643. Did he ever take any steps to call it 1 

None that I know of, that is, public acts. He told me that he had consulted with several 
parties, and among others with General Sheridan, in regard to it. I answer, therefore, that 
he was taking steps privately to determine whether he would call it or not. 

644. How many members of the convention attended the preliminary meeting to which you 
refer ? 

I think about forty answered to their names : thirty-nine or forty. 

645. And you were selected by these forty as President ? 
Yes, sir. 

646. How many members of the convention were there all together? 

I think there were ninety-five or ninety-six elected : the body was to be composed of one 
hundred and fifty, bat only some ninety-five or ninety-six were elected, because elections 
could not be held in the balance of the State in a majority of the parishes. The number was 
large in proportion to the territory, on account of the large representation from the city of 
New Orleans. I think there were some sixty or sixty-two delegates from the city. 

647. How many actually assembled in the session of 1864 .' 
All but. three or four of those who were elected. 

648. Was there at any time after the adjournment of the convention of 1864 a larger num- 
ber of its members than there were at the preliminary meeting of which you speak, when 
there were forty ? 

Not to my knowledge. The first connection I had with it after the adjournment, was this 
preliminary meeting of June 26. 

649. Did the constitution adopted by the convention of 1864, and which afterwards went 
into effect, provide any particular mode by which it was to beamended afterwards, if at all ? 

It had a provision lor its amendment as all our constitutions had, and none of which have 
ever been followed in adopting amendments. 

650. What article of the constitution provides for its amendment ? 

Title 12, article 147 — which reads as follows: "Any amendment ^or amendments to the 
constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same 
shall he agreed to by a majority«of the members elected to each House, such proposed amend- 
ment or amendments shall he entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon. 
Such proposed amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people at an election 
to be ordered by said legislature, and held within ninety days after the adjournment of the 
same, and after thirty days publication according to law ; and if a majority erf the voters at 
sa'nl election shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments, the same .shall become 
a part of the constitution. If more than one amendment lie submitted at a time, they shall 
be submitted in such manner and form that the people may vote for or against each amend- 
ment separately." 

651. You stated in your examination that the state of feeling existing in Louisiana, so far 
as your knowledge goes, on the part of the citizens towards the general government, is more 
hostile now than it was (luring the war. Does not that arise from a belief that prevails that 
the party which controls tin 1 general government is disposed to degrade the State, and to in- 
sist upon negro suffrage and the disfranchisement of the white men who participated in the 
rebellion ! 

It does not arise from that. It may be affected by (heir belief. It arises, in my opinion, 
from the inculcation of the principles of secession for thirty years, and developed since the 
surrender of Lee's army by the unexpected course adopted by the President of the United 
States. 

(i.VJ. Do you allude to the restoration policy of the President .' 

Yes, sir. It was not expected even by the secessionists themselves, so far as my inter- 
course with them extended before it was known. 

tio'A. Do you not regard it as an anomaly, that a people should become disaffected toward a 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS K. HOWELL. 61 

government and be dissatisfied with a policy which they regard as favoring their constitu- 
tion;!! rights, and favoring their representation in the national legislature .' 

I should consider it an anomaly Cor them to oppose a government which was supporting 
them, and was based upon their principles. I certainly should regard that as a very great 
anomaly. 

654. Then am I to understand you to mean that the restoration policy of the President is 
nol based upon principles held by this community? 

I think they consider it much more favorable to them than they'expected. 

(>.">.".. Then why should it cause dissatisfaction? 

Because it gave developement to the very principles upon which they seceded from the 
government of the United Stales, and attempted its destruction. 

656. Do you regard the principle of representation iu Congress as a destructive element'in a 
State or community? 

Representation based upon State sovereignty I do consider destructive to the form of gov- 
ernment which we have iu this country, as understood by the southern school of politicians. 

I)."i7. Do you regard it as a destructive element in a State or community that negro suffrage 
should not be allowed until established by the assent of a majority of the white citizens of 
the State ' 

I consider it a source of irritation and excitement in this State, and a denial of what I 
think is right and just. 

60S. If that body of men in this State, w r ho hold these doctrines, were allowed to control 
the offices, would not that in your estimation provide a complete remedy for existing evils .' 

It would bring about a correction of the evils in course of time. 

659. What proportion does that body of men holding these doctrines bear to the whole 
number of white citizens of the State ? 

I am unable to give you anything like an approximate answer to that. I can only give 
you my views as derived from conversation with others. I believe that if it were considered 
safe throughout the State for persons to advocate impartial suffrage, and oppose the doctrine 
of State sovereignty, that in a very little while a majority of the white citizens of this State 
would be enlisted iu that party. 

66U. If the people who hold these sentiments are now in a majority, as you seem to imply, 
why cannot they make it safe? 

Because of the power being iu the hands of their enemies. 

661. Then are we to infer that in your opinion a majority of the people in the State are 
truly loyal in your sense of the term, but that they have not given a public expression to 
their sentiments .' 

I believe they are becoming loyal because of the force of circumstances, and of the action 
of those who are in control. 

662. How do you reeoucile that with your statement that since the war, and especially of 
late, the general feeliug of hostility to the government, and to what you term Uniou men, is 
more bitter than before? 

I simply mean by that expression that those who entertain that sentiment of sympathy 
with the rebellion are more bold, and defiant than they were immediately after the surrender. 

66b". You do not mean, then, that their number is actually increased ? 

I believe their number to be increased, because it is the natural course of things in popular 
government that those in power geneially have greater control and support than those who 
are not in power: in other words, that there is always an element in the community which 
goes with tiiose in authority. 

6(i4. Do you not regard it as an exciting cause in a popular community for a body of men 
manifestly in the minority to undertake to alter the organic law of the State in any other way 
than that which the constitution itself prescribes? 

I have no doubt it would produce discussion and partisan opposition for any number of 
persons to propose amendments to the constitution of the State in any form, and without re- 
gard to the form prescribed by the constitution. I beg to repeat my statement that the con- 
stitution of the State of Louisiana has been changed three different times, but in uo one in- 
stance has it been changed in the mode provided by the constitution itself. 

(><'>•">. And you state these precedents iu justification of the action of the convention which 
attempted to assemble on the 30th of July. 

I state these precedents as the general course pursued in the community, and as one of the 
reasons which influenced myself in joining in this attempted meeting of the convent ion. as it 
is called, in connection with my own judgment, that the people are arbiters in these matters ; 
that if they choose to accept amendments from any source, I would consider them binding. 
That would be my peculiar view of the result of such action under popular governments. I 
think the people can ratify or adopt any mode of proceeding which is acceptable to themselves. 

666. In your^xpectation of enforcing the action of that convention, was not your reliance 
more upon Congress than upon the people? 

No, sir ; we never would have gotten to Congress if the people had not ratified it. 

667. How could you expect the people to ratify it, wheu the action contemplated was ad- 
mitted to be against the sentiments of the majority of the white citizens of the State. 

I do not kuow that that is the state of the case. My own opinion of the matter is simply 



62 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

this : that if the convention had completed its organization, and the entire one hundred and 
fifty members sent to the convention, it would have been evidence that the people would be 
willing to accept the work from the convention. 

668. Could not the sentiments of the people have been better ascertained by adopting the 
mode pointed out in the constitution of the State itself? 

Not better; it could have been found out probably, to an equal extent. 

669. Then why was it, that that course was not pursued ? 

I cannot answer why the legislature did not propose amendments, unless it he that they 
were influenced, as was suggested, in some telegraphic despatches from Washington, by the 
Executive of the government, at Washington. 

670. Who sent the telegraphic despatches you allude to? 

They hear the signatures of the commissioners of the legislature, and purport to give the 
advice of the President and Mr. Seward. 

671. Who were these commissioners? 

One of them was 1). S. Cage, speaker of the house ; one was Mr. James B. Eustis. lean- 
not call the name of the other; he was a member or the senate. 

672. When was the telegram sent .' 

Just before the adjournment of the legislature of 18G6. 

67:.!. To whom was it sent ! 

It was sent to one of the members of the legislature. 

674. Did you set' the despatch 1 

I saw it published in the papers. It was published in the Crescent, and, I think, the other 
papers, as ;i part of the proceedings of the legislature. 

075. Was there any geueral movement upon the part of the people of the State to change 
the constitution at, the time of the assembling of tin- alleged convention, in July last? 

None that I know of a public character except this movement, and the effort to got the con- 
vention together. 

676. That was the movement on the part of the forty members, of whom you speak ? 
That was a movement upon the part of the members and friends of the convention, and of 

what we call the republican party. 

677. And represented preliminarily at the meeting of the forty members, of whom you have 
spoken ! 

This matter had been talked of ever since the fall elections. As soon as the result of these 
elections was known, they commenced agitating the propriety of calling this convention to- 
gether. It was talked over throughout the State. 1 have heard occasional intimations from 
various parts of the State, that it was desirable to get that convention together, to propose 
amendments to the constitution, such as would enable the State to resume, its relations in the 
Union. 

678. Were public meetings held anywhere else upon the subject besides New Orleans ? 
I do not know that they were. 

(>?:». Were any petitions for the purpose of bringing about amendments to the constitution 
presented to the legislature in 1866 ? 

I am not aware that there were. 

680. Or to anybody else? 

No, sir; those who thought with me hardly thought that we were a State. 

6bl. Did you and those who acted with you deny the existence of the State government? 

>,.it as a, provisional government. 

682. Do you now intend to deny the binding force of the constitution adopted by the con- 
vention in JS64 and ratified by the people ' 

No, sir; on the contrary, we endeavored to support it, and I did not consider that we 
were violating the constitution or any law in an effort to have it amended. 

• ',-:;. No matter by what means that effort was made? 

Provided the people accepted it. I give this last only as my individual opinion. 

By the Chairman: 

634. You stated that among the gentlemen you saw at Washington, and to whom you 
was introduced, was Mr. Shellabarger ; did he give you any opinion or express any judg- 
ment as to the legality of your proposi d action or the propriety of it at all .' 

No, sir, I think not. I do not recollect having any conversation with Mr. Shellabarger 
on that subject. I only met him on the floor of the House and was introduced to him there* 
After talking with him generally as to what was going on in the house, which was a report 
of his in the Conkliug case, 1 requested him to introduce me to Mr. Conkling, so that I 
might consult with Mr. Conkling on legal questions which I wanted to talk about. 

Rc-ejcaminutiun. > 

At a subsequent portion of the day, Judge HOWELL was again recalled, at his own re- 
quest, and made the following statement: 

In the answer to the question which you propounded in regard to the result of my inter- 
views with gentlemen in Washington, I desire to add that the effect or result of these inter- 



TESTIMONY OF RUFUS K HOWELL. 63 

view- was simply this, in general terms: that if the governor co operated with the conven- 
tion, and elections should be held in all the parishes which had not been represented, and 
the constitution amended, as proposed by those moving in the matter, should be ratified by 
tlic people, then it must be considered that all irregularities would be cured and the conven- 
tion considered as authoritative. 

In answer to the question to this pffect, would the committing of the government into the 
hands of those who entertained sentiments similar to mine, correct existing evils among us 
here, I Hnswered I believed that it would Lead to it. I desire to add, that this would depend 
upon the mode in which that change might be made ; that the mere putting in ofHce, under 
the present circumstances, of men thinking as I do, would not in itself produce a cure or 
correction of the evils that exist here. In my opinion the surest, au'd perhaps the only mode 
of effecting that would be to set aside the present State government entirely and establish a 
provisional or territorial government in the hands of those of undoubted loyalty, and who 
would not contribute in any way to make treason more creditable among us than loyalty to 
the Union. 

I do not know that I was understood in my answer to your question about the anomalous 

fosition of men being favored by the government and opposing that government ; the idea 
wished to convey was that I did not consider that the secessionists were opposing a gov- 
ernment which was maintaining them, but that they were opposing the government of the 
United States on account of the President's course in the attempt at reconstruction being 
such as to lead them to believe that the course they had pursued, in opposition to the gov- 
ernment of the United States, was not wrong; that they had committed no fault or crime. 
In other words, that they were led to be more defiant and bold than they had been before, 
as the effect of that policy. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

685. These corrections you have made after an interval of ten hours from the time you 
were first examined ; what has led you to consider these corrections in your testimony neces- 
sary? 

"My own reflections upon the answers made to questions put to me by yourself. 

686. Have you seen any notes ot the testimony taken this morning ? 
No, sir ; I have not. 

667. In what way do you think that secessionists who thought they were right can now 
be convinced they were wrong? If they still remain at present of their original opinion, 
what measures do you think the government can now take that would convince them of their 
having committed a wrong? 

I do not know that the leading secessionists will ever be convinced that they were wrong, 
because it may be, and, I believe, is the case with many of them, that they are perfectly sin- 
cere in the opinions they have imbibed during a lifetime. I believe, however, the govern- 
ment can take measures that will make them believe that the sentiment of the Union is ad- 
verse to their views, and that this government must be maintained upon principles entirely 
different from theirs. „ 

688. Do you not think the result of the Avar had a tendency to convince them of that 
fact? 

I do ; but I believe this was counteracted by the course the President has pursued in lead- 
ing them to hope that their sentiments may again have ascendency over the country. 

689. Has the President advocated any sentiments friendly to that of secession ? 
As I understand them, I answer yes. 

69U. Have you yourself ever endured one-tenth what he has for the Union while the war 
was raging? 

I do not know how much he endured. I know that I endured a good deal; but I have 
no disposition to parade that before the community or the country in support of my loyalty. 

691. Do you think that a man who espoused the cause of rebellion from a sincere belief 
in the right of secession might not now be relied upon as a citizen who would support the 
government in good faith ? 

I believe there are some who can be. 

692. Is it necessary, then, in order to make them loyal citizens, that they should be con- 
vinced their theory of secession is founded upon wrong premises? May they not submit to 
the practical fact, and give in their adhesion to the government in good faith, without hav- 
ing their theoretical views in reference to secession changed ? 

Yes, sir; so long as they are not induced to believe that their theoretical views may be- 
come practical and prevalent. 

<)'.!;;. Is there anything in the policy which advocates the constitutional reunion of the 
States that favors the doctrine of secession ? 

The word constitutional is very general in its application, probably. If, as the southern 
politicians contend, the Constitution recognizes the sovereignty of the States, and loyalty to 
a State as paramount to that of the Union, then there is the danger to which you allude ; but, 
as I understand the Constitution, there is nothing in it which will warrant secession at all. 

694. Is the restoratioii of State representation in Congress a recognition of that kind of 
State sovereignty which you deprecate ? 



64 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Under existing' circumstances of the south I believe it is. 

695. I>o you consider the representation of the States in Congress as heretofore as in itself 
establishing a species of State sovereignty which ought to be deprecated .' 

Not correctly speaking ; but as interpreted by leading- theorists it has had that effect. I 
believe the danger now consists in the fact that admission and representation, under the pres- 
ent circumstances, is a confirmation of the southern politicians in that theory, as it was made 
an issue in the war, and so considered to be decided adversely by them; but the policy of 
the President is to reinstate them in the advocacy of their theory. 

696. It is not the policy of the President, then, but the misinterpretation of it, then, which 
you think does the mischief? 

I do not think that at all. I really think that the policy of the President, as I understand 
it, can result iu nothing else : and I think it' you, Mr. Boyer, had been living in Louisiana 
the last eight months you would look at it iu the same light that I do, as 1 believe you to 
be a loyal man. 

Mr. BOYER. I am obliged to you for the compliment. I do not think, however, that I am 
more loyal thau the President. 

Witness. There, I hope, you and I differ. 



New Orleans, December 22, 1866. 
Dr.. WM. HENRY HIRE sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRMAN: 

WJ7. Do you reside iu New Orleans ? 

Yes, sir; I have resided here twenty-one years. 

698. Have you held any official position in the city ? 

I held a position in the city in 1853 and 1863. * 

699. Were you a member of the convention? 
I was. 

700. From what district? 

The second representative district. 

701. Were you present at the meeting of the convention, on the 30th of July ? 
I was. 

702. Please state what took place there, so far as came within your observation. 

1 went, about half-past ten, to the custom-house, where I understood there would be a pre- 
liminary meeting of the members of the convention; from there, I suppose at about half-past 
eleven, we went to the Mechanics' Institute. I remember it was near twelve o'clock when 
I came out and passed around the corner of Dryades and Canal streets, where I met the sec- 
retary of state and took a glass of soda with him Iu going to and from, I observed a body of 
people who, in common conversation, are (failed confederates. I will state that it has been 
the custom, for the last four years, of a certain class of people, whom we denominated con- 
federates, to assemble on the corners of the streets ; that it was a custom even iu Gen. Butler's 
time: tiny did not seem to dislike the term confederate, but rather seemed to court it. I 
know many of these men, by name as well as by character, as unmistakably con- 
federates, and 1 felt some hesitation iu passing through them at the corner of Canal and 
1 >>yaiies streets, but, being perhaps rather rash, 1 boldly walked through them. I could see 
that thej were armed. 

703. Were they police? 

No, there were no police among them ; they looked very angry and malicious, and had 
they knocked me down 1 should not have been surprised at all. I felt very nervous in pass- 
ing through them. I passed out into the hall. The convention was called to order, the roll 
called, and 1 answered io my name. We then adjourned, and I came down stairs in the 
governor's room. There was a shot fired. 1 then passed up stairs again; altera little time, 
a colored man came in and began to talk to me on the subject of that first shot; I said "Stop 
a moment," and 1 went and called one of the editors of the Tribune, and said to him "Take 
particular notice of this, will you?" I left him with the colored man to take a minute of it. 
That was the first shot fired. The man stated the particulars, that it was not a colored man 
that tired it, but that it was a white man w ho shot at a colored man. 

7U4. Were you where you could see the shot .' 

No, sir; 1 was in the hall. 1 went from there to a window, and some few minutes after, 
saw a body of police come down the other way, from Common street; 1 saw a policeman 
fire at some person in the direction of the hall ; that, I believe, was the second shot tired, 
after that there were of course many other shots tired. In looking through the windows, I 
saw a skirmish in the street ; by and by there was a party in the street with bricks, as if 
firing brickbats, &c, at the police, who were firing at the crowd ; shortly after that the street 
was cleared— in looking from the windows of the Institute. There was some confusion iu 
the hall ; many shots were fired iu the hall, through the windows, during this time and after- 
wards; the windows were down. When the streets were cleared, Mr. Cutler, finding some 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM HENRY HIRE. 65 

confusion in the hall, said "Sit down directly! " Dr. Dostie called out, "Do as you are 
told — 8 it down: if you have not chairs sit down on the floor, everybody ! " I believe that 
was what he said. After the street was cleared, there was a period of silence, and the 
attention of everybody was directed to the doors. Presently the doors opened; I looked 
around and saw some police aud citizens make their appearance. Following a death-like 
silence, there was a voiley tired, from the door, upon those inside. 

705. By whom was that volley fired? 

By people from the door; the door was pushed open, and policemen and citizens fired. I 
want to be particular in that statement, for everybody in the hall would know whether what 
I am stating is correct or not. It appeared to me that they discharged their four or six- 
shooters as rapidly as possible As soon as this was done, those in the hall seemed to rise 
simultaneously on their feet, took thdr chairs, or whatever they could lay hold of, aud drove 
them back. 

706. Were these members of the convention or other persons who were there ? 

I cannot exactly tell you who. I suppose members of the convention, colored men and 
all, rushed to the door. I did not go, fer one. When I found that pistol-shots were being 
fired, not being armed in any way, I fell on the floor, so that the shots might pass over me. 
The cit.iz.ens and police were repulsed. It seemed ridiculous to me that men should with 
chairs, battings, and pieces of railings, contend against an armed force, regularly organ- 
ized. This went on until I believe they were repulsed some four or five times. I believe it 
was the fifth time that they got possession of the hall. This lasted I suppose about an hour. 
It was the opinion of those in the hall that military assistance would soon arrive. It ap- 
peared to me that to go was death, and that to remain was certain death. I said to Gov- 
ernor Hahn, we had better go. I would state that after each volley fired, and the police 
driven back, some people left the hall. I spoke to Dr. Dostie about the third or fourth fire, 
and he said: " They will kill me ; they are bound to kill me." That seemed to be the 
prevailing opinion of all of us, especially of those who were known to be Union men. 
About the fifth attempt, as I said, the police held possession of the doors of the Institute. 
Governor Hahn went out first. I was going with him, when a policemau pointed his re- 
volver at me, and said, stop. Governor Hahn went out, and I was kept out in this way. 
I did not see Governor Hahn again until I saw him in the lock-up at the station-house. I 
should state that the Rev. Mr. Horton called out, while he was waving a handkerchief, 
" Stop firing ; we surrender ; we make no resistance." While he was thus entreating them, he 
was shtt in the arm. Afterwards, the Rev. Mr. Horton went out with a white handkerchief 
as a flag of truce ; and Mr. O'Connell, at another time, went out with his handkerchief as 
a flag of truce ; at another time Mr. Alfred Shaw undertook to go out with a white hand- 
kerchief as a flag of truce. When I wanted to leave the hall, a policeman pointed his re ■ 
volver at me first, but after a time seized me by the arm, and called to a policeman on the 
other side to come and take charge of me. I would here mention that the whole action of 
the police and the people co-operating with them was of a most brutal character. None but 
men accustomed to acts of blood could be guilty of such brutality. When the policemen 
got to the door each time, they commenced firing. At one time I saw a coloi'ed man kneel 
down and pray to go out; the only reply the policeman made was, the click of a pistol, 
discharging a shot into his bowels. I saw men shot in this way by policemen several times, 
and without provocation. I would state also that when Mr. Horton called out, "We sur- 
render — we make no resistance," there was a rush by policemen, aud the reply was made 
by a man in a gray coat, "God damn you, not one of you will escape from here alive." 
That remark I believe was made directly to Mr. Fish, who was trying to get out. I saw 
the policemen outside the hail, and in fact on both sides of the hall, discharging their re- 
volvers towards the hall, reloading and firing again and again. Some fell on their faces ; 
others dropped from the windows, and were shot in falling. When I came out of the hall, 
with a policeman on each side of me, somebody called out, "That is Dr. Hire — a member 
the convention." The policemen who assumed charge of me said to me, " Are you Dr. Hire, 
of the convention?" I said, "Yes." I may state further, that in going out I met an old po- 
liceman who had been under some obligation to me ; I had been attending his family as a 
physician ; I asked him to take charge of me ; this other man who assumed the charge of 
me said, "No, God damn you, he will not ; I will take charge of you." While on the way 
down stairs, the policeman whom I had told who I was, when about three steps down, took 
hold of me with his left hand, swung his club around, and struck me on the head. I 
thought I was done for ; but I felt that to succumb was death, and I endeavored to bear 
up, although the blow stunned me. I cannot tell how many times I was struck after that ; 
I was struck many times. At the bottom of the steps, as I came into the street, I was met 
by five or six parties, each of whom struck at me, some with staves and others with pieces 
of chairs ; but no blow was like that I received from the policeman as I was passing down 
the steps. I can only characterize the whole treatment as the most fiendish conduct I ever 
knew. Although I have been here twenty-one years as a practicing physician, I never im- 
agined that such things could happen. No man not accustomed to deeds of blood could 
have been so fiendish in his conduct. After escaping from the blows heaped upon me, a 
pistol was fired, the ball passing through my fingers, and I discovered when I was a few 
yards from the Institute that I had been stabbed in the region of the heart. 
5n. o. 



66 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

707. How did yon discover it ? 

By the blood ; I did not know when I was stabbed. I presume that when I was struck 
four or five blows I was stabbed at the same time, and that the reason why I was not 
seriously injured was that in trying to dodge the blow the knife glanced off, and went on 
the external side of the rib. When I got to the corner of Common and Dryades, a young 
druggist whom I knew called out, "Here is Dr. Hire, the great abolitionist ;" upon which, a 
set was made on me from behind. I was driven into the gutter ; when the policeman let go 
of me I fell with my head against the stones in the gutter, and I thought I certainly should 
be finished then. I was nauseated, sick, and weak from the loss of blood. I was taken to 
the lock-up at the station-house. 

708. Can you tell about what time you got there 1 

It was about 2 o'clock. • 

709. How long did you stay there 7 

About three-quarters of an hour or an hour ; I was fortunate in some of my friends 
getting permission, as I was wounded, for me to be taken to the office adjoining the build- 
ing. While I was there I saw Governor Hahn, and many other gentlemen connected with 
the convention. Then I was allowed to go home. The recorder finding I was wounded, gave- 
me permission, and some of my friends went and got a carriage and took me home. I would 
state that while I was lying in the hall, finding myself exposed, I went around to the side 
of the building, with a white handkerchief in my hand ; a young lad, about seventeen or 
eighteen, pointed his revolver at me ; I held up my handkerchief and hallooed "don't shoot ;' r 
he turned his revolver from me and gave its contents to a colored man. I saw James 
Philips, a man of property, and should be a man of influence, among the crowd assisting 
in their murderous work; it was he who introduced me to Mr. Monroe years before he ever 
thought of being mayor. 

710. Who is the editor of the Tribune you called on to take notice on the firing of the first shot ? 
Mr. Dallas, 

711. How many police were out that day, according to you judgment? 

When I passed down about half-past 9 o'clock, I saw squads of them going up, and I had 
seen several squads before. I need not tell you that the public mind was full of what would 
happen that day. If I could have imagined such a scene I should not have been so fool- 
hardy as to have gone to the convention, but I could not believe that such a thing was possible. 

712. Did you anticipate an attack ? 

I did not anticipate anything of the kind, 

713. Did you anticipate an attempt on the part of the sheriff to arrest the members of the 
convention ? 

That was spoken of, but it was said there would be no hesitation in surrendering the mo- 
ment the sheriff appeared to arrest us ; but the malice and wickedness was all on the part of 
the confederates ; on the part of the Union people there was a firm, strong belief that we 
would have a military protection against these strange murderous attacks. 

714. You say that many negroes were shot ; about how many? 

I do not believe that you will ever be able to tell ; at least two or three hundred. I will 
state that this commenced on Friday night about 12 o'clock. I was with the procession of 
colored people about 12 o'clock that night : I left the procession at Poydras street to go 
home, and shortly afterwards heard firing from that direction. I have good reason to believe 
that a good many men were shot on that night. 
^ 715. How many were shot on Monday, so far as you can state? 

I cannot tell the number; I must have seen forty or fifty shot, myself. 

716. How many were shot, so far as you know, who were not friendly to the convention ? 

Not one. I intended to state that I did not believe, in the whole of that crowd in the In- 
stitute there were more than five or six revolvers. Dr. Dostie and myself were speaking on 
the subject of carrying revolvers. I said it certainly should not be done ; that if he were to 
carry a revolver he would be implicated at once, and he did not carry his revolver. 

717. You have referred to the meeting on Friday evening ? 
I did. 

718. Did you hear the speaking that took place both at the City Hall and Institute? 

I did. There was speaking inside and outside of the hall. Our friends spoke in the most 
radical way. I will state to you that J heard Dr. Dostie distinctly say, " Now, my friends, 
go peaceably home ; go orderly; do not disturb anybody ; but if anybody, disturbs you, kill 
him." Of course this was talked of a great deal. 

719. State whether the speeches you heard were or were not calculated to excite to violence. 
I presume there was a great deal of bold, rash talk by the members of the republican 

party ; but I do not think any of us anticipated any serious difficulty, or we would have 
gone armed. 

720. I mean were the speeches calculated to excite violence on the part of those to whom 
they were made? 

No, sir ; certainly not. On the contrary, it was only in the event of being attacked they 
were advised " to remember Fort Pillow.',' I heard some discussion among ourselves that 
the southern people had a great deal of braggadocio, and it would not do to give way to 
them. 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM HENRY HIRE. 67 

By Mr. Siiellabargeu : 

721. Do you know how the shooting began that day? 

The first shot was fired at the corner of Baroune and Canal streets. 

722. By whom .' 

By a white person — one of those called confederates — at a colored man, when the proces- 
sion passed. It was that shot to which I referred when I said I called the attention of Mr. 
Dallas. The second shot was fired by a policeman at some one going in the opposite direc- 
tion, near the entrance to the hall. Afterwards it became a general mele, and many men 
were shot, for I saw them lying all along the street. 

72:!. Did you see anybody injured by the police and their friends away from the scene at 
the Institute ? 

You must, remember that I was taken by the police from the hall to the lock-up, and from 
thence to my bed; but I looked out of the window occasionally, and saw the police fire at 
those who did not appear to belong to them. There was an apparent understanding between 
those we call confederates and the police. This man who was about to shoot at me, James 
Philips, and others, co-operated with the police. 

724. Was there any attempt to arrest anybody who was in the riot except those who were 
friendly to the. convention .' 

No, sir. My opinion was that the murders were principally committed by the policemen, 
to the best of my knowledge and from what I could see myself. I will state that, being an 
old citizen here, I knew personally a great many of the police; but on that day they were 
all new. You understand the change that was made on the incoming of the administration 
of Mayor Monroe. He put out every Union man, and put on men who had just recently 
returned from the confederates. 

725. What proportion of the police officers who acted on that day, either special or regular,, 
had been in the confederate army ? 

I should say all of them had. No man could hold a position on the police who had not 
been in the confederate army. 

728. General Sheridan refers to Thugs as being on the police. Were they in the confed- 
erate army ? 

I presume, as I said, the bulk of those who had been on regular and extra police had been 
in the confederate army. All those called Thugs were confederates, and most of them had 
been in the confederate army. 

727. Was the character of this force which participated in the riot, and which was con- 
nected with the city government, one that was easily ascertained as to its loyalty ? 

It was public and notorious. Anybody that knows anything knows it to be a fact. 

723. What are the antecedents, as to loyalty or disloy T alty, of the lieutenant governor and 
attorney general '.' 

They are well-known confederates. 

729. Has anybody been arrested or tried for violence committed on that day except Union 
men? 

Not that I have heard of. 

730. Cau prosecutions against those who have been confederates, for outrages upon the 
rights of Union people, be successfully maintained in the courts of this State ? 

They cannot; it is impossible. 

731. What is the state of feeling now existing among those who are electors under the 
present constitution of Louisiana towards the government uf the United States ? 

Inimical. 

732. How are you enabled to state that ? What facts can you give going to show that the 
state of feeling here is inimical to the government of the United States ? 

By their daily conversation. I will just give you one instance. I was physician to the 
Screwinen's Benevolent Association before the "war; one of these men asked me whether I 
could do anything for him, being out of employment. I said "no." He went to Mayor 
Monroe for employment, stating that he had a wife and six children to support. The mayor said, 
"So you were the first man to join the Yankees, and you said you liked the old flag. I have 
no place for you." 

733. Had the convention, so far as you know, made any preparation to defend its session 
by force ? 

None. They had appointed a sergeant-at-arms for the purpose of calling in absent members. 

734. Had the convention any purpose of putting into force any constitution without sub- 
milting it to the people of Louisiana? 

The general conversation was that they would adopt a constitution, and submit it to the 
whole people of Louisiana. 

735. Was there, any purpose to take any action towards forming a constitution before the 
unrepresented parishes could hold their elections in September ? 

None. We could not form a quorum in the convention until after that election. 

736. How many men would the sheriff or chief of police have required to arrest, the mem- 
bers of the convention on that day ? 

The chief of police, or the sheriff, or the mayor of the city could have arrested the conven- 
tion without any force at all. There would have been no. resistance.. 



68 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

737. Could that fact have easily been ascertained if asked for? 

It could have been easily ascertained. It was anticipated by us that we would be arrested, 
And the remark was laughingly made, " I will go your bond." 

738. Had any effort been made at Washington or elsewhere by the Union people to have 
the character of the police of New Orleans changed, so far as you know ? 

It was a matter of serious alarm when we found none but returned confederates could be 
put on the police. 

739. Had that state of things been represented at Washington that you know? 

I know that it had been put forward ; I was instrumental in trying to do so myself. The 
character of Monroe was well known ; his position and antecedents in the time of General 
Butler were well known, and he has not altered in the least. There was another point I was 
going to mention — another man connected with the same department, by the name of Pat. 
Murphy, with a wife and family of seven children, was living here. His wife was formerly my 
cook, and I was their physician for years. I did not charge them anything for it, but they con- 
sidered it unsafe to call me in to attend to their family. 



New Orleans, December 22, 1866. 
AUGUSTUS M. MILLER sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

740. State your residence and occupation. 

I am a resident of New Orleans, and have been here five years ; I am a printer. 

741. Have you an establishment in this city? 
Yes, sir. 

741 i How many hands about do you employ? 

I have employed six journeymen; my present number is five. 

742. Do you remember being in your establishment on the 30th of July, the day of the 
assembling of the convention ? 

Yes, sir. 

743. If there was anything happened that morning in your office which attracted your 
attention in connection with the events that happened that day, please state it. 

It was somewhere towards 10 o'clock ; there was an excitement on the street, and a rumor 
of a riot at the Mechanics' Hall ; some of my hands rushed out to see what it was about. I 
remained towards half past eleven before I left, and then walked up towards the Mechanics' 
Institute myself. 

744. Was there any alarm sounded? 
Yes, sir, a general alarm. 

745 What kind of an alarm ? 

It was what they call a general fire alarm. 

746. In connection with that, was anything done by your men? 
They got excited and went out. 

747. At what time did they leave? 

I think immediately after the alarm was sounded. 

74H. State whether they were armed or had anything to arm themselves. 

Not at that time. When they returned in the afternoon, I found they were armed. 

749. How many of them? 

I saw two of them had revolvers. 

750. Were these men engaged with the police at all ? 
No, sir. 

751. Had they been confederate soldiers ? 

No; they were bom and brought up in the city; one was about sixteen years old, and tne 
other I should judge about twenty. 

752. Did their leaving appear to have any connection with the sounding of the alarm ? 
No; they appeared to lie taken entirely by surprise; they did not act as if they had made 

any preparation for anything of the kind. 

753. When you went out yourself, what did you see? 

After I got on the street on which the Institute is situated, I found everything in general 
confusion, policemen and citizens mixed together, chasing the negroes. 

754. How long did you stay there? 
I suppose about fifteen minutes. 

755. Did you see anything of interest? 

I saw several policemen chasing a negro; I came to the conclusion that it was not a safe 
place for me, and made my exit. 



New Orleans, December 22, 1S66. 
O. J. DUNN (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

756. Where do you reside ? 

I reside in New Orleans ; I am a native of the place, and have always resided here. 



TESTIMONY OF O. J. DUNN. 69 

757. What is your age ? 

About forty-one; I was bom in 1826. 

75b. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 

I was. 

759. Were you in the convention in the Mechanics' Institute on that day? 
No, sir, I was not. . I was indisposed, and did not leave my house that day. 

760. Were you at your own house during the whole day? 

I was. I heard of the disturbance, but saw uothing myself. 

761. State whether you have any knowledge of the feelings and opinions of the colored 
citizens here. 

I know them to a certain extent ; I have been with them a great deal. The feeling among 
them is that there is no security for them under the present municipal government ; that there 
is no justice for them. They have occasion every day to be satisfied of that fact. 

762. State, in your own way, what reasons bring you to this conclusion. 

We are insulted on every occasion, whenever they have an opportunity. In going through 
the streets it is a common thing to hear them say, "These negroes think they have their own 
way now, but they are mistaken ; the President is with us, and we will soon drive the 
negroes and their Yankee friends off." I have frequently seen them point out negroes as 
belonging to the Union central committee, and say, " As soon as we get things in our own 
hands we w T ill manage the matter." 

763. State whether you are a member of that committee. 
I am the treasurer, and was one of the founders of it. 

764. Is it a committee of colored persons alone, or colored and white ? 
No, sir ; colored and white. Mr. Duraut was formerly president of it. 

765. Iu what way, other than by speech, does this feeling of which you have spoken 
show itself? , 

I have known instances in which they tried to pick quarrels with us. They very seldom 
do it with only one alone, but when there are three or four along they will do it. If a colored 
man goes along genteelly dressed they will rub against him and try to pick a quarrel with 
him. They seem to have a deep seated hatred against loyal people, without regard to color — 
against the whole loyal community. 

766. Has there been a branch of the Freed men's Bureau here in the city ? 

Yes, sir ; and I have had occasion to send a great many freedmen to it. The planters, in 
many portions of the State, would make arrangements with them and fail to perform their 
part of the contract. There have been many instances the present season where plauters 
have employed laborers at $15 a month. The contract specified that the planter should be 
allowed to retain one-half the monthly salary ; they would retain it in that way until the 
cotton was picked, and then manage to get into a quarrel with them and drive them away 
without paying them. I have had several come to me with such information, and some of 
them I have taken to the Freedmen's Bureau. This is a common thing through all the 
parishes. The Freedmen's Bureau is a great eye-sore to the planters ; they do not like it at 
all ; and I am sorry to say that in many instances agents in the parishes do not act exactly 
just towards the freedmen. 

767. What do you attribute that to? 

I have the facts from freedmen coming to me and writing to me, reporting that they have 
made application to the bureau agents, but could get no redress whatever, and generally 
when they come down here with their complaints I refer them to Mr. Stickney, the agent. 

768. Is there a general feeling in the community against the colored people 1 

In many instances the planters have undertaken to raise crops without sufficient means, 
and have not paid the bauds because they have not had the money. They have drawn 
pretty extensively from the merchants, and their crops have not been sufficient to extricate 
them from their liabilities. 

769. Are you speaking now of facts within your own knowledge ? 

Many of them are within my own knowledge; many of them have told me. themselves 
that they were not able to pay inconsequence of the failure of their crops, and I have known 
others who did uot pay their hands because they would not. 

770. Were you present at the meeting at the Institute Friday evening before the meeting 
of the convention .' 

Yes, sir, I was in the hall. 

771. Did you hear all the speaking ? 

I heard only two speeches, when I left, as it was so warm I could not stay. I did not 
hear Dr. Dostie at all. 

772. While you were there, how was the convention in regard to being orderly ? 
Very orderly. 

773. Did Governor Hahn preside ? 

Yes, sir. I heard a part of a speech made by Judge Field and by a young man by the 
name of Bidwell. Then on going out I heard a gentleman speaking on a platform in the 
street, whose name I afterwards heard was Henderson. He was shot, and died shortly after 
from his wounds. 



70 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

774. Did you, in your intercourse with colored men, know of any .arrangement to defend 
the convention that was to meet on Monday by force on the part of the colored men ? 

I never heard of it, but I heard that Dr. Dostie said in his speech that the colored men 
were organized. I never heard of such an organization in all my intercourse with colored men. 

775. Had you any such arrangement 1 
No, sir. 

770. Would you have known it if there had been such an organization ? 

I am sure I should have known it had there been such an organization. In a meeting of 
the committee a resolution was ottered to offer the good wishes of the committee to the con- 
vention. I opposed it and had it laid on the table. That was the reason why I was not at 
the convention, although it would have made no difference. They would have killed me 
five squares off if I had been out on the street, such was the feeling exhibited. 

777. Do the colored people of the State of Louisiana pay taxes 1 

Yes, sir ; they pay taxes on eighteen to twenty million dollars. 



New Orleans, December 24, 18G6. 
EDMUND CAMPENEL (colored) sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

778. Where do you live, and how old are you ? 

I live in New Orleans ; I was born the 12th of February, 1816. I have lived in New 
Orleans all my life. 

779. What is your occupation? 
I am a turner. 

779-£. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

780. Were you in the Mechanics' Institute on that day ? 
Yes, sir. 

781. At what time did you go to the Institute? 
About twelve o'clock. 

782. About how long did you remain in the building ? 
About two hours. 

783. State, in your own way, what you saw happen while you were there. 

When I was in the hall at half past twelve, the convention had suspended its functions. I 
did not know for what reason. I was there waiting for the convention to reassemble, when 
I heard some pistol-shuts outside. Myself and several others tried to get out upon the street 
to see what was going on, but the doors were immediately closed, and prevented me from 
going out. After the door was closed, they commenced firing through the windows, throwing 
brickbats, *.\ic, into the windows. They tried to break in the doors, but they could not suc- 
ceed. Parties inside had taken chairs, tables, &c, and barricaded the door. After a while 
the policemen succeeded in opening the door, and commenced firing through the chairs and 
over the barricade. Then everybody inside were trying to hide and conceal themselves. A 
great many were wounded from the volley that was fired from the door. Then I came to the 
conclusion that whether to die inside or to die outside was immaterial, and I determined upon 
going out. I rushed out, and as soon as I was outside, two police officers took hold of me. 
While they were holding me, I was beaten over the head, arm, and leg, and was also stabbed 
by some of the mob. When I arrived at the bottom of the stairs I received a lick in the 
head which left me quite unconscious. From that time one of the officers endeavored to pro- 
tect me; but for that I do not think I would have ever reached the lock-up, as the mob 
rushed at me crying " Kill him," "kill him." One of the police officers tried to protect me ; 
the other, I think, was willing they should kill me, for he was treating me very roughly. 

784. Who do you mean by the mob? 

The people in the streets. While passing up Gravier street I was between two strings or 
cordons of men, armed with knives, pistols, &c, striking right and left. There were some 
persons in front of me striking at me. but this police officer prevented the mob from using 
violence towards me. Had it not been for that officer. I think I would have been killed. I 
do not know the name of the officer. What next drew my attention was, that on arriving at 
the corner of Lafayette street, near the lock-up, 1 saw a line of police officers coming from 
the upper part of the city, headed by one Lucien Adams. There were some ten or twelve 
persons accompanying me to the lock-up, when we met this detachment of police coming 
down the street. They were inclined to precipitate themselves upon us, but Lucien Adams 
waved his hand and told them to go on, and they proceeded down the street. I was taken 
to the lock-up and kept till ten o'clock the next day. While there I saw probably sixty or 
seventy wounded brought in. Among the number I saw Governor Hahu, Mr. Dupatti, Dr. 
Hire, Mr. Capla and his son, and a great many others. Judge Howell was brought in at 
the same time. I saw several dead men that morning taken up. That was all I saw from 
the commencement. From two o'clock on the 30th till twelve o'clock the next day I was 
locked up, and did not see anything that transpired on the street. 



TESTIMONY OF EDMUND CAMPENEL. 71 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

785. Were those friendly to the convention armed ? 

Among the whole crowd I saw but two pistols and one dirk-knife. 

786. Was that a larger proportion than habitually go armed at all times in this city? 

It is a very common, ordinary thing for a much larger proportion than that to go aimed ? 

787. Do you know of any preparation existing to defend the convention by force of arms ? 
I know of nothing of the kind ; and if there had been anything of the kind, I should have 

been notified of it. 

788. Had they been desirous to arrest the members of that convention, could they have 
done it without any resort to force ? 

Without any difficulty whatever. 

789. What was the cause of the violence and bloodshed that day ? 

The .venom that exists among the people against the colored race and their friends. 

790. Did you see any of the people friendly to the convention or the negroes who did not 
participate in the procession, in the convention 1 

Yes, a great many. A good many were wounded and struck who were merely spectators. 

791. Taking the mass of those who have the right to vote under the present law of Louis- 
iana, are they friendly or unfriendly to the perpetuity of our government ? 

In my opinion, not the least friendly. That is my opinion as one of the colored race. 

792. What is that opinion founded upon ? 
Upon the injustice daily exhibited. 

793. Do you hear anything said about their being friendly or unfriendly to the govern- 
ment ? 

As a colored man they would not like to express themselves in my presence. 

794. What is the proportion of French blood in your veins ? 

My mother is a quadroon ; my father is the son of white and black. My father was born 
In Mexico from a white man and black woman. 

795. Are you an educated man ? 
I can read and write. 

By the Chairman: 

796. What description of persons was it whom you saw fire into the hall ? 
More police officers than citizens. Ten officers to one citizen. 

797. While you were at the Institute that morning, if you saw anything further, state it. 

I was on the corner of Dauphin and Canal streets when I saw the procession coming up 
Dauphin street. When they arrived at the neutral ground on Canal street there was a white 
person who had some altercation with a colored man. The procession then came to the hall. 
There was a scuffle between these two parties, and I heard a pistol-shot fired, but by whom 
I do not knew. I saw the smoke of a pistol, but I do not know from whom it came. 

798. What was the effect of it ? 

It created confusion. Some of the parties in the procession were very much excited, but 
the cry was immediately "forward," and they all started toward the Institute. It was there 
I turned off round Custom-house street to the Mechanics' Institute. 

799. What kind of a procession was it? 

There were a great many colored men. They had an American flag, one drum, and some 
fifes. 

8U0. State whether they appeared to be armed. 

No, sir; in the whole of it I only saw two pistols and one dirk-knife, and I saw these in- 
side the hall. While the mob were tiring through the windows I saw- a colored man who 
had a pistol, and wanted to fire it from the wiudow, but I prevented him from doing so. 

801. What appealed, so far as you could judge, to be the object of the persons in the pro- 
cession ? 

It was a matter of joy. The general rumor was that the convention was to give them 
universal suffrage. I knew that it was impossible, because there was no quorum. The 
governor had not yet issued his proclamation to have the vacancies filled. 

802. Did you see any evidence that the convention had come together expecting force 
would be used in any way ? 

Oh, no ; the procession was a very small one ; it did not include more than two or three 
hundred men. 

803. State any other acts of violence that were witnessed by you. 

When I was inside the hall all the acts of violence I saw was one man struck by a shot 
fired by a policeman. No one could get in far enough to catch hold or any of us, but there 
were a great many shot and wounded. 

804. Were any persons shot or killed excepting those who were friends of the convention ? 
I do not know of any, and I have not heard of any. I did hear that there was one police 

officer who died from over-exertion, and another policeman who had the end of his finger shot 
off. 



72 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

805. Did the procession that went to welcome the convention carry any banners or devices 
of any kind ? 

All that I saw was an American flag-. It was my belief that they were going there to 
welcome the convention, and that they had no other purpose. 

806. That is only your opinion, however; you have no certain knowledge of what their 
purpose was ? 

No, I have not. They had no arms that I could see. I know well the character of those 
who composed that procession. They were a mild-disposed class of people. 

807. As they marched through the streets, did they utter any cries .' 

Not one ; the procession while coming did not utter a word. After they had arrived in 
front of Mechanics' Institute they gave three cheers. 

808. Was it proclaimed for what the three cheers were given ? 
Not at all ; tbey only gave three cheers for the convention. 

809. When the procession arrived at the door of the Institute did it immediately enter, or did 
it remain outside the building ? 

I cannot say, because I left tbem at the corner of Dauphin street, and went another way 
to the Mechanics' Institute, and when I reached there they were already in sight. 

810. How long was it after you first saw the procession before you found them inside ? 
It may have been ten minutes, just the time it would take to walk around a block. 

811. Was it proclaimed that the object of the convention was to establish universal suf- 
frage on that day ? 

Certain expressions of that kind may have been made by a certain class of ignorant peo- 
ple, but those with better sense took it differently. 

812. Then for what purpose did the convention assemble ? 

Their intention was to take the necessary steps to reorganize the convention,, and amend; 
the constitution of 1864. 

813. Was it proposed to pass any amendments on that day? 
Some people might have believed it ; that was not the purpose. 

814. Did you hear any speeches made outside of the convention that day? 
I did not. 

815. Who was Lucien Adams ? 

He was then sergeant, I believe, of the fourth district police. He was formerly recorder 
of the fourth district, but had been appointed sergeant of police a few days before, as I saw 
in the. papers. 

816. About how many were in this detachment of police, with Lucien Adams at their head f 
I think about 30 or 40. I suppose tbey were called together by the alarm of the fire-belL 

which was rung. 

817. After Lucien Adams waved them on, did they preserve their order a&d march forward f 
Yes, sir; they marched right on. 

818. Where did they go to 1 

I suppose they went on to the Mechanics' Institute ; I was on my way to the lock-up. 

819. Then you did not see that body of policemen commit any disorder 7' 
No. I did not. 

820. You have stated that you believe the mass of the people of Louisiana are unfriendly 
to the government of the United States; you have also stated that you never heard any 
sentiments hostile to the government of the United States uttered, and have given your 
reasons that they do not utter such sentiments before colored people ; I wish, therefore, to 
ask you upon what you base your opinion of the unfriendliness of the people of Louisiana 
to the United States government ? 

The people of Louisiana are under the impression that the government of the United 
States is prepared and willing to mete out to the people of my color the right that pertains 
to them. 

821. And for that reason they are opposed to the government ? 

Yes ; otherwise they would be in favor of the government if they believed it would enable 
them to oppress the people of my color. 

822. Then, in your opinion, their opposition to the government arises out of the question 
of negro suffrage and the rights of the colored people to citizenship I 

No, I do not understand that this right of negro suffrage is one of the greatest conse- 
quence. There are a great many colored people who can very well do without that. It is 
the general feeling that the government lms u good will towards the colored people. A man 
who has all of his rights as an equal to any other man before any tribunal, can do without 
s\ifi*rage. The question of suffrage is a matter of indifference almost entirely to us. It is 
just on account of the inclination of the government of the United States to favor the colored 
people, that the people of Louisiana are opposed to the United .States government. - 

823. If it was not for that, you think they would be in favor of it ? 
Certainly. 

824. Have you many opportunities of hearing the people of the State express their 
opinions ? 

By accident, sometimes, I hear those who are opposed to the government talk on the subject. 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES DALLAS. 73 

825. Is it seldom, or often, that you hear them in that way, accidentally, express them- 
selves ? 

From those who are most opposed, only accidentally ; from others I hear it daily. 

826. Can you name any of the voters in this city whom you have thus heard express 
themselves against- the govornment 1 

I cannot name any. In the first place, I do not associate with them, having no intimate 
relations with any of them. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

827. In that mob on that day, did you hear any shouts for Jeff. Davis ? 
No, sir. 

8-28. Did you hear- any friendly to the government ? 

No, sir. 

829. Did you hear anything said about our flag ? 

No, sir ; they fired at the rlag where it was held at the Iastitute. 



New Orleans, December 24, 1866. 
CHARLES DALLAS (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

830. State your age and residence, 

I am forty-six. I have been living in the city of New Orleans for two years. 

831. What is your occupation? 

I am one of the editors of the New Orleans Tribune. 

832. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 

I went to the Institute to make a report of the proceedings of the convention for the 
Tribune. 

833. At what time did you go there ? 

I went there a few moments before noon. 

834. How long did you remain? 

I could not state the exact time. I remained in the Institute and vicinity till the military 
came on the spot. 

835. When you went out from the hall what was going on ? 

I went from the main hall before the first attack was made, but finding what was going 
on in the street I went into the back part of the building towards Baronne street, and there 
remained. 

836. While you were in the hall state what took place within your knowledge. 

After the convention took a recess I was talking with some person in the hall, when Dr. 
Hire, one of the members of the convention, called me and asked me to have a conversation 
in French with a young man who had come in the procession. This man said that one of 
the members of the procession had been fired on without any provocation whatever ; that one 
man was shot and killed, or wounded ; he saw him fall down. That man was brought into 
the Institute, as this young man stated to me. 

837. Who was that man ? 

I do not know his name. He was one of those who came with the procession. 

838. Did you hear the first shot that was fired ? 

No ; the first shot seemed to have been fired on Canal street, as I understood from this 
man. Shots were fired a while afterwards on Dryades street. After the fighting had begun 
in earnest on Dryades street I inquired of Judge Howell, the president of the convention, 
what he intended to do. Before I made this inquiry I had asked several of the colored men 
if they had arms to protect and defend themselves in case of necessity. All of the four or 
five of whom I made the inquiry told me they had not ; that they were unarmed. Thinking 
that no defence could be made, I went to the door and came down stairs with Judge Howell. 
He stated that he wished to see the governor, who, he supposed, was down stairs. I left 
him there, and did not know until the next day where he had been. 

839. What facts did you witness ? 

When I crossed Baronne street men dressed in police uniform were standing on the corner 
of Common and Baronne streets firing in the direction of Common street, evidently at per- 
sons coming from the Institute. After "the bells rung the signal a large force of police came 
in and broke up into several squads on Baronne street, where they commenced tiring. A 
negro who came over the fence, trying to escape from the Institute, was fired at and killed. 

840. Have you any means of saying how many were killed and wounded on the street 
while you were there ? 

I could not well distinguish between those who were wounded and those who were killed. 
Several cart-loads were taken away, 

841. Did you see that done? 
Yes, sir. 



74 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

842. Did you see any firing at that time ? 

The firing was going on all the time. Wherever a black man would come from the Insti- 
tute there would be a crowd, some of them boys, shouting, " Kill him, kill him." The 
police and citizens fired very often, and the men fell down. 

843. Did you see any firing done except by the police and those who were aiding them ? 

I do not recollect that a single man among those who were pursued fired upon their 
assailants. 

844. Where did you go after you left the ground ? 
I went to the office of the Tribune. 

845. If you recollect any particular acts of violence you can state them. 

Nothing more than firing at men who were running for their lives. I saw them flying in 
all directions. I saw one man from the office where I was stopping with a bullet in his side 
lying on the pavement. 

846. How far from the Institute did you see any persons shot? 
All the time the riot lasted I was in the vicinity of the Institute. 

847. Were all the persons you saw pursued and fired at going from the Institute, or were 
some of them going in other directions? 

Some from other directions, though the main part came from that vicinity. 

848. Do you recollect the facts about the shooting of any colored men who were not going 
from the Institute? 

Some who appeared to be merely passing by were fired at. 

849. Which way were they going? 

They were going along Baronne street. Most of the persons who came from the Institute 
came out on Common street. 

850. Did you see any other acts of violence except firing ? 
None in particular. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

851. Did you see any one shot or stabbed after he was down? 

No; I was not where I could see everything that was going on. I did not see anything of 
that kind. 

852. Have you the means of knowing how many people were killed and wounded altogether ? 
I have no means whatever. I know of persons who have died since the riot who were 

there, and no record has been kept of the death. 

853. How long have you lived in Louisiana? 

As long as I have lived in New Orleans. I lived in Texas through the war, but I had to 
leave Texas on account of being a Union man. 

854. What is the state of feeling here towards Union men on the part of the white people ? 
Generally a very bitter feeling. 

855. Is that on account of the bad conduct of the Union people, or on account of their 
political sentiments? 

On account of their own political sentiments. 

856. Do the Union people need protection from any other government than that which 
now exists in Louisiana? 

It is pretty clear from the events of the 30th of July, that they need some other protection. 

857. Suppose the government of the United States should fail or refuse to extend any other 
protection ; what will become of the Union people of this State ? 

A great many will emigrate. 

858. What is the feeling of the late confederates in the State towards the government of the 
United States; is it one of friendship or hostility? 

It is one of hostility. It may be one of friendship to some extent in appearance, but not 
in fact. 

859. State all the facts within your knowledge which make you say that their feeling is 
one, of hostility to the government.' 

In a great many cases, when they have the opportunity, they show their contempt for the 
United States flag, and whenever they have the opportunity to show their hostility to the 
United (States government, they do so. For instance, they hiss national songs in the theatres ; 
when the legislature assembled here last year in the Institue they did not hoist the United 
States flag; the United States officers are generally badly treated in the country parishes; 
no respect is shown them. 

860. How do the people generally talk about the government? 

I must state, from my situation with a Union press, that I have not the confidence of the 
rebels, and cannot give you their general opinion. 

861. Was there any organization to support that convention on the 30th of July by force? 
None that I know of. 

862. Had there been, would you have had the means of knowing it? 
I believe I would have known something of it. 

863. Was there any need of shooting anybody in order to arrest that convention or dis- 
perse it? 

Not at all ; the convention would have surrendered immediately, and all the persons present. 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES DALLAS. 75 

By Mr. Boyer : 

864. You say that the state of feeling of the people of Louisiana towards the Union people 
is very bitter ; does that arise from the fact of their having been rebels against the govern- 
ment, or is it owing to what has taken place since the war in the political affairs of the country ? 

] am sure that it is only a sequel to their rebellion. 

865. Have you had an opportunity of knowing what the sentiments of the people are 
throughout the State on this subject? 

My opportunity has been rather to know what are their sentiments towards the freedmen 
and colored people generally, through information received from the colored people. 

866. Then, when you spoke of their bitterness towards Union people, shall we understand 
you to mean particularly their feeling towards colored people? 

Towards Union people of all shades. 

867. Is thei-e any resistance offered to the government of the United States by the people 
of Louisiana ? 

There is some to the civil-rights bill and other laws of the United States. 

868. Do you think there would be any difficulty if it were not owing to the measures of 
the United States government to secure negro equality ? 

I believe that the fear of negro suffrage makes them more bitter ; however, this hostility 
appeared before negro suffrage seemed to be thought of. 

869. Are there any laws which have been resisted, to your knowledge, except laws bearing 
upon that subject ? 

Even the laws of the State are not executed for all men. 
i v 70. You mean equal as between colored people and whites ? 
I mean between Union men and rebels. 

871. Do you know of any particular case in which a Union man, who had sued at court, 
did not get justice ? If so, state who he was, and where the circumstance took place. 

I know a great many instances where colored men did not bring their suits into court be- 
cause they were persuaded in advance that they would not get justice. There have been 
cases brought before the commissioner of the United States under the civil-rights bill, which 
shows that these parties have failed to receive justice in these courts. 

872. Has any such case come within your knowledge ? 
Yes ; the case of Mr. Rugby. 

873. In what court was that ? 

I could not state the particulars ; but the case was brought before United States Commis-- 
sioner Shannon, in this city, under the civil-rights bill, and that was not the only case. 

874. Do you know of any other case ? 
No, sir. 

875. You say that the Union men of this State need protection other than they have. Is not 
the United States government, as it at present exists, strong enough to protect Union men, 
and does it not do it ? 

It is a matter of physical force. General Sheridan may have force enough, and if he were 
to exert it, it would be a different question. 

876. Do you think it is strong enough as it now is ? 

It would depend upon circumstances. I think the armament would have to be augmented. 

877. You are a Union man, are you ? 
I am. 

878. Do not you consider yourself safe in your person and property here ? 

I consider myself, to a certain extent, safe iu my life and property, but many circumstances 
may happen like that of the 30th of July. For some time prior to the 30th of July I did not 
consider myself safe at all. 

879. But I understand you consider yourself safe, under ordinary circumstances, now ? 
That all depends upon circumstances. Many circumstances may happen in which neither 

my life nor the life of any Union man would be safe. 

880. Could not the military force here at any time have prevented the riot ? 
I cannot tell. 

881. You say the people here show contempt for the United States government by hissing 
national songs at the theatre. Did you ever see that done? 

No, sir, for the reason that I do not go to any theatre. 

882. You say that when the legislature assembled they did not hoist the United States flag. 
Had it been customary before to hoist the United States flag on the assembling of the legis- 
lature ? 

I was not present in this State at the assembly of any other legislature. 

883. Then you do not know whether it has been customary or not ? 
I do not. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

884. Why do you not go into the theatres ? 

Because I would be singled out as an 'editor of the Tribune, and some provocation made 
against me. 



76 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

885. Does your paper advocate negro ecpiality ? 
It advocates universal suffrage. 

886. And the doctrines of what are termed here the "Radicals?" 

It is a republican paper, and the official organ of the republican party of Louisiana. 

887. Was it the organ of that party which assembled here on the 30th of July .' 
No, sir. 

888. Did it advocate their doctrines ? 

It only advocated the assembling of the convention for the purpose of testing judicially 
whether it was a legal body or not. 

889. You publish that paper here advocating that doctrine without molestation, do you 
not? 

At one time there were brickbats thrown at the office, and the papers are sometimes taken 
from the carriers on the street. 

890. Still you continue to publish it successfully — you are not interrupted in the publica- 
tion of your paper ? 

We issue it regularly, except under certain circumstances ; for instance, during the days 
of the riot the editors and compositors did not dare come into the office. 

891. Since then you have issued it without further molestation? 
Without positive molestation. 

892. AVere you an advocate personally of the convention, which assembled on the 30th of 
July, proceeding with its work ? 

My position was the same as that of the Tribune : to leave it to the judiciary to decide 
whether the convention was legal or not. We were willing to abide by the decision of the 
court. 

893. Then your paper did not advocate positively the legality of the convention ? 
No, sir. 

894. Did it express doubts about the legality of the convention ? 
We left it an open question to be decided by the courts. 



New Orleans, December 24, 1866. 
ROBERT I. CROMWELL (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

895. State where you live. 

I have lived in New Orleans since January, 1864. 

896. Were you in the convention on the 30th of July last ? 

I was. I arrived there between the- hours of twelve and one on the day of the meeting of 
the convention, and went into the hall. I staid there from that hour until, I think, about 
3 o'clock, or between three and four. 

897. Were you in the procession which has been spoken of, which entered the hall about 
12 o'clock ? 

No ; I was not in the procession. 

898. State, in your own way, what facts came under your eye while you were in the 
hall. 

I saw, while I was in the hall, policemen and others come in. A portion of the members 
had gone out. The police shot into the hall at those who remained, and I saw some parties 
trying to get out. 

899. Who was the shooting by ; and who did you see shot ? 

I did not see any one shot. I saw policemen come in aud shoot at the crowd in there ; 
but I saw nobody shot, particularly. 

900. Did you see anybody wounded ? 

Yes, sir ; I saw Mr. Horton after he was wounded. 

901. Where did you go when you left the convention ? 

I jumped out of the side window down on to the pavement, between the building and the 
wall or brick fence, towards Canal street. 

902. Where did you go ? 

I was arrested by a policeman. When I struck the ground they came out from under the 
steps there, and fired at me and told me to surrender. I told them I surrendered. They then 
took me into a little alley-way under the steps, aud right under the building. I found eight 
or ten persons in there; one man, a Dr. Johnson, whom I knew, lay there wounded. Dc. 
Johnson asked me if I could not help him. I asked the policeman if I could do so, and he 
told me I could. I raised him up aud laid him down again. I was searched and my money 
taken from me by the policemen. They took from me some $25 and some cents. After re- 
maining in there a little while some policemen caflie from outside, I think from Baronno 
street, who broke, open the door aud came in. We were then taken out and takeu to jail, 
where I remained till the next morning. 



TESTIMONY OF J. D. O'CONNELL, 77 

903. Did you see any violence while you were on your way to the jail ? 

Yes ; I saw one man who seemed to be very badly wounded ; a policeman had him, kick 
ing him and treating- him very badly. They struck me with a pistol on the back of the head 
once after I got out. 

904. Was that by a policeman, or one of the crowd ? 
It was a policeman who did it. 

905. Was this man who was being badly treated a colored man ? 
Yes, sir. 

906. How badly treated ? 

As they had him carrying him along, one on each side, at one time his leg was let go, and 
they struck him and kicked him. That is what I call badly treated. 

907. How long were you kept in jail ? 

From 4 o'clock in the afternoon until seven or eight the next morning. 

908. Is there any fact you recollect, that ought to be stated, which you have not given ? 

I can state more of what transpired up in the hall. I was the one who bound up Mr. 
Horton's arm with a handkerchief after he was wounded ; and there are other general facts 
I can state if you wish me to. 



New Orleans, December 24, 1866. 
J. D. O'CONNELL sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

909. State your age and residence. 

Thirty- one years old. At the present time I am a resident of the parish of Rapides and 
town of Alexandria, State of Louisiana. 

910. For how long a time have you been a resident of Louisiana ? 
Since 1858. 

911. Have you held official position in the State? 

I was a State senator in 1864 and 1865. That is the only State office I have held. 

912. Were you a member of the convention of 1864 ? 
I was not. I was elected subsequent to that time. 

913. Were you in New Orleans in July last ? 

Yes, sir ; I had occasion to come to New Orleans, and was here from the 25th of June till 
the 25th of August. 

914. Were you where you could see what took place, or any part of what took place, on 
the 30th of July? 

I was in the room occupied by the convention in Mechanics' Institute. I entered the 
hall about twelve o'clock at noon, and remained, as near as I can judge, till about twenty 
minutes before three. 

915. State briefly, and in your own way, the facts that came under your observation 
while you were there. 

As I entered the hall I found the convention, in accordance with the proclamation of the 
president pro tern., Judge Howell, had assembled, or rather a portion of them had assembled. 
As I entered I found the Rev. Mr. Horton offering prayer. There was a large number of 
spectators. I was invited within the bar by some of my acquaintances, members of the 
convention. I remained until a resolution was presented by Mr. Cutler, I think, that the 
sergeant-at-arms be despatched to notify absent members to come in. Subsequently he in- 
troduced another resolution to take a recess for half an hour or an hour — my recollection 
does not serve me which — -until the sergeant-at-arms could notify members to appear. Im- 
mediately after this I heard what appeared to be music on the street. I went to one of the 
windows, looked out, and saw a crowd of people advancing towards the hall. It appeared 
to be a small procession. They had a United States flag at their head and a few brass in- 
struments, pieces of music. When I first saw this I understood there was considerable 
excitement. 1 heard considerable noise in the street. Immediately afterwards the head of 
the procession entered the hall where the convention was to meet, and deposited their flag 
and instruments in the hall. I asked some gentlemen in regard to the nature of the proces- 
sion, and was informed by the sergeant-at-arms that at a mass meeting held on the 27th — 
three days previous — the flag belonging to the hall had been taken away, and he supposed 
they were returning that flag. I heard some shots fired in the direction of Canal street about 
that time, and saw people retreating towards Common street. As the mass of people were re- 
treating towards Common street they came in view from the windows of the hall. I saw a po- 
policeman follow the crowd and discharge his revolver towards them. The people on the street 
were principally colored, and they took possession of a pile of brickbats on the street, quite 
close to the hall, and commenced firiug them at the police and citizens acting with them, who 
were shooting tbeir revolvers towards the negroes. As the crowd were driven further back to- 
wards Common street I saw two colored men have long pistols, which appeared to be horse-pis- 
tols, and discharge them towards the police. These were the only arms I saw discharged toward 



78 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

the police. The police became very numerous about this time. I suppose there were no less 
than 2,000 police and citizens who assembled to attack this crowd of colored people. The 
colored people defended themselves until they were driven on towards Common street. They 
then rallied again, and drove the police towards Canal street. I believe they drove each other 
first towards Common and then towards Canal street twice or three times, when the colored peo- 
ple were dispersed. During this time some shots were fired at the hall from the street by people 
coming from the direction of Canal street. I saw there was danger that they would enter the 
building; I called upon Mr. Mollere, and asked him to assist me in closing the windows. The 
Windows on both sides of the hall are so located (the building standing alone) that persons 
standing on Dryades street could fire obliquely through them. The crowd outside became 
very threatening, and commenced firing into the windows. It consisted of police in uniform 
and others with badges; some having white handkerchiefs arouud their necks, some with 
blue ribbons in their button-holes, and some with a sleeve tied up. I recognized these marks 
distinctly. It is usual at large fires, and other places where difficulties are likely to occur, 
for persons to identify each other in this way, by buttoning up their coats, and tying a white 
handkerchief round their neck or round the arm Mr. Mollere assisted me in putting the win- 
dows down. By this time the firing became so dangerous that I found that for my own 
safety I had to quit the windows. The crowd of negroes were driven up to Common street, 
and then the mob driving them returned in the direction of the hall, placing themselves in 
front, on the steps of the Medical College, which is situated on the Common street side of the 
hall, some on sheds, in the yard of that building, and on the fence, while others took posi- 
tion on the fences, sheds, and door steps of the houses in that vicinity on Canal street. The 
only protection for the people within the hall was to get iu the shade of the masonry between 
the windows, and to lie flat on the floor, which some did to avoid the firing, which came 
through the windows. At times I could see where bullets entering the hall would knock 
against the wall on the opposite side. The crowd continued firing on both sides into the hall 
in this way for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes before they attempted entering the building. 
Those who at first attempted to defend the building rushed terror-stricken up stairs The 
first rush up stairs was made by the police and citizens, who fired upon the occupants of the 
hall without asking them to surrender or giving them any opportunity to. Some went into 
the middle of the hall and fired at the men who lay on the floor, which was very thick with 
men who had found it necessary to their safety to lie down. Persons lying right alongside 
me were shot by the police, and I saw that it was no more safe there than to stand. I got 
up, and advanced upon the door. About the same time Mr. Fish and Mr. HortDn advanced 
to the door. At this time a policeman levelled his pistol at me and fired, but the ball did not 
hit me. I asked Mr. Horton not to come to the door. He was holding a white handkerchief, 
and asking the men for God's sake not to murder them, saying they were not armed. I lost 
sight of Mr. Fish about this time, and I presume he went out. Mr. Horton returned, and 
showed me where he had been wounded iu the arm. I advised him tp find Dr. Hire, and 
have the blood stanched, or the ball extracted if necessary. I remained until the third attack. 
During this time the crowd of people in the room advanced upon the platform, and attempted 
to get out through the president's room, a small aute-room situated at the side of the stage, 
but the entiie space at the side of the building had been taken possession of by this crowd, 
and they found there was no exit. Several who were fool-hardy enough to jump fell among 
this crowd, and of course were killed before they could get over the fence. I looked through 
the windows, ami saw the people on the fences with their revolvers, waiting to shoot any- 
body who would show themselves, and I saw the police shoot many colored people who 
attempted to escape. The second attack they entered again, and the police came up to 
negroes and white men, indiscriminately taking no prisoners, but shooting them as rapidly 
as possible. I saw one policeman, while a negro was kneeling before him and begging for 
mercy, shoot into his side. 1 saw another discharge his revolver into a negro lying flat on 
the floor. All this time I was anxiously hoping the military would arrive and quell the 
riot, and allow those in the hall to get away, either as prisoners taken to jail or otherwise. 
I had no choice. I would as soon have gone to jail, protected, as anywhere, although 
I was simply a spectator. There was no hope, however, that the military would ar- 
rive soon, and I suggested that we barricade the hall, and hold it until the military should 
come. It was the only chance we had. I succeeded in getting the chairs placed against 
the doors. The doors, however, opened into the lobby, and the fastenings outside were very 
soon torn off. We had no protection except the chairs, and they constituted very little, 
as it was easy to tire through between them. The police made another attack, and en- 
tered the hall, when those inside took the chairs and drove them out, and this they did two 
distinct times. On the fifth attack they entered again, headed by an officer who seemed to- 
be a sergeant, from his uniform. He came to the door with a white handkerchief, opened 
it suddenly and waved his handkerchief. I' supposed they had become human agaiu, and 
that this meant that they were willing to give us protection. I went to the door and found 
Mr. S. S. Fish iu the hall close, by the door. I asked him to assist us in taking the chairs 
away. I spoke to this policeman and asked him if they meant to give us protection against 
the mob, who would kill us. He said " Yes, we'll protect you." I asked him if he was 
serious about it to let me have his hand, which he did. I, of course, had confidence then 
that he would do as he said, and afford us protection. I pulled the chairs down and drove 



TESTIMONY OF J. D. O'CONNELL. 79 

the colored people from the door, so that their presence should not provoke the police to any 
further acts of violence. They very submissively went toward the other end of the hall. As 
the police entered the hall, one in the rear of the one I had spoken to advanced, calling out, 

'■Yes, yon G d d d sons of bitches, we'll protect you." I had confidence that they 

would protect us, but when they entered the hall, even this man who had tendered me his 
hand rushed forward with the others, discharging their pistols indiscriminately. One of the 

police, pointing- his pistol towards me, said, " So you will surrender, you G — dd d son of 

a bitch," and discharging his revolver towards my head, said, "Take that and go to hell, 
will you ?" I was standing close to him. and had the presence of mind to throw up his 
hand, and the ball passed through my hat both in front and rear. I retired towards the door, 
and another policeman approached me with a long knife and struck at me. I defended my- 
self against him with the leg of a chair and got back into the room. Those inside again 
rallied with broken chairs and whatever they could get hold of, and drove the police out. I 
suppose this was about twenty-five minutes of three o'clock. The fight had gone on contin- 
uously up to this time. I assisted in driving them out, and followed them to the top of the 
stajrs. As I returned to the room again, the - stairs being from ten to twenty feet distant, I 
found the doors shut and held against me, so that I had to remain in the lobby. If any of 
you have visited the building, you will recollect that the stairs are so situated that a person 
coming up them could not perceive a man standing in the lobby until nearly at the top. I 
thought it best to make as good an effort as possible to get down stairs, though I had 
no hope of escaping. When I found the crowd had again nearly reached the top of the 
stairs, seeing a vacancy near the foot of them, I jumped, and I suppose those per- 
sons below, not understanding what it meant, or thinking I was one of themselves, be- 
came panic-stricken. They went out and carried me along with them without know- 
ing who I was. As I got on to the street I saw a line of police standing like soldiers 
across Dryades street, towards Canal street. Parties would leave their positions, go 
to the sides of the building and fire their revolvers into the hall. I went to two of them and 
tried to get their numbers, so that I could know who they were, but their hat-bands, on 
which they wore the letters " police " and the number, were turned wrong side out. I then 
spoke to them, and told them if they wanted anything of the people in the hall why not 
enter the room like men ; that it was cowardly to shoot into a building that way. Two of 
them left, but eight or ten of them kept on discharging their revolvers. I then left and went 
down Canal and .St. Charles streets to General Baird's headquarters. I informed him that I 
had just left the hall and of the position of affairs there, and asked him, for God's sake, to 
send the military. He said he would as soon as they arrived. I tried to impress upon him 
the necessity of immediate action. He told me he could do nothing until the military should 
come, and told me very sharply that he understood his business. I of course left his head- 
quarters. I went home, changed my clothes, and in the course of half or three-quarters of 
an hour went down Canal street again and found the military just coming out and taking 
position in the streets. That was about all that I saw. 

916. Martial law was proclaimed that evening, was it ? 

Yes, sir ; and it was very necessary. Mayor Monroe was known to be one of the leadiDg 
Thugs. He was commander of the police on that day, and I am thoroughly satisfied, from 
everything I saw, that the whole thing was premeditated. He issued a proclamation that 
afternoon and circulated it around town calling on all good peaceable citizens who desired 
to see peace and quiet restored to repair to the City Hall and volunteer their services. Gen- 
eral Baird, I presume, saw the motive of it, and hence proclaimed martial law. If Monroe 
could have carried out his proclamation, I have no doubt he would have continued the war 
against the black population and Union men. In my opinion, it was the declaration of 
martial law that saved the black people and Union men from a general massacre. 

917. You will please give the committee whatever reasons you have for the statement you 
have made that the attack upon this convention was premeditated. 

I will go back. Previous to the meeting of the convention, perhaps ten or fifteen days 
before, I was walking along Canal street one evening, met some gentlemen, and we got 
into a conversation about the meeting of the convention. I was acquainted with them, and 
one of them told me in the presence of my wife that if the convention met, no soul would 
leave the hall alive. 

918. Who told you that ? 

Mr. Phillips, a lawyer of New Orleans ; I can point him out to you at any time you desire. 
He told me lurther, after Governor Wells and Judge Howell had issued their proclamation 
calling the convention, that Dr. Dostie, Governor Hahn, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Fish, and others 
would be taken out of the hall and hung in the street that day. He told me this in presence 
of my wife. I told her to recollect it well; that it might be necessary to speak of it again. 
He reminded me, on the afternoon of the 3(Jth of July, that he had predicted to me on Canal 
street that these men could not leave the hall alive. I will take you back now to the -25th 
of April, 186-2, when the United States fleet, a portion of it, passed the forts. The signal to 
people in New Oilcans, as announced by proclamation, was that twelve taps on the fire-bells 
would announce that the fleet had passed the forts or that the forts had fallen, and the 
people were either to escape from the city or fall to arms to meet the invaders. That is the 
only time since I came here in 1858 that I had ever known the fire-bells to strike twelve 



80 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

• 

times. We have less than twelve districts, and the hells always strike a number correspond- 
ing with the district, so that no alarm of twelve strokes would be given except on some 
extraordinary occasion. On this 30th of July, however, I distinctly recollect the alarm of 
twelve strokes being given at about twenty minutes after 12 o'clock. 

919. What was the effect of that ? 

The effect was, that it brought out some of the city fire-engines. I saw some of them in 
front of the Mechanics' Institute. It also brought the city police, most of them, to the front 
of the Mechanics' Institute. In my opinion it was the signal of a general massacre. It was 
the signal for massing the firemen and the police ; the firemen being identified, as I have 
said, by their badges. I do not know that I saw more than one company dressed in the 
uniform of the firemen, but I saw others using the wrenches, for unscrewing the hose, for 
beating Union men and negroes over the head. 

920. Did they come with steam up, prepared to put out a fire ? 
I did not see steam up. 

921. Were you near enough so you could have seen it ? 

I was in the hall, looking out of the window. I do not think they had steam up. « 

922. You said something about the badges these firemen wore ? 

Yes, sir ; and that shows that the movement could not have been spontaneous at the mo- 
ment, for men would not have been likely to have appeared under such circumstances with 
badges. I heard them yelling from the street, "God damn you, now you are fighting Hays's 
brigade." Hays's brigade is a well known organization that existed at this time, and, in 
my opinion, exists now, in direct violation of General Sheridan's ordei'. 

923. What description of an organization ? 

It was a brigade in the rebel army commanded by Hays, then and now sheriff of New 
Orleans. 

924. Do you mean that it still retains its military organization ? 

I cannot say that I know it, but I have no doubt that if called out they would come to- 
gether. I was given to understand, on the morning of the 30th of July, that the policemen 
were withdrawn from their beats. Ordinarily each policeman is assigned to a certain street 
or locality. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

92.">. Who gave you to understand that ? 

I was so informed, and, in order to ascertain the fact, I went up to Lafayette square, 
where, opposite the City Hall, is the first police station, and I found that all the police of the 
first district were drawn up on that scpuare. Being acquainted with several of them, I went 
up and talked with them through the iron railing of the square. I asked one particularly 
why they were there completely armed as they were; every man having on a new belt and 
a scabbard for a revolver. I remarked that it was not usual for the police in New Orleans 
to be armed in that way. He told me laughingly that it meant work ; that I would soon 
find out. I asked him whether the object was to disperse the convention, or what it was. 
He said he would not give any opinion, but that by and by we would be likely to have 
some fun. 

920. What is the name of that policeman ? 

Richard Carriek. I saw several of the police who were armed with one revolver, and 
some who were armed with two. This was an extraordinary incident to me, as I had been 
well informed of the customs of the police, and knew that even during General Butler's ad- 
ministration, when they had to be escorted to their beats by a guard of soldiers, I never 
knew them armed in that way. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

927. At what time in the day was it that you first saw them so armed ? 
It was about JO o'clock in the morning. 

928. ( >f what kind of persons was this police force composed? 

That is a question to which 1 can hardly make a direct answer except in this way : many 
of my acquaintances, who had been well known Union men, volunteered on the police force 
on the arrival of General Butler, and retained their position until the organization of the 
present police force under Monroe. They told me that on making application to be in- 
cluded in the present police force, the question was always asked, whether they had served 
in the rebel army. [Mr. BoYER cautioned the witness not to give farts which were not 
within his own knowledge.] I recognized on the streets, in police uniform, men that I 
knew had been in the service of the rebel army, and that bad only returned a short time 
before. 

929. Do you know of any Union men in that police force? 

There were some, perhaps two or three, who had personal influence with Mayor Monroe 
and who were retained. They told me that it was through personal friendship alone they 
were able to get their places. There are no other Union men, so far as I know, on the police. 

930. Did you see any attack made or any forcible means used by colored men ? 

None except the instances I have mentioned, when they defended themselves w r ith brick- 



TESTIMONY OF J. D. o'cONNELL. • 81 

bats on the street, two men firing pistols, and also defending themselves in the hall with 
broken chairs. 

931. Did they appear to he armed in any way? 

On the contrary, they appeared to be otherwise. Being present at a caucus held by mem- 
bers of the conventioD thai morning, I know it was generally understood that the members 
would be arrested and brought before the first district court, which is the criminal court of 
this parish, as the grand jury had charged against the assembling of the convention as a rev- 
olutionary body. The caucus was held for the purpose of determining what course should 
be pursued if arrests were made, and it was decided by the members that those living iu New 
Orleans who were accustomed to carry arms should on that day lay them aside, so that if 
arrested they might be prepared to go quietly along and give bonds to appear at court. Sev- 
eral of them I know had sureties provided. 

932. I »id you see the mayor that day 1 

1 did net. » 

933. Did you see the chief of police that day? 
No, sir ; not at all. 

934. I >id you recognize by name any policeman except the one you have referred to ? 
No, sir. 

935. Have you any means of knowing where they got these arms ? 

No, sir, except by hearsay or general rumor, and of course that amounts to nothing in 
testimony. 

936. So far as you saw, was there any occasion, or would there have been any occasion, 
in order to disperse that convention, to resort to violence.' 

I said before the military commission which inquired into this subject, and I am prepared 
to say now, that were I chief of police, or a lieutenant of police, or even a private police officer, 
I would have volunteered, under any competent authority, to have gone into that convention 
alone and arrested every member; and it is my opinion 1 would have succeeded without dif- 
ficulty. I do not think the slightest resistance would have been offered to any one who came 
there in discharge of his duty as an officer of the law. I do not thinkthere would have been 
the necessity foi a discharge of a fire-arm, or the use of any violence whatever. It is my 
impression that this was a pre-arranged affair in order to prevent any attempt for a re-con- 
vocation of the convention. 

937. Within your knowledge, what persons other than those friendly to the convention 
were wounded or killed ? 

I know of no others except what the papers said, that Mr. Cenas, a son of Dr. Cenas, was 
shot; but I did not see him, nor would I have known the gentleman. The papers reported 
the following day, however, that he was accidentally shot by one of the attacking party — not 
in so many words, but that was the impression conveyed. From the action of those situated 
where he was killed, it is my impression that he must have been one of the actors in the scene. 

938. Please state to the committee, according to the best of your knowledge, the number 
of persons killed and wounded on that day. 

That is a. matter I imagine you will never be able to ascertain. Many of the men who 
were wounded succeeded in getting away and reaching their homes, and so afraid were they 
of public opinion, if known as persons who were present on that occasion, that many of them 
who were shot, and whose wounds were of such a character as must have been fatal, went 
home and died, and their names were never given to the public. I suppose-, however, as 
near as I '/an estimate it, that not less than three hundred persons must have been killed or 
died subsequently from wounds received on that occasion. There were about two hundred 
and fifty persons present in the hall, and I could not see anybody who did not appear badly 
wounded from the shots fired. Then, taking those who were killed on the street at that time 
and those who were carried off wounded and died from their wounds, it is my impression the 
number cannot be less than three hundred. 

93'j. Have you any information as to what property was destroyed on that day or night? 

No, sir; I was not out at night and do not know what occurred. 

940. State to the committee, if you please, from your knowledge of the people of New Or- 
leans, what the state of feeling is upon the part of the citizens here at this time, or since the 
time of the riot, towards the government. 

Alter the elections, and previous to the meeting of Congress, the action of the people of 
New Orleans was not known to me at ad, as 1 had not been here two days from Alexandria. 
Before going away, I know that the determination was expressed to set aside all the acts of 
Congress, by violence if necessary, and that men were ready to volunteer and anxiojis to he 
enlisted in the cause of setting aside the legislative department of the government, ibelieve 
that same feeling exists to-day, but policy dictates to them that they must not now persist 
in it. 

941. Suppose the government should withdraw the military force and leave matters to take 
their own course, what would be the condition of loyal men in Louisiana ! 

I should feel that there would he no protection to my life or property. I could not live in 
Louisiana; I should leave at once, and I believe it is so with all Union men. 

942. State why. 

Simply because the feeling is as bitter to-day as it was in 1862, and I believe it to be worse. 
6 N. o. 



82 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I kno-,v that there is not the slightest friendship for the government among the returned rebels- 
I did not come down here to take any part in the convention ; I had to be here for other pur- 
poses. I returned afterwards to Baton Rouge. I was advised by my Union friends there 
that if I remained in Baton Rouge there would be a mob ; that threats had been made to hang 
me. After I arrived there the general in command sent for me. He knew of the threats that 
had been uttered on the streets. He told me it would be dangerous for me to attempt to re- 
main in Baton Rouge. 1 told him I thought they knew me well enough not to attack ine ; 
that if I had to go some one else would have to go too ; I had no fears. The general, how- 
ever, advised me not to remain. I remained two or three days, and had occasion to know 
it was not a safe place to remain. I was told by one man — I suppose he was trying to incite 
an attack — that I and all others like me should be hung; that we should never have our deserts 
until we had been hung. 

By Mr. Boyer : 
943. Who told you that? 

The man's name was Simon Mendelshon, and it was said in the presence of a dozen re- 
turned rehels in Baton Rouge. 
94-!. When was it ? 
About the 12th of September. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

9 !.">. What is the state of things here in the courts as to Union men being able to obtain 
redress for wrongs done by confederates? 

They can get none. The only court where a loyal man can have any standing at all is 
the United States district court. The officers of that court are appointed by the United States. 
Under the present State administration all those connected with the State courts are exclu- 
sively rebels. The one now holding the position of judge for, I believe, the Fourth court 
of the parish of Orleans, is Judge Theard. He is a returned rebel colonel. He was ap- 
pointed perhaps six months after his return. He had not taken off his uniform when he got 
his commission from Governor Wells to the exclusion of a Union man. And those we had 
who pretended to be Unionists, or perhaps really were when it was popular to be Unionists, 
became either neutral or entirely against its. One I may mention is Judge Thomas. Judge 
Abell, of the first district court, was always one of the strongest enemies of the government. 
He was one of the members of the convention of 1864, and fought long and earnestly against 
the ordinance of emancipation in the present constitution of Louisiana. He fought it with 
the greatest ability, and then, as he could not defeat that, lie wanted to indemnify the slave- 
owners. He is the criminal judge, and although acting under the constitution of the State 
and holding his position under it, still denies that it is the constitution of the State. He 
would not sign and never signed it as a member of the convention. 

946. Has any one been prosecuted for violence on the 30th of July last except Union men? 
No, sir ; it would be a physical impossibility to attempt, and much more to do. I myself, 

and many others, signed a statement, a charge against several members of the State govern- 
ment ; against Mr. Hays, sheriff ; Mr. Monroe, mayor; Lieutenant Governor Voorhees ; 
Judge Abell, and other persons, charging them with the murder of Union men on that day ; 
but we could not get it executed. I placed it myself personally in the hand ot General 
Sheridan, anil asked him to have it executed. I called on him personally in his private 
dwelling, and presented this paper, but I was received in such a manner that I felt it would 
not be safe for me to make myself prominent at all further. He told me that he considered 
the men 1 represented on that occasion in making this complaint as no better than those it 
was made against — than the rebels ; that if lie thought proper to execute it, he would do so, 
but that he had nothing to say to me in reference to it. I told him it was signed by many 
known responsible Union men; that 1 thought if any responsible man charged another with 
murder, it should be sufficient to have him arrested; that it was our of the power of Union 
men to obtain any redress for their wrongs before the civil courts. He told me that if he was 
bothered any more by any of these men, he would have his orderly kick them out of doors. 
I placed that in writing, and it is now in the hands of a man to whom I gave it. 

947. Suppose the courts and prosecuting attorneys were willing to prosecute these cases 
would there lie any difficulty in procuring proof ample for conviction? 

In the first place, a jury could not be empanelled under the present administration in such 
a way that any one could be com icted lor a crime against a Union man. If the man prose- 
cuted were a Union man it would be very easy to convict and execute him. 

948. it'ould proof be obtained to convict, provided there was no difficulty in respect to the 
court and jury '■ 

I do not think it could. Any Union man, in the condition of feeling that exists, who would 
be found coining out and testifying against a confederate, would endanger his life. I do not, 
therefore, think sufficient evidence could be obtained to convict, because it would be certain 
di ath to any person giving the evidence. I would not give it, knowing it would be fatal to 
me. 

'J\[K What ought to be done, or is the best thing to do for the protection of loyal senti- 
ment in Louisiana, and the protection of the loyal people in the State? 



TESTIMONY OF J. D. o'fJOKNELL. 83 

Tin- United States should give us a powerful government that can quell all the rebel attacks 
against Union men. So long as the rebel element is predominant in our local government, 

you will always find men who might otherwise be Union, through fear taking sales with the 
rebels; therefore it is necessary that there should be a strong Union government to protect 
us against the rebels, as we are in the minority. 

'.'.Mi. Suppose that protection is not furnished by the government of the United States, what 
will become <>!' the Union people and their property ? 

They will have to leave here, as many of them have already done. Those who have staid 
there have staid in the hope that Congress would extend protection to us. But for-that 
hope, I should not have remained here. 

951. Where did you live before you came here? 

In Missouri ; I have never lived in the north. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

9.V2. Mr. Phillips, the lawyer of whom you speak, still resides in New Orleans, does he 
not? 

I have not. seen him since my return, two or three days ago, but it is my impression that 
he still resides here. It will be easy to ascertain his place of residence. 

953. A fter vou had received warning of what was to be done upon the assembling of the 
convention, why was it you went there, if you apprehended danger ? 

I did not know the statement came from any one who could be relied upon, and I did not 
suppose, in any event, that it meant a general massacre. I supposed that any action taken 
against the convention would be in a legal and judicial manner, and not by violeuce. 

954. Then you did not suppose that Mr. Phillips, at that time, echoed the sentiments of the 
community ? 

No, sir, I did not. 

955. Did you see anything about the fire-engine companies different from their ordinary 
appearance at a fire ? 

No, sir ; only in that they did not appear to me to have any fire in their engines, and cer- 
tainly the twelve taps with the bell was not a fire alarm. 

956. I was speaking of the appearance of the firemen, whether there was anything about 
the apparatus or themselves different to their usual appearance at a fire ? 

No ; only in their action; there was considerable in that. They set to work directly killing 
Union men and colored people. There is a difference between that and putting out a fire. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: • 

957. Is it usual to go to fires with steam up ? 
Yes, '.'it'll steam up. 

958. Was there any such thing on that day ? 

No, sir : I never saw a fire in any engine that day at all. I heard the cry " Set the build- 
ing on fire," several times from below. 

959. By whom? 

By those outside attacking the building. 

By Mr. Boyer -. 

960. Did you hear that cry by any whom you recognized as firemen ? 

I could not tell ; it might possibly have come from them, and likely not. 

961. Were you not in a state of some excitement? 

I have a very happy faculty on occasions of that sort to retain my presence of mind, and 
it has served me on several occasions. 

962. I suppose you were not interested particularly in seeing whether the steam was up in 
the engines at all ! 

That is true, and I remarked that I saw but one fire-engine. 

963. Then you saw but one fire-engine company ? 

That was all; and I did not say that I saw an entire company. The entire company may 
not have been in line. I saw one engine. 

964. Did you recognize any one company in the crowd ? 
No, sir. 

965. And that engine may have had steam up without your knowing it ? 
It is possible, but I doubt it. 

966. You spoke of Hays's brigade, and remarked that you believe the organization still 
exists in this city ; for what purpose does it exist ? 

For the purpose of doing honor to the rebel cause, of honoring their dead, and of combin- 
ing together, as a body, to assist each other against Union men. 

9U7. Now please go on and state all the facts you have, not from hearsay, but which are 
evidence of the existence of this organization for these purposes, at this time. 

Your (piestiou is one that is very difficult to be answered, from the fact that an organiza- 
tion of that kind cannot well be public. You might as well ask me for evidence of the 
existence and purposes of the masonic order I know perfectly well that such an organiza- 
tion exists, although I have no personal knowledge of it, because it is a secret order. 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS, 

968, Then what you h«vt - is to their ore, snot based at all upon personal 

Ji . «;ng been present at their -• s, 1 speak frortl personal 

knowledge; but there is abundant evidence of the ex - -evidence 

the department, to de- 
eation — but they have since then this town a 
d donations, & 
969.^1)0 you know these thing's ' 

N . s, s .1 do. They have received - ' ■• olent 

. but 1 have no doubt they have been continued as a military organization. 
When did they proceed in the way 3 
On the Fourth of July was one occasion, 
. ' ation of the Fourth of J 

x . - brated it exclusively by thi Park. They wore the 1 

s, with firemen, and others. 
Were von there ! 
ssed by there, I did not think it w 5 sa emain there. I rode by. . 

from them. and. it' so. from which of them, that they V under 

the « 1 and name ol Hays's 

I ki en and their appearance. 1 knew them when Hays's brigade went out 0! 

army. I knew them when they returned, and' have know n them since. 
. . but 1 know t! 1 - 
i'T-l. Then, 3 our on son for thinking - ^ as, 

1 re in Hays's brigade durng the war .' 
and having seen them since at . • d on other 1 

;'?.">. Did you - s there except those ; • belonging to Hays's 

brig-.-. 

3 is : some of the Crescent regiment I saw persons belonging- to diffi regi- 
- 

976, ■ s s qs of these peopl< s s can remember them, 

and the names of the people makii - ions, 

not gi\ e you names. 

■ ou give the nan. s - _ 

No. 1 knew, perhaps, not less than 5,000 people in - ilthough 1 presume 1 

.11 1,000 of them by n sequently, 1 - 1 know them 

1 meet them on the street. 
97c - ik of Hays's ling funerals ; whose tuner:.. attend in a 

•' 

1 am unable to give yon the names of the deceased persons. 1 to the 

be papers. 
979. When did it take phv 

v eral months previous to the 30th of July. 

rou see ittendins thes - that you recognized as as to 

Haj s s brig 

3 . Whenever a member of Hays's brigade died, the name of th< 

as belonging to such a regiment and company in the confederate army. 
981. 1 

K - ; but other 11 ... ' eft no doubt iu my mil Pact 

-. Was there any express my of them who a e funeral, 1 t that 

• 

. an account of the particula s ne of these funerals without re- 

rhey always called u] s of this org 

Then, by look _ lem. 

As 1 unci .. when a j s in the citj who was a member of a certain 

ces to s fact and 

notify torn : - es in anus to attend his funeral ? 

b cas 
IVave Mist come from, in Rapides 3 of the esent 

eral. 
. - - - • for rebel -. . ses 

1 b - opportunity offered, they would be found 

- - .; any time heretofore, 

s in ssession for supposing that ? 

s : there ar. j 
Fas 1 proposed arres - f the convention on the 30th of July 

g the police at their posts 1 armed 

more to do with arrests in the city than you or I have. The po- 
lice of Nei y; they have 1 othing to 






. 









- 












86 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

No, sir, not .all. 

1000. Is that one of the causes of difference? 
That is the slightest. 

1001 . What other causes of difference can you suggest ? 

That they have been defeated in their attempt to destroy the government and set up a 
government of their own in the south. 

1002. Is your opinion of the hostility entertained towards the government of the United 
States an inference from the fact of their haviug been engaged in a rebellion, or from what 
has transpired since? 

It is from the fact of their having been advocates of the rebellion and their desire to renew 
it, if possible They have no hesitation in declaring that that is their position. Many of 
them who live here very freely give their opinions. 

KM):), (.'an you give me the names of any of the citizens of this State who have declared 
their intention to oppose the government by force on the first favorable opportunity ? If so, 
please give me the names of all you can recollect. 

I will give you the name of Mr. Bates, of the town of Baton Rouge. 

1004. What is his first name ? 

I cannot give it. lie has a brother who is a Union man. When I get into conversation 
with men who express these sentiments I do not always learn their names. I can give you 
the name of the district attorney of the parish of Baton Rouge, by the name of Stafford, who, 
not mure than lour evenings ago, on his way to New Orleans, told me, and told others in my 
presence, that had he the power he would cut the throat of every northern man, and that he 
was echoing the sentiments of his community; that he had a child three months old, and 
that he would teach that child from this day to hate and despise every northern man. 

1005. Who else ? 

I have heard many others, but these are all the names I can give at this moment. 

By the Chairman : 

1006. I will call your attention to the following paragraph from a New Orleans paper, and 
ask you if that is the description of paragraph you refer to as referring to Hays's brigade : 

"Whereas death has removed from our midst, with a blow as sudden and inure unex- 
pected than any dealt on the fields of battle through which he passed, our brother member 
and comrade in arms. Lieutenant Ed. C. C. Walshe, late of the 6th Louisiana regiment, it 
behooves us to add our testimony and tribute of respect to the courage, unflinching devotion, 
and self-denial of the deceased in the hour of trial and temptation: Be it therefore 

"Resolved, That we, the members of Hays's Brigade Relief Society, hereby express our 
heartfelt grief at the sudden termination of a life which promised to be a long and useful one, 
and one which, judging by the past, would never be found wanting in the noble and more 
heroic attributes of our nature; that we deeply sympathize with the bereaved widow and 
relatives of the deceased in their affliction ; that the secretary be directed to furnish a copy 
of these resolutions to the family oi the deceased, and that the same be also published." 

With this exception, that it does not contain a notification of the members of the brigade 
to be presenl as an organization at the funeral. 

1007. Will you state what, if you know, is meant by the "Hays's Brigade Relief 
Society?" 

It is an organization to which I have already referred existing under the pretence of a 
relief association, but really it is Hays's brigade, organized, ready for anything that may 
turn up. It was a very beneficial association on the 30th of July. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

1008. You have been asked to give specific names of Union men who failed to obtain their 
rights in the courts because they were Union men. I wish you to mention whether there is 
any instance where confederates have been successfully prosecuted in the courts tor auy 
violation of the rights of a well-known Union man. 

No, sir: I can give no such instance. 1 know that murders have been committed by re- 
turned confederates <>,- rebels, and the murderers have been permitted to go on one thousand 
dollars bail, on their own recognizance. 

( 1009. Have you ever known a confederate to be prosecuted criminally, successfully, for 
injuries committed upon a Union man ! 
No, sir ; nor do I think it can be done. 



New Orleans, December 24, 1866 
A. OUBRE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

1010. Where were yon born .' 

In Louisiana. I live now in the parish of John the Baptist. 

1011. Are you well acquainted in this city ? 



TESTIMONY OF A. OUBRE. 87 

I have visited the city every year, for the last fifteen years, almost every month. 

1012. What is your business I 
Before the war \ was a planter. 

1013. Were you here on the 30th of July last? 
Yes, sir. 

:. Were you, in any way, connected with the convention on that clay? 

I was. My wife was sick in this city for two months before that time, and I came here to 
visit her. i came down here on the 20th of July. On the Sunday hefore the convention I 
went up into the American quarter above Canal street, where I met Mr. R. T. Cutler. We 
! awhile, and he told me that the convention was to meet on the 30th, and he said I had 
better come. "I know you," he said, "as a Union man," and he being one of the chiefs 
of the convention, and one who tried to get it up, I thought I would go. I went to the hall 
on the 30th, and Mr. Cutler had me appointed as assistant sergeant-at-arms. I went to the 
hall about eleven o'clock. The roll was called about twelve, and about twenty-five or thirty 
members answered to their names. Mr. Cutler then proposed that Judge Howell should al- 
low a recess of one hour to bring in the absent members who were in the city. Then the 
recess was allowed. I then went out to get some tobacco, and met three or four friends in 
the street. One of them, a young man, Mr. Haydell, a friend of mine, who knew nothing of 
my sentiments, and who did not know that I was going to the Mechanics' Institute, said to 
me, "We are going to see some fun directly." I said, "Are we?" He said, "Yes; there 
is Monroe coming with his police, and we are going to have some fun." I said, " What kind 
of fun.'" "Well," said he, " We are going to have all these niggers and half niggers wiped 
out. Monroe is going to clean out the whole concern." I did not pay much attention to it, 
but I said, "In Mr. Monroe's proclamation he said that the convention was to be protected 
by the police." I passed on and I met the police, and I just passed through them and weut 
into the Institute. When I got in I heard firing, and, turning round, I saw a policeman 
firing at a negro. I heaid another shot that was fired at a negro. The first two men I met 
in the hall were Dr. Dostie and Mr. Cutler. I talked with Air. Cutler for awhile, during 
which I heard another shot fired. I put my head out of a window and I saw a gang of police- 
men dressed in uniform, and a gang of citizens with policemen's medals on them, and I saw 
them firing at a gang of negroes. I looked out of the window again after talking with Mr. 
Cutler and Dr. Dostie, and I saw a policeman fire at another negro. I could not hear what 
the negro said, but I could see by the motion that he was begging for protection of his life ; 
the policeman put a revolver to his side and pulled the trigger, but the pistol did not fire. 
The negro then tried to get into a house opposite, but the door was locked. By the signs he 
made lie was begging for protection. I called Dr. Dostie's attention to it and told him to 
look at him. Dr. Dostie said, "We caunot help it; it is a foul murder." The policeman 
took a cap from his pocket, put it on the nipple, and put the revolver right into his side and 
shot him down. 

JO ir>. Do you know the policeman? 

I do not. I saw a man in policeman's uniform with two revolvers in his hands — one in 
each hand — but I could not recognize the man. There were about 1,500 men — 500 regular 
policemen, and about 1,000 citizens — mustered in as extra policemen. After the street was 
swept of the negroes I thought that the firing was over, and that everybody was safe in the 
hall. The first thing I heard was a crush of men coming up stairs. Mr. Cutler and Dr. 
1 'ostie were at the window. The first thing I heard inside the hall was the voices of Dr. Dos- 
tie and Mr. Cutler, crying "Shut the doors." I looked round and saw people inside shutting 
the doors. Mr. Cutler said, " Shut those doors, and hold them so tight they cannot open 
them." The doors are about two and a half inches to three inches thick. When the police 
came up they tried to open the doors, but they could not do it, and then they fired through 
th« door -without effect. Then they got on the galleries of the houses in the neighborhood 
and tired through the windows. One of the shots fired from the gallery opposite killed one 
man ; and when those who were in the front part of the hall saw that there was one killed 
and another wounded, they abandoned the door and ran towards where we were in the rear 
part of the hall with a crush. The door then opened with a crush, and the firing. began. Dr. 
Dostie said, "What do you want? Have you got an order of arrest? Vie surrender;" and 
his while handkerchief was held up. Then the police retired and the doors were shut. When 
they had loaded their revolvers they opened the door and emptied their revolvers on those 
inside. When they cried " surrender" they did that again. At the fourth discharge Dr. 
ie was wounded. I then broke a chair. I said, " We had better break the chairs, and 
with them cut our way through ; they do not want us as prisoners. They will kill each 
one of us. It is better we run a risk, and try to save our lives." Dr. Dostie said, "I can- 
not; I am wounded. I cannot walk, and I think it will be best for us to bee- for protection. 
The military will be here in a few minutes, when we will be protected." While 1 was talk- 
ing to the doctor, after the fourth discharge, the door was again opened and there was another 
volley. 1 saw a man on each side of me fall, and I made up my mind to get out of that con- 
cern either one way or another, and I got up and walked towards the door. I had not at 
that time a scratch ; and when I was running towards the door, for the sixth time the door 
was opened, and there was another discharge. I immediately lay flat on the floor and 
escaped thai discharge. I went right to a police officer and said, "I am your prisoner, 



88 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

and I beg for your protection." He said l.e would protect me, and he took me down 
stairs. Going down stairs he asked me if I was a member of the convention. I said 
I was not. I said I was there as an assistant, serjeant-at-arms. He had a revolver in 
his bands, but, fortunately for me, it was unloaded When I said I was not a member of 
the convention, be said " You are a liar," and be bit me a blow on my head with his revolver. 
When I g'ot to the door I saw two policemen on each side of the door, each with a revolver in 
bis band. I was frightened, for I saw that each one when lie went past these men was shot at. 
I made my prayer, for I thought I was gone. The policemen were beating me all the time. 
and going down stairs they tired at me with revolvers close to me. I received about ten or 
fifteen licks. I bad one ball through my jaw, which broke my jaw. I foil down, for I was 
bleeding and weak, and I played what you call "possum." So I just lay down, and they 
thought I was killed. By and by some others camedown, and afterawhile I tried to escape, 
but two policemen got hold of me, and they were taking me to the police station. When on 
Canal stre< t a young- man came out of a store with a hatchet in his hand, and he said " Here's 
another, let me have a chance at him," and he made a blow at me with the hatchet. I just 
dodged, but what saved me was the policemen, who were on each side of me. The police- 
men said, " Keep aside, sir ; this man is a prisoner." They took me to the police station, and 
they abused me till the. military took charge of us. We were abused by the turnkeys and 
keepers of the jail, and by the policemen, all the time I was relieved the next day, at 11 
o'clock in the morning, by an order of General Sheridan. 

10J6. Were your wounds dressed that night? 

No, sir ; not at all. I begged for some water and I was refused. 

1(117. How many persons were there? 

I could not tell exactly ; we were in different cells. 

1018. Were you all released at the same time next morning ? 

No, sir. On the evening previous some persons got out. Mr. Cutler got out. 

10J9. What became of Dr. Dostie? 

He was wounded. 

1020. Did you see him after he was wounded ? 

Yes, sir: he was not killed, but mortally wounded. I think he died in the Hotel Dieu iu 
this city. 

1021. Did you see Mr. Horton when he was shot ? 

Yes, sir ; he was in the same cell where I was. He was ordered out at nine o'clock. I as- 
sisted him as much as I could. At nine o'clock General Sheridan came in and called a Uni- 
ted States surgeon, and they took Mr. Horton and some one else. Mr. Horton was shot in 
the neck, and I thought he had a centre shot. 

102'2. Have you told us all you recollect of what you saw that day ? 

I believe I have. 

1023. Before the convention did you hear of any threats made by anybody against the peo- 
ple ol the convention? 

I heard threat.-, but not directly. 

1024. State what you In aid. 

I heard that we were going to be attacked, killed, or wounded. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1025. Who told you that' 

I heard the people say so in the city ; it was the town talk. Some of the members of the 
convention told me so. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

1026. Have you stated all the murders you saw? 

I believe not. I saw another person surrender without a scratch, and after that was 
wounded and killed. I think there were three persons killed after they had surrendered and 
begged for protection, as they were going down stairs. I saw one inside of the hall, and two 
as I was going down. There were four persons at the door of the street, and I saw two per- 
sons there killed while I was g'oing- down. 

By .Mr. Bo\ ER : 

1027. Was it the same day that the riot took place that you were told by members of the 
convention that they were going to be attacked '. 

[t was on the morning of the same day. It was about nine o'clock. I was told by Mr. 
Cutler. He told me, '* 1 hear by the ii ople that we are to be attacked, but I don't believe a 
woid of it." 

Ii 28. What oilier member of the convention did you hear say they were to be attacked? 

1 believe Mr. Dlllloyer told me so. 

1029. Did you heai it from any other members of the convention? 

1 heard so, but 1 could not state from which, and it was in the presence of other members 
of the convention. 

1030. How comes it that after that you accepted the position of assistant sergeant-at-arms 
in the convention? 



TESTIMONY OF A. OUBEE. 89 

It was on the morning before the riot thai Mr. Cutler told me. It was on the .Sunday that 
Id Die thai they were going to hare a convention, and he wanted me to come up there 
;md he would have me appointed sergeant-at-arms. At the time I accepted the office I did 
not know of any danger, and I thought we were going to be protected by the military. It 
was the idea of the men of this convention that it was for the benefit of the Union people. 
We were being abused here by the rebel leaders. Every man who is in office hen- is a rebel, 
and no man who has the least bit of Union sentiment in his blood or brain has the least 
chance; so, of course, we tried to have a change, for we wanted to have a Union govern- 

1031. Did you think that in consequence of the excited state of the public mind the pro- 
tei limi of the police would be necessary 1 

I never thought about the riot. 1 was told on the morning of the riot that the convention 
was to be attacked. I never thought so. I never thought the police were with Mayor 
Monroe. I thought we would be protected. 

H)'S2. Did you think that the assembling of the convention would be likely to excite the 

j pie so thai it would create a disturbance and lead to a breach of the peace, and render 

Dtection of the police necessary ? 

No, sir. I thought this convention was to try to bring the system here into harmony with 
the Congress of the United States. Since the war, and during the war, rebels were appointed 
to office here, and I thought the platform of this conveniiou was to make things here more 
in harmony with the United States, and that every man in that convention was fur fraterniz- 
ing with the present Congress. 

1033. Then do I understand that you did not know that it was the object of the conven- 
tion to establish negro suffrage? 

Oh yes, I knew that. 

1034. Did you not know that it was one of the objects of the convention to deprive those 
who had been engaged in the rebellion of the right of voting? 

I knew it was the idea of some members of the convention to deprive some of them of 
their votes ; to deprive the chiefs of the rebellion of their right of voting. I would vote to- 
day, if I had the right, to deprive of the right of voting every man who held office under the 
rebel government. I would not deprive the mass of the right of voting. 

103l>. In the state of public feeling and sentiment in this community at that time, was not 
a convention with such objects almost sure to create a disturbance I 

I cannot answer. 

By the Chairman : 

1036. "Why cannot you ? State in your own way ? 

Because people here, I mean the rebels, don't express their opinion before me; they don't 
tell me what they feel, because I don't talk much with them. I never speak on politics to 
them. They will scarcely allow me to speak to them. I am against them, and they are 
against me/ We cannot agree. Now I would say that a convention with such principles 
was almost sure to create a riot, because people are opposed to it. 

1037. Suppose the police, instead of attacking the convention, had tried to preserve peace 
and order; would there have been any difficulty in doing so^ 

No, sir; our men would have submitted to surrender. 

1038. Would there have been any difficulty in arresting the convention, or preventing it? 
I believe not. 

1031). What is the state of loyalty of the people of Louisiana now as compared with what 
it was during the war? 
I believe the people here are more rebel now than they were during the war. 

By Mr. Bover : 

1040. To what do you attribute their being more rebel now than during the war ? 
I do not know. 

1041. Was it not because of the attempt to enforce negro suffrage upon them? 
I believe not. 

1042. Is it not also owing to the attempt to deprive the majority of the white people of the 
right of voting ? 

No, sir; I believe not. 

10 13. Do you know any other cause ? 

This is the sentiment of the people here. You have got two different classes of people 
here ; .you have the people and the aristocratic cla^s The poor people depend upon the rich. 
Governor Wells, since the war, removed every Union man, and filled up the offices with 
rebels. In every election they have, elected rebels, aud every man that expressed the least 
Union sentiments would be held aside. 
By Mr. Shellabargf.r : 

1044. Upon what class of men have offices been bestowed in this Stale within the last year? 

They have been filled by rebels. 

104C-. What has been the effect upon the loyalty of bestowing power and office upon them ; 



90 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

has it made them more friendly towards the government and more bold and defiant in their 
rebellion? 

By appointing rebels here to office it has had a good effect upon the people here. 

1046. What do yen mean by that? 

I mean that the people here like to see rebels appointed. 

1047. Has it improved the loyalty of the people? 
I do not know what you call loyalty. 

1048. Love towards the government and a disposition to support and fight for it. 
I do not know how many you will find here fighting for the government. 

1049. In case of a war between the United States and a foreign government, on which 
side would this people fight, judging by their action ? 

I believe they would light against the government. 

By Mr. Buyer : 

1050. Are there any rebels here now ? I mean those who are rebelling against the gov- 
ernment. 

I believe that seven-eighths of the people here are rebels. 

1051. Are they engaged in any open acts against the government? 
No, sir. 

1052. Do they not acknowledge allegiance to the government, and obey its laws .' 
They ark now ledge it by force. 

1053. No matter from what motives ; do they not yield submission to the laws 1 
Yes, sir. 

By Mr Shellabarger : 

1054. Do they obey the civil-rights bill? 

They obey when they are obliged to. Whenever a colored person is called before a court 
and accused of auy crime or offence, he is tried by a jury of citizens, but seven-eighths of 
the time they put aside the civil-rights bill; but when it comes to the judge to pronounce a 
decision, he is obliged by law to submit. 

By the Chairman: 

1 055. From your knowledge of the people here, and of the state of their feeling, what, in 
your opinion, has been the effect upon the people here of the President's policy? 

Before the election of the members of Congress the President's policy had produced a good 
effect, very good, on the people ; they were all ready to support the President. Almost 
every man here, except the loyal men, liked the President's policy, and we thought here for 
a good while that the present policy of the President was going to prevail and get the ma- 
jority 

1056. What do you mean when you say that it had a good effect upon the people ? 

I mean the southern people or confederate people here all liked the President's policy. 
They were glad to hear that the President was going to succeed in his policy ; and we un- 
derstood here — both rebel and Union — that he was in favor of the southern States against the 
northern States. That is the effect of the President's policy here ; but after the election the 
people here found themselves deluded— I mean the mass of the people. 

By Mr. Buyer : 

1057. Do I understand you to mean to say that if the result of the election had been dif- 
ferent, the people here would have been better reconciled to the government? 

Yes. sir: that is so. 

1058. I understand, from what you say, that they fear the policy <4' that party which has 
succeeded, and that prevents them from entertaining as good a feeling towards the govern- 
ment as they otherwise would. Is that so? 

1 do not precisely understand the question. 

1059. From what yon say I infer that the people have not as good feeling towards the 
government now because the President's policy has not prevailed. Is that so ! 

Yes, sir, and further, because they are afraid <.n' the party that now contHOls the government. 
By the Chairman : 

10G0. Do you mean to say that, in your opinion, the people of the State are more loyal to 
the government now .' 
No, sir, I believe not. 

1061. What do you mean when you say that they would be loyal to the government it the 
policy of the President prevailed ! 

I mean that they would he loyal to the policy of the President. 

Kill',. In case of a foreign war would they lie found on the side of the government? 

1 believe they would he against the United Stales. 

1062. Suppose the democratic party had control of Congress, and we were to become in 
volved in a foreign war, which side would the voting people take .? 

They would go with the United States. 
1003. Explain why you think so. 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN LECLARC. 91 

Because that party is for the rebel policy; they do not want the negroes to vote, and 
they do not want them to have civil rights. They admit they are free because they are forced 
to admit it, but if it were possible to get slavery hack they would try. 

1064. What would become of the Union people it' the protection of the United States were 
withdrawn .' 

They would have to leave. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

1065. If the policy of the President were to succeed, and the democratic party were to ob- 
tain control or the country, do you not think that that would put the people in a better 
humor, not only with the government but with the Union men here .' 

I believe not. 

1066. Do you not think they would forgive the Union men here if they did not advocate 
negro suffrage .' 

No, sir; 1 believe not. 

10'>7. Do you not think they would if they did not advocate negro suffrage, but also 
ceased to make any efforts to disfranchise those who had been iu the rebel army .' 

No, sir; I do not think that would have the effect. Every man that has a loyal sentiment 
was hated during the war, and alter the war, and just now as much as ever. 

1068. But the President was a Union man, was he not I 

He said so. 

1009. Don't you think he was ? 

I think not ; that is my opinion. 



New Orleans, December 24, 1366. 
JOHN LECLARC sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

1070. What is your age? 

I am forty-six years of age. 

1071. Where do you reside ? 

In this city at 147 Dauphin street. 

1072. How long have you lived here? 
I was born in New Orleans. 

1073. Were you in New Orleans on the-30th of July last? 
Yes, sir. 

1074. Were you at the convention that met at the Mechanics' Institute ? 
Yes, sir. 

1075. At what time ? 

It was about 12 o'clock when I entered the Institute. 

1076. How long did you stay in the Institute hall i 

About fifteen minutes : then I walked out to pet a lemonade, for it was a very hot day, and 
when I got near to Canal street, which is about half a block, I saw a parcel of boys and men 
coming along with a drum ; then I heard a pistol fired, wdien I retreated, for the street was 
full of boys. I retreated with the intention of going along the other street with my brother, 
and the gang followed us up close to the Institute and commenced shooting, and as we tried 
to go through the other street another gang was coming up, the great part newspaper boys, 
and some other persons, common people; they were running up crying, and we thought we 
would enter the Institute to keep out of the muss. We went up stairs and remained 
there about five or six minutes, and after remaining there a few minutes I saw a man come 
up stairs, a black man, with a scar on his face and bleeding, screaming, and hallooing; 
and as he got into the vestibule he fell down. My brother was coming up to see what 
was the matter, and I told him he had better not interfere, lest he should get some of 
the blood on his clothes and the crowd might think he had had something to do with 
the riot; so we left him there, and soon about a dozen came running up stairs, and 
there was some firing going on on the steps, and we concluded it was better to be in- 
side. Then several policemen came running up ; they were dressed in blue coats, white 
pantaloons, and straw hats with a black band ; they were running with pistols in their 
hands. We went back into the hall as far as we could, and there the police officers fired at 
us for about an hour and a half. About this time, a person I knew r , Mr. Staes, jumped out 
of the window, and my brother was going to jump out of the window, but I told him it 
was best to stay, for it was awfully high. I .staid there a good while, and then I saw a 
black man that had the American colors in his hand, and was going to put it out of the 
window, but the persons inside ordered him to take it back; then they took two or three 
white handkerchiefs and put them on a stick, and I tied my white handkerchief to a stick, and 
also put it out of the window. I thought it was a good idea to show a flag of truce. I then 
heard a great noise outside, and I thought it had produced some effect, but it was only 



92 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

cheering for Jeff. Davis. We then went towards the door of the hall, when I heard a great 
noise on the steps. It made me wait a bit, and in a little while I saw about twenty police 
officers come right up to the door, and when they got there they began to fire. I stood on i.ne 
side, and after they had got scattered a little they cooled off, and I went to walk out with my 
brother, and went to the steps, and 1 was struck on my head with a hatchet or tomahawk by 
a man that was dressed with white pants, bine coat, and straw hat with a black ribbon. 
That is the way the police officers were dressed at that time, it being summer time. I was 
knocked down ; I got up again, and looked around to see if I could see my brother. As I 
turned round to go towards the steps, I was knocked on the forehead a second time, ami I 
perceived it was the same man, with the same instrument, that had struck me before. This 
man had a pistol in his hands. I was knocked down three times. After the first time I 
remained some time before I got up, because the first time I could not take the blood from 
my eyes. I looked round again for my brother, hut I did not see him, but I saw a man 
firing and pointing his pistol that way, and I said, "What are you about?" I don't know 
how I said that, but I did; and I saw him take down his pistol, and I walked towards some 
other officers who were with their backs towards the front of the building. There were four 
with pistols in their hands. I thought they were going to shoot me, but they did not. I 
passed by all four, and went towards the steps, and remained there long enough to take my 
handkerchief and tie it round my head. I staid there four or five minutes. I heard some 
who came down stairs say, "Kill every God damned one of them." I heard it several 
times. I thought it was no use trying to save myself. As I got down stairs, there was a 
great big flock of them, who came on me, and one part of my coat was torn off; among 
those that tore it off was one policemen. I know his name very well — it is Edward Crevon. 
He came up to me, and said, "You are my prisoner." I said that is right. He jerked me 
down stairs, and three or four officers came and held me after I got down on the pavement. 
There were about forty or fifty persons, who cried, "Shoot him!" "Hang him !" Two or 
three officers who had been inside with me said, "Don't you touch this man; this is one of 
our men." Sergeant Crevon said, " You must not hurt this man." We walked on a piece ; 
two of them, one a small man, laid hold of me, one on each side. As they brought me 
along Canal street, I heard cries of "Hang him!" "Kill him!" hut they kept the people 
off. They said, "This is our man ; don't you touch him" They went on clear to my 
house, and left me there. My wife sent for a doctor. I was anxious to get back, and hunt 
up my brother; but while the doctor was sewing up my head my brother came in. He was 
not hurt. One man was shot down right in front of me. He was a stranger here. I was 
about seven days at home ; and during that time, about the fourth day it was, a young man, 
my clerk, told me, " When you get well, I advise you to take care what you are about." 

1C77. You spoke of shouts and cheers for Jeff. Davis while you were at the Institute ? 

Yes, sir. 

1 i 178. How general were those cheers ? 

It was general outside. The street was full of people from Canal up to Common, and the 
shouting was general. I could see the people across the street with pistols in their hands. 
I could see them plainly. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

1079. Do you mean to say that most of the people in the street were shouting for Jeff. 
Davis ? 

Yes, sir. 

1080. Have you always resided in New Orleans? 

Not always ; I have been up the river often, and in Mobile, Montgomery, and Alabama. 

1081. Have you lived in all those places 1 

No, sir; but have been there frequently, slaying about a week or two at a time. 

1082. How long since you have considered yourself a resident of New Orleans ! 
Something like twenty-odd years. 

1083. What is your descent .' 
Spanish mother and Spanish father, sir. 

1084. Did you hear the shoutii g for Jeff. Davis upon the 30th July continue for any length 
of time, or was ii so< \ er ' 

I believe I heard it three or four times in succession. I may be mistaken, but I think I am 
not. 

1085. Was that all? 

Yes, sir; I did not have time to listen f<> it any more ; we were very busy inside. 

1086. Each time that yon heard it, was the shouting by one voice at a time 1 
No, sir; it was by several voices. 

10.-7. Did more than one voice join in the cry ! 
Yes, sir. 

1088. I low many voices joined in that cry? 
Mere than fifty, certainly. 

1089. Were they hoys or men? 

Perhaps there were as many boys hurrahing as men. 
10911. Did you belong to the convention .' 



TESTIMONY OP JOSEPH L. MONTIEU. 93 

T belong to no party, and bat! nothing to do with the convention. I never had anything to 

do with politics. I am no voter. 

By Mr. Shellabakger : 
1091. What is the reason you are not a voter? 

1 was travelling a great deal, and always found some excuse not to vote. I have been 
called upon to vote, but never did. 



i 



New Orleans, December 24, 1866. 
JOSEPH L. MONTIEU (colored, very slightly,) sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

1092. State your name, and where you live. 

Joseph L. Montieu. I reside in New < hleans, at 153 Gasquet street. 

1093. How long have you lived here 1 
I was born and raised in New Orleans. 

1094. What is your age? 
About forty. 

101)5 What is your occupation ? 

My occupation is chronometer maker. 

1096. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? 
Yes, sir. 

1097. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute on that day ? 

I was not inside of the building, but 1 was in front in the street. 

1098. How near to the Mechanics' Institute is your place of business ? 
About eight or ten blocks off. 

1099. State to the committee what you saw on that day; everything that came under your 
observation in connection with the assembling of the convention and its proceedings. 

The call was made, signed by Judge Howell, of the supreme court, to assemble the con- 
vention, and there were many rumors and a great deal of talk ; a threat was very generally 
talked of by gentlemen in the streets to disperse the convention by force. I heard that men- 
tioned on Canal street, and on the morning of the 30th, coming from the post office, I stopped 
at the office of Judge Hiestand and told him what I had heard ; that I did not believe it 
prudent for him to stay in his office that day. Prom there I proceeded to my bouse at the 
corner of Canal and Basin streets. 

Mr. Buyer objected to the witness stating that he heard threats made, and not stating 
who made them. [Witness continued.] 

Prom there I proceeded to my office, iutending to go to the convention. I was detained at 
my office till a quarter past twelve. Prom there I proceeded with a friend to the Mechanics' 
Institute. Arriving at the corner of Baronne and Common streets, I saw a great many people 
running, and theie I met a friend of mine who said he had just seen a man at the corner of 
Philippi and Canal streets. He seemed to be very much excited. I told him to keep quiet 
and not to be excited, as it would tend to exc.ite^>thers. I proceeded with him till I met Mr. 
Field, and I asked him if the convention had met; lus answer was, yes. I left him, and 
When I arrived at the doors of the Mechanics' Institue there was a great, crowd, but there 
was no righting going on. There I met a friend of mine, Mr. Blancjoubert, g»ing up stairs. 
He said " It is crowded, and it is no use for you to go up, for the convention has taken a recess 
of one hour to get the absent members." On this my friend who was with me said, " Well, it 
will really be no use to go up stairs ; come to my store, and from there we will come back 
in about an hour." We advanced through the crowd, and having come to an alley we went 
through it to get rid of the crowd ; from there we went up Baronne street, and proceeded on 
C rial to Bourbon street, where we heard tiring again, and all the stores on Canal street were 
being closed up. I told my friend it would be well for him to shut up. I stood there till he 
closed, and by the time we got to the corner of Philippi and Canal streets we heard that 
towards the Institute there was a great deal of firing, and my friend thought we would be 
risking our lives, and he advised me to go to my house to protect my family. While we 
were at the corner of Canal street we saw a man threatening to shoot every man that was 
passing ; and a man came running from the direction of the Mechanics' Institute pursued by 
a man named Brooks, who pursued him to the corner of Canal and Frankfort streets. 

1100. How far was that from the Institute ? 
Abu ut two blocks. 

1101. How far from the Institute was he when he was attacked? 
About two and a half blocks. 

1 102. How long a distance did that man Brooks follow him ? 
About a square. 

1103. Was Brooks a policeman? 
No, sir ; he keeps a boarding house. 



94 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

1104. What was the character of the threats you referred to ? 

That if the convention met, none would come out alive from that place of meeting. 

1 105. State how general those threats were. 

Passing along Canal street from the corner of Philippi to the post office there were men 
gathered, and if you stopped a minute you would hear them. 

1106. What was the character of the men who made the threats? 

All kinds, I may say. I saw in the crowd those that might be considered by their looks 
as some of our best citizens. 

J 107. How many policemen did you see in the crowds you are speaking of? 

At that time there were no policemen. 

] 108. Did you see the policemen when they did come? 

Yes, sir; I saw them form in ranks on Canal street between 12 and 1 o'clock. 

1109. Was there any alarm of any kind that day 1 
Yes, sir. 

1110. State what it was. 

It was the ringing of the bell. It was about the same signal that was rung when Admiral 
Farragnt passed the forts down the river, and was understood to be a general alarm. It 
might have been twenty to twenty-four taps of the bell. 

1111. What, if anything, took place when you beard that alarm? 

I saw the firemen run towards the Mechanics' Institute. I wautedto follow and sec what 
was the matter, but was prevailed upon by my wife not to go. 

1 1 12. How many companies of firemen were there ? 
I saw three companies pass where 1 was. 

11 13. Did you see any badges or marks of any kind upon the citizens that day? 

I saw nearly everywhere on that day a white handkerchief was passed over the neck. 

] 1 14. Did you see any blue ribbons ? 

Yes, sir; blue ribbons, crescents, and two cannons crossed; this last is the signal worn 
by those who belong to the Washington Artillery. « 

]115. What badge, if any, did the policemen ;vear? 

Nothing but their uniform that they wear every day in summer. 

1 !l(i. W;ts your attention called to a band upon their hats? Did you observe anything 
peculiar in regard to it 7 

My attention was called to the fact, by my brother-in-law, that their numbers were not 
apparent in front of their hats„ where they usually wear them ; it seemed as though they had 
a different ribbon round their hats. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1117. Did you never observe that variation in the ribbon on other occasions? 

No, sir. I should not have remarked it that day if my brother-in-law had not called my 
attention to it. 

1 1 18. But it might have existed before without your remarking it ? 

Yes, sir. 

By the Chairman : 

1110. Have you stated all the acts of violence you remember to have seen committed on 
that day 1 

I remember that, standing at my own residence, I have seen black men come out of a 
court three-quarters of a block distant, who were caught by the police and beaten. All the 
men I saw do the beating were dressed in policemen's uniform. 

i 120. Do yo€ know anything about the manner in which arms were procured that day I 

No more than that on Lafayette square they were distributed to the police while standing 
there. 

1121. What part of Lafayette square? 
On the south part. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

1122. Did you see that? 
Yes, sir ; 1 was passing. 

By the Chairman: 

112:1. Is not that in the neighborhood of the mayor's office, or of the office of the chief of 

police .' 

Yes, sir; it is right opposite. 

1 121. What time was this ! 

Between half-past six and seven in the morning. 

1125. How many policemen were there, as near as vmt can jud'Te? 

Between 200 and 300. 

1126 .State by whom the disturbances you witnessed on the 30th of July were occasioned ? 

One disturbance was occasioned by that man Brooks; the others that knocked down col 
ored men were police. 



TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH L. MONTIEU. 95 

1127. Did you see any colored people commit any acts of violence? 

No, sir; they were all too frightened and too ready to run for their lives when they were 
attacked. 

By Mr. Shella^arger : 

1 1 I ■'. State whether you yourself saw the arms being distributed that morning. 

. sir. 
! 129. What were they? 
Revo! 

1130. I low many pistols did each man get; one or more? 
I cannot say; but at least one. 

1131. Did you see the persons who were giving them out? 
I saw two persons. 

1132. Who were they? 

I do not knowsthem personally; but I was. told one of them was chief of police, but I do 
not know him personally. 

1 L33. Was it at the quarters of the chief of police? 
Yes, sir ; it was right opposite, in Lafayette, square. 

1 134. Who composed the police of the city at that time? were they Union men or rebels ? 
My opinion is that they were all rebels. 

1135. As far as you know their history in the past, were they rebels or Union men? 
They were all returned rebels. The exceptions were few. 

1 136. Do you know if there were any Thugs among them ? 
Yes, sir ; men that we have always known as Thugs. 

1137. Did you see any of those fellows there? 
Yes, sir. 

1 138. State whether they were getting arms too. 

I suppose so; I cannot tell. I saw some of them right by the Mechanics' Institute ; one 
I know by the name of Lucien Adams. 

1139. Had you any interviews with members of the convention as to what they would do 
in case an attempt was made to break up the convention by the issuing of processes of 
arrest .' 

They would submit to any recognized court in this city ; but they were determined not to 
be deterred from meeting by the threats of mobs. 

1140. State, from all you know, if there would have been any difficulty in arresting that 
convention, and subjecting it to due process of law? 

Not a bit. None at all. 

1141. Was there any need of pistols or a posse of police to arrest that convention ? 
Not at all, judging by what several of the members had told me. 

1 142. State whether there was any organization, secret or otherwise, to fight for the con- 
vention existing in this city 1 

None at all. 

1143. Are you well acquainted with the people of this city and State ? Do you mingle 
freely with them ? 

Yes, sir ; I mingle freely with all classes. 

1144. What is the state of feeling with those who have a right to vote, under the existing 
law, towards the government of the United States ? 

It is hostile. 

1145. In case of a foreign war would these people generally fight on the government side 
or on the other side, judging from what you know of the feelings towards our government? 

From what I know, the government could not rely upon their help at all, except upon the 
loyal people here, which I consider the colored people and a few white Union men. 

1 146. It the government should not protect the Union men of Louisiana, what would be- 
come of them ? 

They would have to remove, and I for one. 

1147. What facts do you rely upon as the foundation for your statement that the mass of 
the people of this State are hostile to the government ? 

From every* day's conversation that I have with them. They say that they submit to 
force, but that they are not conquered ; and that there might be a bright day yet for the 
confederation. 

1 148. Did you see any people attacked who did not participate in the procession that went 
to the Mechanics' Institute .' 

Yes, sir. 

1 149. How far from the Institute was it that they were attacked 1 
One or two squares from the Institute. 

Mr. BOYER objected, during the testimony of this witness, to all his statements not made 
from his own personal knowledge of the facts; and to all declarations of other persons not 
shown to be participants in the riot. 



96 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. BoYEK: 

1150. You say that previous to the assembling of the convention you heard threats made 
can you name any of the persons who made the threats ! 

As a general thing, no, sir; but it was generally spoken of everywhere on Canal street. 

1151. Can you name any one person who made any threat of the kind you speak of? 
I cannot name any by name; but I know several by sight 

1152. Would you be able to recognize them now, were you to see them ? 
Yes, sir. 

1153. Do you know -where they reside ? 
No, sir. 

] 154. Did you ever see them before that occasion ? 
Yes, sir. 

1155. Have you seen them since ? 

Sometimes I have seen them. They wore in the habit of coming to a store near mine ; 
but I have not seen them for one or two months. 
] 15b'. Do you ktiow what their occupations were ? 
Two of them were firemen. 

1157. Were there any others by whom you heard threats made except those two firemen? 
I heard others in passing. 

1 158. Can you particulaiize any others ? 
No, sir. 

1159. You said that a,ll kinds of men were making threats, and that some of those who 
made threats were known as some of your best citizens ; who of your best citizens that made 
threats have you heard ? 

I said judging by their appearance, and not from my knowledge as to who they were. 

1160. Then you cannot state, from your own knowledge, that they were from your best or 
worst citizens ? 

• No," sir. 

1 Hi J . If your attention had not been called by your brother-in-law to some difference in the 
badges worn by the police, would you have noticed anything unusual ? 

I would not. 

1162. And you are not certain now whether it was unusual, or if that difference existed 
upon other occasions? 

Yes, sir. 

1163. Do you mean to say that you did or did not know ? 

I mean to say that I know that it is not a general thing for that difference to exist. 

1164. Might it not upon other occasions have escaped your observation, as you say it 
would upon that, had not your brother-in-law called your attention to it ? 

It might have escaped my observation upon other occasions. 

] 165. There was nothing unusual about the uniform of the police on that day ? 

No, sir. 

1 166. You say there were some returned rebels in the police force? 

I mean to say that all of them were returned rebels, with few exceptions. 

] 1(>7. Do you mean to say, from your own knowledge, that they were returned rebels ? 

Yes, sir; because I saw them enlist in the confederate army, and I saw them return after 
the war. 

1 168. Are you personally acquainted with all of them 1 

I know them by sight, having always lived here. 

I 169. Have you seeu them all in the confederate army? 

The great mass of them. 

1 170. 1 >o I understand you to say there were some exceptions? 

There were very few. 

] 17J. Yen say some were Thugs ; what do you mean by Thugs .' 

'I hal name' is always understood here. At the time of the Know-nothing party those men 
used ti go and kill people and cominil differenl disordi vs. 

1 17*2. Did you see in the recent riots any of those you recognized as Thugs in the 
Know-nothing days .' 

1 know some of them from their having been broughl before the courl . 

1 17:!. Were any of them convicted ' 

Snme of them wen — Arthur Guerin and Lucien Adams; but they both ran away. 

1 17 1. Did they run away to escape conviction .' 

To escape trial. 

1 175. Cur v, hat .' 
For killing. 

1176. Whom? 

I am speaking of the time of the Know-nothing party. 

1 177. I ask you for the killing of whom did they escape ' 

I do noi remember; it is many years ago ; it is som ■ ele* sn or twelve years ago. 

1 178. Do these two men belong to the police force now ? 

I cannot answer lor that now. 



TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH R. PIQEE. 97 

1170. Can you name any others whom you would denominate as Thugs among the police 
on that occasion? 
No, sir. 

] 180. You were not in the convention on that day, I understand ? 
No, sir; not up-stairs where they met. 

1181. Were you a member of that convention? 
No. sir. 

1 182. How do you know that the members of the convention would have submitted to au 
arrest ? 

From the fact that, after the charge which was made by Judge Abell was published, I spoke 
with several of them, Dr. Hire and Judge Howell, and asked them in case there should be an 
indictment against them, by due process of court, what would they do, and they said they 
would submit to any legal court, but 'that they would not be deterred from meeting by the 
threats of mobs. 

1183. From your conversation with those men you infer that the convention would have 
submitted to an arrest ? 

Yes, sir. 

1184. When you stated that there would be no difficulty in arresting the convention, you 
wish to be understood as judging from what you heard these two men say? 

Yes, sir. 

1185. By what authority do you say that the voters of this city, in case of a foreign war, 
would take part against the government of the United States ? 

I say the government could not rely for support and help upon them, and I judge so from 
conversations I have had with them, and from the general expression of their opinions. 

1186. State with whom you have had conversations, and when. 

In this city ; with different men ; and sometimes in crowds. I have heard it often from 
groups before the post office here. 

1 1 87. Go on, and give the name of the person or persons you heard make such declarations, 
and give their declarations as near as you can remember. 

As to naming any one in particular, I could not say. 

1188. You cannot name any one, then? 

Not any one in particular; but riding in the cars you will hear it often. 

1189. But you cannot, at this time, name a single individual in this city whom you 
heard make such a declaration ? 

No, sir. 

1190. What is your descent ? 

Some seventy or one hundred years ago I descended from an African woman. That is as 
far as I can say , 



New Orleans, December 24, 1866. 
JOSEPH R. PIQUEH sworn and examined . 

By the Chairman : 

1191. State your name. 
Joseph R. Piqu6e. 

1192. What is your age ? 
I am forty- six. 

1193. Do you live in New Orleans ? 

I have lived in Louisiana for seventeen years, and in New Orleans for the last three years. 

1194. What is your occupation ? 
I am a physician. 

1195. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? 
Yes, sir, I was. 

119G. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute on that day? 
Yes, sir. 

1197. About what time did you go there in the morning ? 

About 12 o'clock, to see a member of the convention who was one of my friends— Mr. L. 
P. Normand. 

1198. How long did you stay in the hall ? 

I was there all the time, and I think I was the last man to leave the hall. 

1199. Please to state what happened after you went into the convention. 

I heard the prayer. I recollect the minister, though I never saw him before. 

1200. Do you recollect the adjournment? 
Yes, sir. 

1201. State, in brief, what you saw, as far as you recollect. 

About ten minutes after the recess I heard the report of some pistols in the street, and 
many of us went to the windows to see what it was. We saw the people running. I went 
back to my chair and sat quiet. 

7 N. o. 



98 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

1202. Do you remember when the doors were first attacked ? 

Yes, sir. I was close by the platform, where there was a crowd of people. I saw the 
policemen enter and fire. I do not recollect but oue policeman that I knew. 

12U3. Did you see Mr. Horton when he was shot ? 

I do not know exactly, unless it is the one who tried to get out with the white handker- 
chief on a stick to the policemen. I tried to jump out of the window myself. I thought I 
might as well be killed in one way as in another, and I thought I should be killed. 

1204. How many times did the policemen come in ? 

I do not know precisely ; five or six times — possibly ten times. 

1205. Did you know any of the men that you saw use revolvers? 
They were policemen. 

1206. When the policemen first came in and fired, what did they say ? 

I think they did not say anything; they just fired ; they may have spoken to those who 
were near them, but I do not know. 

1207. What part of the hall were you in ? 
Near the platform, on the floor. 

1208. Did you know Dr. Dostie ? 
Yes, sir. 

1209. Did you see bim shot ? 

He was not shot until after he left the hall. I saw him go out unhurt. 

1210. Did you see Mr. Henderson? 

I did not know him. I just knew Dr. Dostie and Mr. Hahn. 

1211. Was Mr. Hahn shot in the hall? 
No, sir. 

1212. Did you see bim when he was wounded? 
No, sir. 

1213. How many people were in the hall when the police first came in? 

Perhaps one hundred and fifty, perhaps more, brrt a great many escaped through the 
windows. 

1214. Were the people in the hall armed? 
No, sir. 

1215. Do you know anything about those in the hall offering to surrender? 

I saw the minister go with the white handkerchief tied to a stick. He spoke something, 
but I w : as at too great a distance to bear what he said. 

1216. How did you escape ? 

After Governor Hahn left, one of my acquaintances came to me and told me, if we are to be 
killed, let us try to get out. We went to the door where there were some policemen. The 
firing was nearly suspended about that time. The policemen asked us if we were armed. 
When I was asked this, I took out a letter and showed it to them, and I said I was not 
armed more than that. One of the policemen shot a colored man at tbe door. They shot him 
through the neck. Some of the citizens at the door had bowie-knives as well as pistols. I 
did not care for the pistols, but I did not like the bowie-knives. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1217. How did the policemen behave ; did they protect you 1 

They seemed somewhat astonished to see me there, for they knew I was not a politician. 
One of them said: "I know that fellow," and he ran after me for half a block. He was a 
young man, and his name was Coolie Pierson. 

1218. Did he fire at you? 

No, sir. There were too many people between us. 

121!). Where is Pierson? 

At Natchitoches, Louisiana. While I was getting away from him, a policeman laid hold 
of me. 1 said, " What have I done to you ?" Then he said, "You shut up, or I will blow 
your brains cut ; that is the order." 

1220. What did the policemen do with you? 

He carried me to the first district station, to the lock-up. 

1221. What did you hear on your way there .' 
I heard them cry out, " Kill him." 

1222. Were you wounded? 
Yes sir : in the shoulder. 

12215. What were you wounded with? 

With a policeman's stick, in the hall, before going out. 

1224. Did you see anybody do any acts of violence, except the policeman and the citizen 
you have referred to ? 

No, sir; I was in the room and did not see what was going on in the street. 

1225. Did any of the members of the convention, or people that were in the room, do any 
fighting? 

No, sir; they were too much afraid. Some said, "Let us barricade the door, to prevent 
them coming in." That was their only act of defence. 

1226. How long did you stay at tbe lock-up ? 



TESTIMONY OF JULIEN NEVILLE. 99 

From three till about half-past eight. When I was at the lock-up I asked them for wet 
cloths ; but they gave me water and salt. 

1227. What did they give you salt for? 
I do not know. 

1228. Who did it? 

Some person who was in the jfiil. 
1239. How many people were in jail, wounded? 

In the room where I was there were about twenty ; and nearly every one was wounded, 
and all wire much tired, exhausted, and scared. 

1230. Did you attend upon them all ? 

Fes, sir; except upon one who had his arm broken. I could do nothing with him. 

1231. You say you went to the convention about twelve o'clock 1 
Yes, sir. 

1232. Did you see anything as you went to the convention ; did you see any violence, 
or hear any threats ? 

I heard that pistols had been delivered to the policemen that morning. 

1233. How early did you hear this ? 

In the morning ; but I paid no attention to it. 

1234. Had the policemen or firemen any badges or marks that you observed ? 
They had white handkerchiefs around their necks. 

1235. Did you see any blue ribbons ? 
I may have, but I do not remember. 

1236. Have you taken any part here among the Union men ? 

I was obliged to run away. They stole everything I had, and left me nothing for the next 
day. 

1237. Are you a creole? 
I was born in France. 



New Orleans, December 24, 1866. 
JULIEN NEVILLE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

1238. Where do you reside ? 
In this city. 

1239. How long have you lived here ? 
Over thirty-five years. 

1240. What is your age ? 
I am past fifty-three. 

1241. State if you were in this city on the 30th of July last. 
Yes, sir; I was. 

1242. Did you witness any of the disturbances that occurred here upon that day ? 
No, sir ; I was in the upper part of the city at the time. 

1243. Were you aware of any preparations that were made for the attack that occurred on 
that day upon the convention? If you were, state all you know respecting them. 

I know nothing about any preparations except seeing the proclamation of the mayor in 
the Times of that morning and the editorial of the Times. I had no other knowledge. Peo- 
ple do not associate with me very much. 

1244. What is the condition of the Union men in the State of Louisiana, and especially of 
this city, as to their being protected in their rights by the courts of the city? 

In some of the courts I think we might have justice ; in others I think we should have no 
chance. I believe were I shot in the street by a man of the other side, that in the first district 
court there would be no remedy. 

1245. Is this hostility to the Union men general, or limited to a few persons ? 

I think the feeling is general against us. There may be some against whom the hostility 
is greater ; those, for instance, who have been prominent in politics. By southern men the 
hostility against me is, I think, mainly from my having entertained General Butler, and from 
my having accepted the position of chairman of one of the bureaus. I entertained all the 
officers when they first came here, both the navy and the land forces. 

1246. What is the feeling of the people of this State towards the government of the United 
States ? I mean among those who were late confederates. 

I think they are very ill-disposed. 

1247. Has there been any change in that respect betw r een the present time and immediately 
after the surrender of Lee ? 

I think the hostility is more bitter now than immediately after the surrender. 

1248. How does that hostility manifest itself? 

They refuse to speak with us. They make remarks as we pass, or after we pass, in the 
street. They do not associate with our families, and will have nothing to do with us. 

Lore 



100 NEW OKLEANS KIOTS. 

1249. Is that because they do not like your people, or because they do not like your politi- 
cal sentiments and your loyalty? 

They do not like our loyalty. I have known very many persons here, and I had no ene- 
mies before the war, even among- the democrats, whom I opposed all the time ; we were 
always friendly after the elections ; but the feeling - now is generally against me, though I 
clothed many of them when they returned from the war and they told me they would have 
nothing more to do with politics ; hut since the convention was called to make a nomination of 
officers, they rejected us and would have nothing more to do with us, and said they would 
never vote for Union men. 

1250. Were you filling any official position at the time ? 
I was acting as State auditor. 

1251. Have there been, to your knowledge, any prosecutions commenced against those who 
killed and wounded the friends of the convention on the 30th of July last? 

Never that I heard of. 

1252. Could such prosecutions be conducted successfully in the courts iu this city? 
No, sir. 

1253. Why not? 

I do not believeyou could get a jury, and I do itot think Judge Ahell would makeacharge 
to that effect to the grand jury. His charges have always been on the other side. 

1254. What court is he the judge of ? 

The first district court, in which all criminal cases are tried. His is the criminal court 
of this parish. 

1255. Could proofs be obtained that would convict any of these people if the courts were 
all right and the witnesses safe in testifying? 

I think so. 

1256. Suppose the government of the United States should not protect the Union and 
loyal sentiment of this State, what would become of it ? 

The loyal people would have to leave it ; I have long been satisfied of that. 

1257. Is this social proscription of which you speak very general ? 

So far as I can learn, there is the same feeling against other loyal men as against me. 
Coming down the street to-day to this building one gentleman stopped and asked me if I 
was a radical, and if I was coming down here to see the congressional committee, and 
whether I had anything against them. 

1258. Have you any knowledge of any committee being appointed or other steps being 
taken to break up the convention by any interference of the government at Washington? 

A gentleman left here very suddenly with whom I have been very intimate. I do not 
know his business. His son told me that his father left the day before for Washington. 

I'2b9. Did that gentleman himself tell you what he went to Washington for? 

I do not wish to divulge what I know. He wrote to me, but the communication was 
private. 

12G0. The gentleman, then, did write to you, but it was a private letter and you do not 
desire to disclose its contents ? 

Yes, sir. 

1261. Have you any objection to give the name of that gentleman? 

Perhaps I ought not to do so. He was a good Union man once, and we were very inti- 
mate during the occupation of the city and afterwards. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1262. How did you become auditor of the State? 
I was appointed by Governor Wells. 

1263. Are you at present auditor of the State .' 

No, sir. The present auditor was the auditor of the confederate State of Louisiana. 

1264. How was the present auditor appointed 1 

He was elected by the people. They were all elected last November. 

By Mr. Shellabarcer : 

1265. Suppose the writer of the letter you just now referred to should give you leave and 
waive all objection, could you furnish us with the substance of its contents ? 

I would not like to be placed in that position. I will speak to him myself; I shall see him 
this morning. There is a little coldness between us, but our families are intimate, and I 
would not like to be placed in a position where my character would be assailed. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1266. Do you know of any instructions that came from Washington for the purpose of 
getting up that convention ? 

No, sir, I do not. All I know is that it was rumored that Judge Howell was in Washing- 
ton. I was very much opposed to that convention of 1864. I was opposed to its meeting 
under the circumstances. 

1267. Why were you opposed to it ? 



TESTIMONY OF JULIEN NEVELLE. 101 

It was gotten up by General Banks, and I thought he was taking "snap" judgment on 
us, for the best Union men were left out. 

1268. Was not the manner in which that convention was gotten up calculated to inflame 
the public mind ? 

I do not think there was much excitement about it. There was some ill-feeling among the 
Union men about it. 

1269. Did not the convention held here on the 30th of July last grow out of the conven- 
tion which was held in 1804 .' 

It was the same convention. 

1270. Was not the form in which it was assembled on the 30th of July more objectionable 
than its assembling in the first instance? 

Not to Union men. 

1271. But in point of law ? 

I do not know anything about that. 

1272. Was not the assembling of the convention on the 30th of July last more calculated 
to inflame the public mind and to produce excitement among the people than its first assem- 
bling in 1864 .' 

Yes, sir, and for this very reason: the convention would have been composed of all Union 
men, and, as the offices are all filled with confederates, they were afraid of the action of that 
convention, and that was the cause of the riot. They hold all the offices ; they allowed no 
Union man to be a candidate on their ticket, and they filled every office in the State with 
their party — returned rebels. 

1273. There was no legal power that you know of, was there, to call together that conven- 
tion in July ? 

The last clause of the constitution of 1864, on the adjournment of that convention, gives 
the president of the convention the power to call it at any time. 

1274. Did the president call it ? 

The president did not call it ; therefore they elected Judge Howell president to call it. 

1275. Having provided a president for the purpose of having it called ? 
Yes, sir. 

1276. Without deciding as to the legality or illegality of the convention, was not the man- 
ner in which it was called a matter of irritation ? 

Perhaps so ; but I do not think anything would keep down the excitement here if you were 
to attempt to get these people out of office, I do not care what you would do. 

1277. Under the circumstances, did you regard it as a judicious proceeding to call the con- 
vention at that time ? 

Yes, sir, I did. I thought it was the only course for the Union men, and that was to dis- 
franchise the rebels. 

1278. Was that the object of the convention ? 

I suppose that was one of the objects of the convention, though I am not sure. 

1279. By disfranchising rebels, you mean those who took part in the rebellion? 
Yes, sir. 

1280. Did not nearly all the people in the State of Louisiana participate in the rebellion in 
opposition to the government ? 

Yes, sir, the majority ; nearly all the white people ; although there was a majority of nearly 
35,000 against secession in this State, most were forced to go with them. Many as good a 
Union man as myself was forced into it. I kept out as many as I could, and among them 
my son. I know a good many young men, Union men, who went to the war because they 
could not live without it ; there was no home for them unless they did so. 

1281. Was not another object of the convention to bring about universal suffrage, including 
the colored people? 

I think so. 

1282. And that was to be effected by the amendment of the constitution adopted by the 
convention ? 

Affer an election was made for members to fill the vacancies. 

1283. You have stated, in your opinion, that the people of this State are more bitter in their 
feelings towards the United States government now than immediately after the surrender of 
General Lee ? 

Yes, sir ; but I only judge of New Orleans. 

1284. Do they not account for their feelings of dissatisfaction towards the government by 
pleading in justification what tiiey consider the oppressive acts of the government in endeav- 
oring to force upon them negro equality ? 

I never heard them attempt to justify their feelings at all. I think they never claim to do 
that. 

1285. Do they never assign any reason for their hostility to the government ? 

Not to me. They would converse even with Mr. Elliot, a radical from Massachusetts, but 
they would not talk with me. 

1286. I understand you now to say that you have very little intercourse with them on that 
subject ? 

I have a great deal of intercourse, inasmuch as I hear them talk ; but their feelings are 



102 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

such that I do not argue the point with them. I am not a very timid man, hut it is useless 
fur ii man of my age to be getting into a fight every day. 

1287. Are you known to them as an advocate of negro suffrage? 

I think I am. I was not at one time ; I was opposed to it. I thought when these people 
came back here they would fraternize with us, and that these things would be forgotten; 
but I never thought that Mr. Johnson would ask them to come back and reconstruct the 
State. 

1288. Instead of that state of things, you expected, I understand, that the State would be 
controlled by the comparatively ihw white men who did not participate in the rebellion, as- 
sisted by the negro population ? 

No, sir; I never thought about the negro population at that time; but I supposed there 
would be enough men who did not participate in the war to form a government, and make a 
constitution subject to the approval of Congress. 

1289. Would there have been enough to have filled all the offices by electing themselves? 
Yes, sir; and a great many more. There were 6,000 troops mustered into the service, 

and we bad 7,000 voters registered at that time of loyal citizens. 

1290. But at the time of holding the convention on the 30th of July, the plan of the Union 
men then, in this State, as I understood from you, was to establish negro suffrage? 

That was one of the objects. We considered them more entitled to vote than the rebels. 
I did, ami I always had that feeling. 

1291. You say that the mass of the people would not support a Uniou man for office in 
this State ; is not that owing mainly to the fact that the so-called Union men in this State 
are in favor of negro suffrage ? 

No, sir ; because it was tested last November a year ago. The Union men, to a great ex- 
tent, were not in favor of negro suffrage when the elections for State officers were filled. 
The question was not mooted at all. 

1292. What was the reason that they changed their minds upon that point? 

Because they found that they were overridden by rebels ; that the Union men had no safety 
or support in the south. 

1293. Then the establishment of negro suffrage was to let them get control of the State ? 

I suppose it was, and I should have been in favor of it then ; and I am now in favor of negro 
suffrage — though I never expressed myself so before, or in favor of any kind of suffrage 
against the rebels. I never was a radical before ; perhaps if you lived here you would feel 
as I do. 

1294. Have the Union men here or any others made any efforts to arrest and bring to trial 
any of the participators in the riot of July 30 ? 

I do not know what chance the Union men have to make arrests, when the courts and the 
sheriffs are all on the other side. 

1295. You think it was useless to try it ? It was never tested by actual experiment? 
Not that I know of; but I know if something is not done in some way we will have to leave 

this State, and I don't want to do that. 

129G. As matters now stand under the protection of the United States government and 
under its military authorities, are not Union men really protected in their person and pro- 
perty ? 

So far as they fear General Sheridan's soldiers. 

1297. But are they not entirely protected ! 

I do not know that we are. I do not think that an}' Union man's life is safe if you were 
to get into an excited crowd. 

1298. Is not an excited crowd in New Orleans like an excited crowd in any other place ? 
Yes, sir ; but they are not much in the habit of shooting people at the north ; here they do 

it as a habit. 

1299. Since the riot of July 30, have any Union men been attacked in their persons or 
property, that you know of? 

There was one attacked, Mr. Stauffer, a member of the convention ; the man who drew a 
pistol and fired three or four times and got out of the crowd. That was shortly after the con- 
vention ; about a week after the convention. 

1300. Since that have you known of any other iustanco ? 
Not that 1 recollect. 

1301. You have not been molested, then? 

They do not often molest me at any time ; but I have not been molested. 

1302. You are now residing in New Orleans? 
Yes, sir, and never expect to reside anywhere else. 



New Orleans, December 25, 1866. 
CHAELES H. HUGHES (colored) sworn and examined 

By the Chairman : 
1303. State your age and residence. 
I am forty years old, and have resided in New Orleans seventeen years. 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES II. HUGHES. 103 

1304. Are you a native of Louisiana ? 
I am a native of Washington city. 

1305. Were you in New Orleans on July 30 1 
I was. 

1306. Where were you 1 

On the 30th July, about 12 o'clock, I was in front of the Institute ; at which time Doctor 
Dostie came out of the front door ; he shook hands with me, and said he, "Good morning:, 
Mr. Hughes ;" said I, "Good morning, doctor;" said I, "From the appearance of things 
we shall have some trouble to-day;" he said that he "did not apprehend any;" he said 
"that from the first indication or alarm of riot he expected the military would be on the 
ground." I went on to show him the grounds why I doubted timely assistance in case of 
trouble ; that the whole body would be dispersed before assistance would arrive. I said to 
him, " If we are going to fight let us go home and be prepared for them." He replied 
' that he did not apprehend any trouble at all," and invited the colored people outside to 
go into the hall and sit down peaceably ; that they need not apprehend any trouble. After 
he had turned his back and gone in, I heard a drum beating, and shouts near the corner of 
Canal and Dryades. I went down to Canal street and saw a small procession of colored 
men coming up with a United States flag 1 . Some man in the crowd fired into the procession. 
I then saw that some one in the procession made some resistance ; a police officer came over, 
arrested the man and carried him off to the calaboose ; the procession following inarched up 
in front of the Mechanics' Hall. Soon after they got there the police came up and fired into 
the crowd, and we all took shelter inside the building. After we had been there ten or fif- 
teen minutes there was au awful rush of police inside the hall ; they came in firing indis- 
criminately into the crowd. Rev. Doctor Horton had a white handkerchief in his hand, 
came up and said, "Gentlemen, I beseech you to stop firing ; we are non-combatants ; we 
did not come here to fight ; if you want to arrest us, make any arrest you please ; we are 
not prepared to defend ourselves." Just at that time, as ho was speaking, a shot struck 
him in the left arm ; just theu a colored man, by the name of Bone and Sinew, exclaimed 
that " he was wounded ;" the police officers stepped up to him and took him out of the build- 
ing ; after that I did not see him until I saw him at the hospital, awfully bruised and man- 
gled up. While the police were charging and firing into the crowd in the hall, some man in 
the convention jumped up and exclaimed, "We surrender ! we surrender !" The police ex- 
claimed, " We do not want any prisoners ; you have all got to die." With that we raised a 
yell, snatched up chairs, or whatever we could get hold of, and drove the police from the 
hall, down stairs ; in about fifteen minutes they made another charge, and were hurled back, 
and in the same manner made three successive charges and were driven back. 

1307. When they made these charges did they fire on the people in the room ? 

They fired continually, as long as they could stay inside of the building. After the third 
charge nearly all the white men had gone out of the building, and we colored people sup- 
posed it was their intention to fire the building ; but we drove them back in such confusion 
that they did not return until we had all got out at the back part of the building. I, myself, 
was one of the last to jump out of the window ; a great many besides myself had jumped 
from the same window and were there in the yard. We heard some white woman in the 
neighborhood call out, " There is some more niggers over there; go and get them out;*' 
they came down into the yard and shot three men where we were. I went away back in a 
horse stall and got under a plank, and they went back again without seeing me ; the next 
time they came there, in about half an hour, there happened to be a policeman with them 
whom I had worked with, aud who knew me. After he found me, he told me " they had or- 
ders not to fire any more ; to come out and he would get me safely through the crowd." I 
came out, but as soon as I was outside of the yard there were cries of "Shoot him ! kill 
him! kill the black sou of a bitch !" The officer who had me in charge drew his pistol and 
swore that " no man should shoot a prisoner in his hands," and carried me along safely, 
with no further injury than by being hit once by an Irish policeman who was standing 
alongside of me. I was taken to the station-house, where I remained until 12 o'clock, when 
I was taken to the Marine Hospital. 

1308. What did you see in going along the streets with the policeman? 

Nothing further than that the crowds who stood along the corners made several attempts 
to assault me, while in custody of the policeman. But he protected mo and kept me sate 
until I got to the station-house. On the Friday before the riot a rebel lady of my acquaint- 
ance sent me word not to go to the Mechanics' Institute on Monday, as there would certainly 
be trouble. 

1309. Did she tell you herself ? 

No, sir; she sent me word. At the same time another young man working with me at the 
same bakery received word from a lady to whom- he originally belonged, not to go. 

1310. Do you know who fired the first shot at the procession? 

I do not know who it was. I saw the man who was wounded, and saw the police when 
they arrested some party who had attempted to assail the party from whom the shot came. 

1311. Were the police all armed or not? 
Yes, sir; they were all armed. 

1312. With what kind of arms ? 



104 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Revolvers. 

1313. Did they have belts or not ? 

They did, and had revolvers in their belts. 

1314. State if you know where they got their arms. 
I do not know personally. 

1315. Did you see any arms distributed? 
No, sir. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger : 

1316. You state that you told Dr. Dostie, when he said he did not apprehend any trouble, 
what reasons you had that there would be trouble. State what reasons you had to expect 
an attack or any trouble. 

From the very fact that there were two awful crowds, one on each corner flanking the 
building, one on corner of Canal and Dryades, and one on corner of Common and Dryades. 

1317. Crowds of what kind of people? 

Of white men, who I know are hostile to the Republican party, and men who I know were 
fighting in the rebel army against the United States government ; and I know that these men 
would tight against it to-day with the slightest opportunity. 

1318. Did you see any badges of blue ribbon or otherwise worn by anybody that day? 
I saw a great many wearing badges of blue ribbon. 

1319. Did you see anybody who had white handkerchiefs around their necks and arms? 
No, sir ; I did not notice any. 

1320. Did you see any of the police with the bands showing their numbers turned inside out? 
No, sir; I did not take notice of it. 

1321. Did you see any crescents? 
No, sir. 

1322. Were there crowds of citizens on those corners before the police arrived there? 
Yes, sir. 

1323. Were they there before the convention came? 

I was not there until the convention had met ; I was there before the roll was called, but 
this was long before the roll was called. 

1324. Was there any arrangement made by the colored people, as.far as you know, to fight 
for the convention or to fight for anybody ? 

None in the world that I have any knowledge of; that very fact shows that they had no 
idea that there would be any fight or any disturbance. We have a native regiment here that 
was mustered out with their arms, and we could have mustered one thousand muskets if we 
had wanted to fight. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1325. Were you in the procession that day? 
No, sir ; I was not. 

1326. Did you see that procession? 
I did. 

1327. What had those generally in the procession in their hands ? 

I saw to the best of my knowledge three men with walking canes — Dot clubs, but regular 
walking sticks-. I examined them particularly in order to see if they had any means of pro- 
tection. I saw nothing at all to defend themselves with. 

1328. Did you examine into that because you supposed at the time there would be dis- 
turbance 7 

I examined because when one or two of their number were arrested without any resistance 
on their part, I wanted to see if that was the cause. 

1329. Do you think if they had been armed they would not have submitted to that .' 
1 do not think they would. 

133(1. Then if they had been armed they could have successfully defended themselves ? 
Whether it would have been a final success on their part or not they would have attempted 
it, sure. 

1331. Did you not know that some of those in the procession were armed with pistols ? 
No, sir; and from the fact that there was no pistol fired from the procession. 

1332. And you think that if there had been a pistol in the procession it would have been 
fired. 

The insult would have been resented, sure. 

1333. Did you hear any shouting on the part of the procession? 

Yes; after they came up in front of the hall, they shouted, and hurrahed, and made a 
great noise. I, myself, was one of those who took part in stopping the shouting; I did not 
think they had anything to shunt over. 

123 1. Why did you try to prevent them from shouting ? 

For the reason that I did not want to raise any unnecessary excitement. 

1335. Then you thought that their excitement would be calculated to excite the crowd ? 
Just so, sir. 

1336. Do you not think it had that effect ? 



TESTIMONY OF BOYD ROBINSON. 105 

Of course, I believe it Lad a tendency to excite the crowd, and for that reason I took part 
in trying to stop it. 

1337. How did they shont? 
They simply hallooed "hurrah." 

1338. What did the other crowd hurrah for ? 

There was no hurrahing by the other crowd at that time. 

1339. Alter you made your escape from the building, who was it that came over to your 
place ot retreat and tired, as you said ? 

I do not know. Police officers. 

1340. Do you know that they were police officers ? 

They were dressed in the police uniform. I said they shot three men in the yard there ; 
only one was killed dead. 

1341. Were they not persons dressed in police uniform, and not actually belonging to the 
police force ? 

I could not testify to that, from the fact that I am not much acquainted with the police. I 
never have anything to do with them if I can avoid it. 

1342. Were there many shots fired into the windows where the convention sat? 
Yes, a great many. 

134:!. Were you in the convention hall during the firing into the windows, all the time ? 
All the time after the firing commenced. I was about the last man that left the hall. 

1344. Were the windows closed ? 

They were shut down ; they had no blinds, nothing more than the glass. ■ 

1345. But there was no open window in the hall ? 
No, sir. 

1346. How many shots do you suppose were fired through the windows into the hall? 
There were a great many of them ; not less than a hundred shots were fired into the hall 

from both sides of the building, through the windows. 

1347. Were there any shots fired into the hall through the windows in front of the building ? 
No, sir ; they could not fire from the front. 

1348. Were you ever in the confederate army? 

No, sir ; I recruited the first company of colored soldiers for the federal army under General 
1 hitler. 

1349. How long were you in the service ? 

I was never mustered in, on account of my disabilities. 

1350. You lived in the city of New Orleans during the war ? 
Yes; right in the city for the last seventeen years. 

1351. What was your calling during that time? 

Baking. After the fleet came up here I went cooking for one of the captains of thirteenth 
Connecticut regiment. 

1352. How long were you with him ? 
Two months and two weeks. 

1353. Then you were in the city during the whole war? 

Yes, except the time I was at Port Hudson. I was at Port Hudson and Baton Rouge 
about two months. 

1354. On your return from there did you renew your occupation in New Orleans ? 

I returned about the time General Shepley issued a call for two regiments of colored troops, 
expecting an attack from Dick Taylor. I immediately went recruiting and helped reciuit 
the second regiment of colored troops. After that Colonel Plumley raised a regiment and I 
recruited for him. That was the fourteenth regiment. 

1355. Then you were a recruiting officer in New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir; I could not go my'self, on account of my disabilities. 

1356. Did you while you were recruiting pursue your visual avocation of baking? 
No, sir. 

1357. Are you pursuing that occupation now ? 

Yes, sir ; I have been baking ever since I left the hospital. I was hospital steward for a 
time. 



New Orleans, December 26, 1566. 
BOYD ROBINSON sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

1358. State your age, residence, and occupation. 

I am fifty years of age ; I reside in New Orleans ; my occupation has been pretty much all 
my life a police officer. 

1359. How long since you have ceased to be on the police ? 
I think about eighteen months. 

1360. Were you chief of police ? 
I was. 



10G NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

1361. For how long? 

1 was chief of police for some thirteen days I think it was. 

1362. Do you know generally who were on the police on the 30th July ? 
I do not; they are pretty much all strangers to me. 

1363. As to their being in the confederate army I mean. 

I presume that pretty much all of them had been in the confederate army. 

1364. What makes you think so ? 

I have understood that that was the only recommendation on which they could be appointed. 

1365. What knowledge have you about that .' 

I could not say that I have any positive knowledge. I think the men who were on the 
police are the same who were in the confederate arm\ . 

J 366. Have you ever made any application yourself to get on the police while Mayor 
Munroe has been there? 

No, .sir. It would be no use. 

1367. Then you have no personal knowledge of the character of the men who constituted 
the police on the 30th of July? 

No, sir; I have not. I know very few of them. I know that some who returned from 
the confederate army were put on at that time, and are in employ at the present time. 

1368. Were you in the city on the 30th of July 1 
I was. 

1369. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute ? 
I was. 

1370. Were you in the hall? 
I was. 

1371. For how long a time? 
For a short time. 

1372. At about what time? 

I think it was near twelve o'clock. The convention took a recess to bring in absent mem- 
bers. I started from the Mechanics' Institute for the custom-house on a little business. I 
was employed in the custom-house at that time. On my way back I met a man who 
advised me not to go back. He said they were killing every one of the Union people. I 
turned back, and went up Camp street and went home. 

] 373. Did you see anything of the riot ? 

No, sir ; I did not care to go there. 

By Mr. Shell abarger : 

1374. I wish you to state what the general reputation of the police force was on the 30th 
of July, or immediately prior to that time, as to the fact of its being made up of persons 
from ''the confederate army." 

(Question objected to by Mr. Boyer as not proper.) 
(Objection overruled.) 
They were so made up. 

1375. State whether that was generally understood in the city, or whether that reputation 
was coulined to a few. 

Pretty much every one in the city knew it. 

1376. State what the general understanding of the people of this city was at that time as 
to its being practicable, unless the person applying had been in the confederate army. 

It was that a Union man could not get on the police force. 

1377. How was it in regard to anybody who was not in the confederate army getting an 
appointment .' 

They stood a bad chance. That was pretty much the general idea. 

1378. So far as your knowledge does extend of the persons who could get-on the police, I 
wish you to state whether they were or were not confederate soldiers. 

They were. I know several of them who quit the old police to go into the confederate 
army, and when they returned were placed on the police agaiu. 

I should like to make a statement about my own affair. On the night of the 3<ith of July 
I was placed on duty, from the custom-house, in the third district, near to what is called the 
ferry and boat house. Between nine and ten o'clock I was accosted by a custom-houseman, 
who, by-the-by, had been in the confederate army. I saw him come from the Pork market 
towards me. He said, "Let us sit down and have a little conversation." We sat down 
and commenced talking about the custom-house. In a moment a police officer came and sat 
on the left of Buckley. He commenced talking about Governor Halm and what a very 
charitable man he was. I said, "Yes, he was a very charitable man; and so was Dr. 
Dostie." At that time the police officer jumped up and started towards the market. He 
asked Mr. Buckley to go and take a cup of coffee with him. He said he would. He also 
asked me, and I said I would. We went over to the market together. I noticed that the 
policeman passed the coffee-stand, to where two or three other police were standing. I mis- 
trusted then that there was something foul. I stood still, and the first thing I knew was 
that this police officer, whose name was D. Sullivan, returned with a revolver in his hand, 
u Inch he £>oiuted at my head and said, "You are my prisoner." Said I, "Very well. Be 



TESTIMONY OF BOYD ROBINSON. 107 

kind enough to take your hands off of mo, and I will go anywhere with you." He said, 
" No ; 1 will not ;" and I went with him some two blocks to the station-house in the third dis- 
trict. 1 !'• said to me, " You are one of the members of that ( rod damned convention." I said, 
"No; I was nut a member of that convention." He said, "You lie, you son of a hitch;" 
ami with that he struck mo in the head with his club, and struck me in the face, knocking 
my lip through, and knocking - my front teeth out. He admitted afterwards that he had 
pointed his pistol at me, but that the cap snapped and the pistol did not go off. 1 was then 
taken to the watch-house and locked up, and subsequently discharged by the recorder. The 
charge made against me was trying to incite negroes to a riot. There was one special whom 
I spoke to when 1 went on duty. I had to pass him at night, and I thought it was best that 
I should make myself known to him. That was the only negro riot there was, my speaking 
to a special on duty. This policeman told me in the watch-house that it was a very good 
thing he got hold of me that night, otherwise I would have been assassinated ; that there 
were twelve men who were determined to assassinate me. When I came to recollect, I saw 
six men pass me and go down towards the ferry. I saw two men come and stand four or 
five feet from me. I could not imagine what business these men had there at that time of 
the night, and concluded I would take a little walk, which I did, going down by the boat- 
house. I came back five or ten minutes after, but they were gone. It occurred to mo after- 
wards that they were men who intended to assassinate me. This man Sullivan had been an 
inmate of the penitentiary. I suppose he is now on the police. 

1379. On what day were you thus attacked? 

This was on the night of the 31st of July. This custom-house officer said, "They have 
killed about one-half of these God damned sons of bitches, ami the rest ought to be killed.' 
Another man said to me, "Get out, you God damned son of a bitch, you Yankee nigger; 
they ought to have murdered you." 

By the Chairman : 

1380. When did you leave the custom-house, and why did you leave it ' 

I left it because I was afraid to remain there. I was afraid they would assassinate me 
while I was out on duty at night. 

1381. What position does this man Buckley hold ? 
The same office I held — as night inspector. 

1382. Is he there now ? 

I do not know. He was there while I was there. 

1383. You were afraid who would assassinate you ? 

Perhaps those employed in the custom-house. I believed it to he a dangerous place. I be- 
lieve that this man Buckley pointed me out to the police. 

1384. Then you mean to say that because you were a Union man, among custom-house 
officers who -were rebels, your life was not safe. 

Exactly. That is the reason why I quit. I left the custom-house on the 11th of September. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1385. When did you first become connected with the police ? 
About the year 1839. 

1386. Have you always been a police officer from that-time until lately ? 

I have been a lieutenant of police since about 1846, or somewhere along there. 

1387. When were you chief of police in this city; was it during the occupation of General 
Butler ? 

No, sir. I was lieutenant of police during the whole time of General Butler's administra- 
tion. I organized the police under General Butler; and was chief of police thirteen days. 
It was during the present year of 1866. 

] 388. Who appointed you ? 

Mr. Bozier. 

1 389. What position did he hold? 

He was mayor at that time ; appointed by General Sheridan, I believe. 

1390. Did you take an active part in politics .' 

I do not know that I have interfered iu politics much. I have had my share in politics, I 
suppose, the same as any other man who meddles in politics. 

1391. Were you considered one of the supporters of the convention which assembled here 
in July? 

Yes, sir ; I suppose so. At least, I supposed that they considered me so. 
139-2. Were you? 
I was. 

1393. Are yon not a man who express your sentiments and opinions very freely ? 
Yes, sir, I do ; and I believe I have that right. I shall do so as long as I live. 

1394. In doing so you have not much regard for the prejudices of others, who you believe 
to be wrong ? 

1 never interfere with them much. I am very cautious about anything of that kind, 
because I know it is very dangerous for a man to open his mouth about these men. 



108 NEW ORLEANS .RIOTS. 

1395. You have said that you are iu the habit of expressing your sentiments fearlessly and 
independently. 

Yes, sir. 

1396. Have you not done so repeatedly and publicly in this city ? 
Yes, I suppose I have. 

1397. Did you advocate negro suffrage? 
I do not know but what I did. 

1398. Did you advocate taking the right of suffrage from those who had taken part in the 
rebellion ? 

1 did. 

139!). How long have you advocated these doctrines ? 

I have advocated them for a long time. 

1400. Was the occasion you refer to the first difficulty you got into in consequence of the 
opinions you advocate ? 

I do not know ; that was a put-up job on me, I suppose. I dare say that they intended 
to kill me. 

1401. Did you ever meet with any violence before or since on account of your sentiments? 
No, I have not. I have received insults on the streets, and I hear them now every Sun- 
day whenever I meet a drunken gang of people. 

1402. And, when you feel like it, do you not give them back as good as they send ? 

No, sir, I do not, because they are a set of blackguards, and I do not see fit to notice 
them. I walk right along and attend to my business. Last Sunday, while walking on the 
street, I met six of them, and was greeted, "Hello, you God damn Yankee sons of bitches; 
you God damn negro worshippers," Arc. 

1403. Did you organize a police force under General Butler? 

I did, the police force of the first district. In fact, I did duty as chief of police during the 
whole time of General Butler's occupation of the city. Colonel French was the nominal 
chief, but I did the work. Colonel Hopkins also for a portion of the time was chief of police. 

1404. What have you done for the eighteen months that you have been out of the police 
force ? 

I have done nothing. I have lived off my money. I do not suppose I could get anything 
to do here if I wanted it. 

1405. You have been content to remain here without doing anything ? 
I was out west for five or six weeks. 

1406. Are you residing here now ? 
Yes, sir. 

1407. Have you been here since you have been out of the police, except the few weeks 
you speak of? 

I have been here all the time. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

1403. You have been asked whether you were ever assaulted violently for having been in 
favor of negro suffrage and disfranchisement of the rebels, and you have answered you have 
not. Did the persons assaulting you on that occasion say it was because you held these 
doctrines ? 

No ; but I am confident that was the reason. 

1 109. Was it on account of these doctrines, or because you were a Union man? 

Because I was a Union man and in favor of the convention. He said to me, " You damn 
son of a bitch, you are one of the members of that convention," and struck me with a revolver. 

By Mr. Boyer : 
1410. Were the persons to whom you refer as guilty of insults and blackguardism on the 
streets persons of respectability, or those who are termed roughs? 
I do not know ; they are mechanics, I presume. 



New Orleans, December 25, 1866. 
JAMES THOMAS (colored) sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

1411. Where do yon reside? 

I have resided in New Orleans for between seventeen and eighteen years.' 

1412. Were you in New Orleans ou the 30th July last .' 
I was. 

1413. Do you know anything about the police of New Orleans having received orders to 
meet at any certain time or place, on the 30ih July, to receive their arms ? 

Yes, sir. 

1414. State all you know about it. 

I know that the police was preparing ou Friday before the 30th, on Monday. 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES THOMAS. 109 

1415. Preparing for what ? 

Fur the riot. 

141!). What were they doing? 

Getting ready. 

Ml 7. Were they getting their arms on Friday ? 

They were not getting arms exactly, but were receiving orders from the mayor and chief 
of police. All wen.' advised to arm themselves, and all who chose could arm themselves. 
On Sunday evening, at a certain hour, the day police weut off aud the night watchmen came 
on, and they all got their orders that night. 

1418. How do you know that ? 
Because I was there at the City Hall. 

1419. What were you doing? 

I am a messenger, and go pretty much from one station to another. 

1420. What are the duties of messenger? 

To carry messages to the mayor and chief of police, and from them to other officers. 

1421. What were the orders they got? 

For every watchman and policeman to be there at the City Hall at 9 o'clock. 

1422. How do you know that they got these orders? 
I heard the orders given. 

1423. Were they given verbally or in writing? 
The order was given by Chief of Police Adams. 

1424. Who did he get them from ? 
From Mayor Mouroe. 

1425. What were they to assemble the next morning for? 

To prepare for the riot — to arrest everything that was at the Institute. 
] 426. Was there anything said of what that preparation was to be .' 
By obtaining arms. 

1427. Was that said? 

Yes, sir, and I was there when they were armed. 

1428. Was that order communicated to all the police of the city ? 
It was given to all, by the chief of police. 

1429. You have said that Mr. Adams, as chief of police, communicated the orders of the 
mayor to the police; how did he communicate these orders? 

Iu the way they get all their orders. Every night, about 6 or &£ o'clock, the police all 
come into a certain room, called the police station, and there they get their orders. For in- 
stance, if they want to change the beat of a policeman the order is giveu at this time. 

1430. Then the entire police of the city call at one station ? 

Yes, all on the other side of Canal street call at the City Hall to receive instructions. 

1431. Did the police, after receiving that order, assemble at the City Hall on Monday 
morning ? 

Yes, sir, at 9 o'clock. 

1432. Do you know when it was arranged that they would meet on Monday morning at 9 
o'clock ? 

The preparation was made on Friday, but they got their full instructions on Sunday night 
to meet on Monday morning at 9 o'clock to be armed. "When Monday morning came I saw 
three hundred of them stand in Lafayette Square, where they remained until 12 o'clock. I 
then went down to my office, and in a few minutes saw policemen coming dowu iu squads 
of twenty-five ; then 1 had some call over to Canal street, and I saw these squads of twenty- 
five policemen go down Canal street towards the Institute. 

1433. That was after they had been armed ? 
Yes, sir. 

1434. Were you at the City Hall when they met at 9 o'clock to be armed ? 

Yes, sir; it was my business to be there; I am the porter and messenger of the gas-light 
office, on Common street. 

1435. Did you see the arms distributed to the police there? 

No, sir ; they got them in the station. After they were armed they took their stand in the 
square; I did not see them get their arms. 

1436. Do you know who gave out the arms at the station? 
Yes, sir ; Mr. Adams, chief of police. 

1437. Is he in the city now ? 

He is acting as chief of police to-day. 

1438. You say that you saw these squads of police going towards the Institute ; did you 
hear any conversation among the police as they were going, as to what they were going to 
do with these arms that day? 

I did, and that was what kept me from being at the Institute. 

1439. Wh.at did they say as they were going ? 

They said they were going to kill "niggers and Union men." 
144U. Was that the talk of one, or two, or more ? 

That was the constant talk among the crowd ; those that were armed, aud those that were 
not armed. 



110 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

1441. Did they say anything about the convention ? 

Yes; they said they were going 1 to "kill every man in the convention." That was their 
full intention, and that was all that kept me from going there. 

1442. Then you did not go up to the convention? 

No, sir ; I did not go. I kept around the outside to see if these words were going to 
prove true or not. 

1443. How many policemen were there who received these orders, as near as you can 
tell? 

I did not count them, but I think there were upwards of three hundred. 

1444. Did you hear the signal bell rung, or the taps on the bell, given on the day of the 
convention ? 

Yes, sir. 

1445. At what time was the signal bell rung? 

As near as I can recollect, between twelve and one o'clock. 

1446. What was the signal ; a general alarm, or a fire alarm? 

It was a signal given for the firemen to come out and assist the police. If the police 
could not kill all those at the convention they were to disperse them, and those they could 
not kill, the firemen were to kill outside. 

1447. How do you know that? 

I heard a policeman say that on the street, and they carried the plan out very nearly ; and 
not only that, they killed people who were not near there. 

1448. Do you know whether any of the fire companies collected at their engine houses be- 
fore this alarm was given? 

Yes, sir ; I do. 

1449. What company collected before the alarm ? 
Fourteens collected at their house. 

1450. Where is fourteeu's house? 

On Common street; I disremember the number. They turned out at nine o'clock in the 
morning, and there were five other companies that came out, and each was to station himself 
at his post. Fourteen s company passed right before my office, 159 Common street; they all 
went to fourteen's house. 

1451. What time did they pass before your office? 
In the morning between nine and ten o'clock. 

1452. Did you see them yourself? 
Yes, I saw them myself. 

1453. Going there in a company, or just one at a time? 
In a company, just as though they had been at a fire. 

1454. Do you know why they got together 1 

I do not know. When they came out, they came from the station-house, and marched 
around town. I saw them going back to the station-house with a band of music. 

1455. Do you, of your own personal knowledge, know whether any other fire company 
collected at its house before the alarm was given ? 

No, sir, I do not; but after the alarm was given I saw squads from all the companies with 
clubs and sticks, and those that the policemen could not kill with their revolvers, the firemen 
would kill with their clubs and sticks. When policemen shot and wounded people, the fire- 
men would run up and kill them with their sticks. 

1456. Where did you see persons so killed ? 

I saw one killed <m the corner of Gravier and Poydras streets, another at the corner of 
Common and Carondelei streets, and another on Dryades street. 

14.57. Staii' the particulars of the killing of the men. 

I saw one killed at the corner of Gravier and Caroudolet. I saw one of the police have 
him in his bands, and a fireman came up with a stick in his hand as long as this table, struck 
him, and then I saw him fall. I saw another killed with rocks and sticks together at the 
comer of Common and Baronne. 

1458. Had the police hold of him ? 
No, sir. 

1459. What was he doing when the firemen got at him ? 
Running. 

14f>0. Was he a colored man ? 
Yes, sir. 

J Kil. What was his name? 
I do not know. 

1462. Where did they overtake him ? 

When I saw him he was running ; they overtook him on the corner of Common and Ba- 
ronne. 

1463. Which was he struck with first, a stick or a stone? 
A stone. 

1464. Was that stone thrown by a fireman or a policeman ? 
By a fireman. 

1465. How do you know he was not a policeman ? 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES THOMAS. Ill 

Because he did not have on the uniform. 
1466. Where did the stone hit him ? 
On the head, and knocked him down. 
I 167. Did lie fall forwards or backwards ? 
Backwards. 

1468. On the sidewalk or on the street? 

Etighl on the street, just from the curbstone towards the middle of the street. When he 
fell they jumped on him with sticks and clubs. 

1469. More than one? 
Yes, five or six. 

1470. Did he speak or cry out? 
I did not hear him speak. 

147 J. How far away were you ? 

Not more than fifteen steps. I dared not stop, and I ran on. 

1472. Did any one get after you? 

Yes, sir, they did ; but I made my escape, and kept out of the way of the policemen. 

1473. How far was this from the Institute ? 
About one block and a half. 

1474. You have described two cases, now go on and give us the next one. 

I saw another on the corner of Gravier and Dryades streets. Dryades street is the street 
the Institute is on. Gravier is the next street to Common, further up. I saw a white man 
and a colored man there; the white man I do not know. He came up with me, when one 
of the police officers commenced firing. I came along with him because I thought he would 
be a kind of protection to me. When we got to the corner of Gravier and Dryades we saw 
some twenty-five policemen coming up firing at everything they saw. He stopped and 
turned his head around, and, seeing twenty-five policemen coming up Dryades street, he 
broke and ran, and just as he started to run they shot him in the neck, when he fell. 

1475. Do you know his name ? 
No, sir. 

1476. Do you know where he lived ? 
No, sir. 

1477. Do you know whether he is a Union man or not? 
He said he was. 

1473. And you never found out who he was 1 
No, sir. 

1479. How do you know he was shot in the neck ? 
I saw him ; I was standing right by him. 

1480. What did he say? 

He fell, and they carried him right along, with the people beating him. 

1481. What others did you see ? 

I saw one colored man, between Common and Gravier, shot dead. 

1482. Do you know what his name was ? 
No, sir. The police shot him. 

1483. Did you see him fall ? 

I saw him fall. At that time the white man and I were together. It was before the 
white man was shot. He was shot on Dryades street, as we ran towards Gravier. The 
man who shot him was following us. 

1484. As I understand you, you were running together, and saw the negro shot before 
the white man was shot ? 

Yes, sir. 

1485. And the last you saw of the negro he was lying there ? 

Yes : and the last I saw of the white man the police had him ; whether alive or dead I do 
not know. 

1486. Were these four cases all you saw? 

They were all I saw killed. I saw others hurt, but those were all I saw killed. 

1487. Were the police on their beats after 12 o'clock Sunday night ? 

That I cannot tell you. I know they got their orders Sunday night, at 6 o'clock ; but 
whether they remained on their beats after that that night I cannot tell. 

1488. Did you go to bed before 12 o'clock? 
Yes, sir. 

1489. Have. you told all that you saw ? 

All that I saw killed. I saw numbers of them after they were killed. I saw them carried 
around by the cart-load after they were killed. 

1490. How many cart-loads did you see? 

I saw one cart and two drays. I saw the police throw the men crosswise over the dray, 
and then sit on them. And I heard them saying as they went along, " We will give you a 
vote ; vote now, if you want to." 

1491. Do you know whether any of them were alive ? 
There were some of them not quite dead. 

1492. How do you know ? 



112 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

/ 

I saw them moving their hands and their heads as the police sat on them. 

1493. Was the firing going on still ? 

Oh, yes ; some carried away the bodies on drays, while the rest were killing them. 

1494. Did you see any firing into the drays ? 
No, sir ; they were not molested. 

1495. Win) was it that said, " You wanted to vote ; now vote ;" the policemen ordrivers .' 
The police ; and any one who was going past, and who had anything to say, that was all 

the consolation they got. 

1496. Do you know how many negroes were killed altogether .' 
No, sir ; I do not. 

By Mr. Bover : 

1497. What is your occupation ? 

I am porter of the Gas-light Company of the city. 

1498. Did you hear the mayor of New Orleans give any order to the chief of police in 
reference to any preparation to be made on the 30th July ? 

I did, sir. 

1499. When did you hear that order given ? 
The first was on Friday. 

1500. What order was that? Repeat it, as nearly as you remember." 

He gave him orders on Friday to prepare his police for Monday, the 30th. On Saturday 
he gave the chief of police orders to arm them all for Monday, the 30th. 

1501. Who was present when the first order was given besides yourself? 
Several gentlemen. 

1502. *Who were they ? 

I do not know their names personally — only a few of them. 

1503. Give the name of any person you know. 

Mr. Monroe himself and the chief of police were there at the time the order was given. 

1504. AVho else was present? 
We three were all I know. 

15(15. At what time was this on Saturday ? 
Between !1 and 12 o'clock. 

1506. Where did it take place ? 
At the City Hall. 

1507. Do you remember the words the mayor used when he gave the order? If so, re- 
peat them as nearly as you can recollect them. 

I remember he gave it to him in writing mostly; but I heard these words: "Have all 
your police armed as near as possible on Monday, the 30th." 

150rf. You now say a part of the orders given on that day were in writing ? 
Yes, sir. 

1509. Did you see them handed to the chief of police? 
I did. 

1510. By whom? 

By the mayor — from the mayor's hands. 

1511. Do you know what these written orders contained ? 
No, sir ; 1 merely beard what he said. I cannot read writing. 

1512. What is the first name of the chief of police? 
I do not know of any name, except Adams. 

15-13. When the order was given on Sunday evening who were present ? 
The police were present, and the chief of police read the order to them. 

1514. Do you mean to say all the police were present ? 
Yes, sir ; all were present. 

1515. How many? 

Before be had done reading it there must have been'upwards of 300. 

1516. Who read it to them? 
The chief of police. 

1517. Was the mayor present? 

No, sir ; the chief of police had got his instructions from the jnayor, and read them to the 
police ? 

1518. Were the police drawn up to hear the order read ? 

There is a certain room where tho day and night policemen come about that time to re- 
ceive their orders, and just as they came in this order was read to them. 

1519. Were they drawn up in line, or standing about promiscuously ? 
They were drawn up in lino as soon as they came in. 

1520. Was the order read more than once? 

Oh, yes, sir; it was repeatedly read, until every one heard it. 

1521. Was it read each time by the chief of police? 
Yes, sir; every time. 

1522. Was it read each time in your presence? 
Yes, sir ; I heard it every time. 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES THOMAS. 113 

1523. Do you know who has that paper now ? 

1 suppose the chief of police has it ; 1 do no! know of anybody else. 
15*24. Is you heard it read five or six times, state what it contained as near as you can. 
[1 i. 1 about like this: "By order of the mayor and chief of police, you nil are to meet 
here at this office to-morrow at 9 o'clock." 
1525. Was that all > 
That was all 1 heard them say. 

. .'.. Then that tinier contained nothing about arming themselves ! 
No, sir. 

1527. It did not provide for any other persons assembling except the regular police, force ? 
Only the regular police force. < 

1528. When the chief of police read the order, did he accompany it by any remarks to 
the police ' 

He did not at that time. 

1529. There was nothing said about preparing for a riot ? 
Not at that time. 

1530. Nor about the arrest of any persons ? 
Not at that time. 

1531. Nor about getting arms ? 
Yes, sir. 

1532. What was said by the chief of police at that time about getting arms ? 
That they were to get arms. 

1533. Did he so instruct them ? 
Yes, sir. 

1534. You stated that he read a written order without making any remarks of his own. 
You now state differently, and say that he instructed them to arm themselves. 

I am speaking now of the last order 

1535. Upon the occasion of the reading of the order, state whether any instructions were 
given the police to arm themselves. 

I could not tell j'ou whether the order read that way or not ; he said it himself. This was 
the last eider given on the same occasion. The first order he read to the police, backwards 
and forwards as they came in that day. 

153fj. On what day did he read the order ? 

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, three nights in succession. 

1537. Did you hear him read the same order three days in succession? 
Yes, sir; and on Sunday he told them to be there and arm themselves. 

1538. What was the occasion for reading the same order three times to the police ? 
I suppose to have them all to understand it. 

1539. Wals it read to the same police or to different bodies each day? 

Yes, sir ; to the same police. To the night watchmen and clay police, as they came there 
to get their orders. 

1540. When the chief of police told them to arm themselves, did he give any reason for it? 
He told them to prepare for a riot, that there was going to be a black cloud pass that 

day, and he wanted them to be prepared for it; that was what he told them. 

1541. Give me, as near as you can recollect, the very words he used. 

He told them on Sunday night to prepare themselves, and that on Monday, at 12 o'clock, 
there would be a black cloud pass, and he wanted them to be read}'. 
154'J. How many times did he read the order on Sunday evening ? 
I only heard it read once to each portion as they came out. 

1543. Did he accompany the reading with the same words each time ? 
He did as long as I heard him. 

1544. Do you mean that each time he alluded in express words to the black cloud ? 
Yes, sir. 

1545. You say that you were at the City Hall when the police came to be armed ; was it on 
Mond ay 1 

Yes, sir; it was on Monday. • 

1541). At what time on Monday morning ? 

Between 8 and 9 o'clock. They were all armed at 10, the whole 300. 

J 547. Did they get their arms at City Hall ? 

At the office of" chief of police. 

1548. I understood you to say that they came to the City Hall to be arme'd ? 

Yes, sir; the office of chief of police is on one side, and the City Hall on the other; they 
went into the same room that they got their orders in. 

1549. Did you see them get their arms ? 
I saw them come out with arms. 

1550. What arms had they when they came out? 
Pistols. 

1551. Did they carry them in their hands or their belts ? 
Some of them had them in their belts, and some in their hands. 

1552. Did you never see the police of the city armed in this way before? 

8 N. o. 



114 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

No, sir ; not before nor since. 

1553. Did you never see them carry pistols? 

Yes, sir, in their coat-pockets behind. I never saw them carry them in belts and their 
hands before. 

1554. Where did you hear the conversation of which you spoke between two policemen 
in reference to going to the Institute to kill niggers and Union men? 

It was between Common and Canal streets. 

1555. Where did you hear the first conversation of that kind ? 

On the corner of St. Charles and Common, on Monday, going to the riot. I had heard 
before that they were going to do that, but I never heard policemen talk of it before. 

1556. How many policemen were together on that occasion ? „ 
Twenty-five in a squad, 

1557. How many were at the point where the conversation took place ? 
When I heard it, perhaps there were twenty-five there. 

1558. Were they drawn up in line? 

They were marching in line towards the Institute. 

155U. And you heard this conversation as they were inarching along ? 

Yes, sir. 

15(30. How many of them did you hear say so on that occasion ? 

I did not count, but I may say fifty, citizens as well as policemen. 

1561. Do you mean to be understood that on that occasion you heard more than fifty po- 
licemen utter this threat ? 

I do, sir. 

1562. To whom did they address their conversation ? 
To themselves and to citizens as they passed. 

1563. Were you marching along with them ? 

No. sir; I was standing out of the way, and endeavoring to keep out of the way. 

1564. Did they pass by slowly or rapidly ? 

Very slowly, in order to let as many as possible get to the Institute before their arrival. 

1565. Were they moving all the time, or did they pause occasionally? 

They stopped at the corners in order to allow as many as possible get to the Institute be- 
fore they surrounded the building. I heard policemen and citizens making these remarks. 

1566. You merely allowed them to pass by without following them? 

yes, sir ; I was afraid to follow them. 

1567. And you heard all this as they were passing by? 

1 did. 

1568. What did you hear the policemen say ? ■ 

That they wanted to let the time pass, to allow as°many as possible get to the Institute. 

1569. How many ? 
Twenty or forty. 

1570. That, too, was on the same occasion as they were marching by ? 
Yes, sir. 

1571. Did they address that remark to each other? 
Yes, sir, police and citizens. 

1572. flow far was that detachment of police at that time from the Institute? 
Only about four blocks. 

157:;. Were they marching in that direction? 
In that direction. 

1574. Did you follow them afterwards ? 
No, sir, I did not, but I passed them. 

1575. Was it upon the same occasion on which they were marching, passing you by as 
you were standing on the corners of the streets, you heard them say, "those they could not 
kill the firemen would take ?" 

It was. 

157(5. How many of them did you hear make that remark as you passed by / 
In the wiiole crowd I suppose over fifty. That was the general talk that day. 
157 7. Did you hear any other policeman, on any other occasion than that, speak about 
their going to kill negroes and Union men? 

All that I heard speak that day spoke upon the same principle. 

1578. How many did you hear make these remarks besides the fifty policemen you spoke of? 

I suppose every squad of police 1 saw said the same thing. 

157 ( J. How many squads of police did you see that day ? 

I saw seven. 

1580. Did you hear each one speak the same thing? 

All that I heard speak spoke pretty much the same thing. Some of them were so far off 
1 was not in speech of them. 

1581. But whenever you heard them, all in the squad said the same thing. 
Yes, sir, whenever I heard them speak. 

1582. Where were you when you heard the others speak ? 
As I wa°! going to my dinner and going to my business. 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES THOMAS. 115 

1583. Did you stop to talk to them ? 

No, sir. 

1584; When you met a squad of policemen did you walk along with it ? 

No, sir; I gave them the middle of the street until I passed them. 

1585. You did not stay with them longer than you could help ? 
No, sir. 

1586. On that day how many companies of firemen did you see on the streets ? 
I did not recognize any company in particular — only Fourteen's. 

1587. Then you did not see firemen belonging to any other company, that day, except 
Fourteen's ! 

I did nut see all of that company. 

1588. How many of that company djd you see ? 
About twelve. 

1589. Where were they going? 

They were just in squads, scattered about with the police. 

1590. How many of them did you see together at any one time? 

In the morning, before the fuss took place, I saw about twenty-five. 

1591. Did you not just say that you had only seen twelve members of that company on 
that day? 

They were in squads when the fight was going on, but in the morning when the fight was 
going on I saw about twenty-five. 

1592. And afterwards, just before, and during the disturbance, you did not see more than 
twelve together at any one time ? 

No, sir ; they were scattered about among the policemen and among themselves. 
159'.?. Then they did not seem to be acting in concert among themselves, but were scat- 
tered jn the crowd ? 
Yes, sir. 

1594. And you saw upon that occasion no other fire company assembled ? 
Not to my knowledge. 

1595. Did you pass the engine-house of company Fourteen that day? 
I did. 

1 596. Did you see any of the members there ? 
I did. 

1597. Did you see any of the police there ? 
No, sir. 

1598. You say you saw firemen kill men with sticks ; how many were together when that 
was done ? . 

Three. 

1599. Did you see firemen strike more than one man ? 

I saw them strike and kill one, and they were striking another, when I got out of the way. 

1600. How did you recognize them to be firemen? 
By their hats. 

1601. State whether the man you saw attacked at the comer of Gravier and Carondelet 
was attacked by firemen. 

The police had him, and the firemen were killing him with sticks. 

1602. How many firemen were there at the time ? 
Two. 

1603. How many struck him ? 
Both. 

1604. Did the policemen strike him ? 

Not in my presence ; they were dragging him along and the firemen were beating him. 

1605. State whether the man you saw attacked at the corner of Common and Baronne was 
attacked by firemen or others . 

He was running at the time I saw him and the firemen were after him. 

1606. How many ? 

Three firemen and a great many others. 

1607. Did you see anybody but firemen strike him ? 
Nobody struck him but the firemen. 

1608. State whether any fireman attacked the man on the corner of Gravier and Dryades 
of whom you spoke ? 

The firemen were running after the colored man when the police shot him. He fell imme- 
diately on being shot. 

1609. Were you hurt on that day ? 
No, sir. 

1610. Were you attacked by anybody ? 
Yes, sir. 

1611. By whom? 

By outsiders, not by the police, for I kept out of their way. I had heard their conversa 
tion ; I knew they were armed, and I kept entirely out of the way. 

1612. How did you manage, when you were attacked, to escape unhurt ? 



11(3 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

Because the people who attacked me were not armed ; they were just going about raising 
a row. 

1613. Did you defend yourself or run? 
I ran. 

1614. Did you see anything afterwards ? 
Yes, sir. 

1615. Then you went back to where the riot was? 

I did not go back that way. It did not all occur on one street ; it occurred all over town 
even up as Far as the new basin it was going on. 

1616. And yon were in the midst of it, as it were, all day? 
Yes, most all day. 

1617. Were you attacked more than once? 

Yes, several times ; but by people who were not arflrao. 

1618. Why after the first attack did you not keep away ? 

I did keep out of that crowd, and I thought I was safe until I got into another one. I tried 
to keep out of the way of the police or firemen. 

1618^. Why did you not keep out of that neighborhood altogether ? 
I am a porter, and have to go wherever a message may carry me. 
161'J. By whom were you sent with messages on that day? 
By the president, treasurer, and book-keeper of the Gas-light Compauy. 

1620. Could not you have avoided the neighborhood where the disturbance was by going 
around it ? 

Sometimes I could and sometimes I could not, as my business carried me into it. Some- 
times I would see the police rushing out, and I would go as far in that direction as I could 
without getting into danger, to see what they were doing. 

1621. Then you might have performed your duties without being as much in the disturbance 
as you were ? 

Yes, sir ; but my business carried me there a great deal. 

1622. Did you get so much as a scratch on your person that day? 
No, sir ; because I did not go close enough to get any. 

1623. You say you saw one cart-load and two dray-loads of dead and wounded on that 
day ; was there a full load in the cart? 

There appeared to be some seven or eight, and on the dray some five or six. 

1624. Were these seven or eight in the cart dead or wounded ? 

They were all dead except one, and he was so much wounded that he could scarcely hold 
up his head. 

1625. How close were you to the cart ? 

I was at that time in the gallery of the gas office, and the cart passed right underneath. 

1626. Was the disturbance going on at that time ? 
Yes, sir. 

1627. How far from the Institute did you see that cart ? 

They took up one cart-load at the corner of Dryades and Common streets, and passed right 
along Common street. 

1628. You said they were piled crossways and the police were sitting on them. How many 
police were sitting on them ? 

One on each dray, sitting right on a man. 
1621). Sitting on a wounded or a dead man ? 
A dead man. 

1630. Do you know the policemen? 

I only know that they were police. I do not know their names. 

1631. Could you point one of them out were you to see them .' 

I COllld. 

1632. Have you seen them since ? 
Yes ; I have often seen them since. 

1633. Were those lying on the dray colored or white men? 
Colored men all of them. 

1634. Where were they taking them to ? 
To the City Hall. 

1635. Did the drays pass close by you ? 
Yes, sir. 

1636. Did the cart and drays pass along about the same time? 
About half an hour's difference between them. 

1637. Were you standing in the same place all the time ? 

No, sir ; 1 was at one place when two loads passed ; when the last load passed I was on 
Gravier street, which was about three o'clock. 

1638. You say that the carts were passing and the killing done at the same time; were 
you near enough to see that going on .' 

Oh, yes, sir. 

1639. Were you iu the street or on the balcony of your office 1 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES THOMAS. 117 

A part of the time on the street, and a part of the time on the gallery, until it got so bad 
that I did not go out any more. 

1640. Then you were' either on the gallery or on the street almost all the time that the 
disturbance was going on? 

Yes, sir ; very near it. 

1641. Were you in the convention that day? 
No, sir. 

1642. When you heard the conversation taking place, as you have stated in relation to 
what was to happen on the assembling of the convention, did you warn anybody ? 

I did ; all that I saw. 

1643. Who did you warn? 

I warned white and colored people. 

16 14. Can you name any of them? 

Yes, sir; I can name four colored people, and I could name as many as half a dozen 
white people. 

1645. Did you mention it to any of the members of the convention ? 

No, sir : I was afraid to go there. I did not know if I got in there how I would go out. 
I was afraid to go to the convention. 

L646. Did there appear to be any attempt on the part of the chief of police or of any of his 
officers to conceal anything from you while you were about as messenger 1 

No, sir. 

1047. Everthing was done openly. 

Yes, sir ; because I would not get in speech of them only at times ; then I could not help it. 

1648. Were you in any way connected with the mayor's office or the office of the chief of 
police 1 

Only in carrying messages. 

1641). Do you carry messages for them or to them ? 

To them and from them ; backwards and forwards. 

1650. Who are you employers ? Who pays you your wages ? 
The Gas-light Company. 

1651. How comes it, if you are the messenger of the Gas-light Company, that you are so 
much about the chief of police's office ? 

Carrying notes and messages, that is the porter's business. The city authorities have con- 
trol of ihe gas. We furnish the city with gas. When there is to be any extension of the gas- 
pipes, or anything of that kind, it has to pass through the city council, and they write back- 
wards and forwards. We receive our pay every month for the gas the city consumes, and I 
have to carry the bills and go after them when they were approved. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

1652. What was it that took you there on Friday night, when you heard these orders read? 
I had to go there to carry a note to the board of aldermen. It was some note that had to be 

approved by them, and I was to await for answer from the president of the board of aldermen. 

1653. How did you happen to be there Saturday night ? 

I went there to get an answer to the same note I brought there on Friday night. On Sun- 
day night I was there to see one of the men who belongs there — a colored man. 

1654. What was the name of that colored man ? 
Texas. 

1655. At what time was it on Sunday evening that you were there ? 
At six o'clock or a little after. 

1656. Are you still in the employ of the Gas-light Company? 
Yes, sir. 

By the Chairman : 

1657. State what you saw of people wearing badges that day, blue ribbons, &c. 
I never saw anything of that. 

1658. Did you see any persons having white handkerchiefs tied around their necks? 
Yes, sir; I saw that. 

1659. How many did you see wearing white handkerchiefs ? 
I saw a great many. 

1660. Did you see citizens wearing blue ribbons? 
No, sir ; not to my knowledge. 

1 66 1 . You spoke of policemen surrounding the Institute. Were they placed in squads ? 
They were a block off. They blockaded the street, and surrounded the block entirely. 

Then there were so many to stand right before the Institute door. 

1662. Of about how many of the different squads ? 

Forty or fifty, or perhaps more. The street was completely blockaded. 

1663. You have stated that you heard forty or fifty policemen saying certain things, and 
that there were twenty-five policemen in a squad. I wish you to explain whether these forty 
or fifty of whom you speak were in one squad. 

I heard every squad pretty much say the same thing. 



118 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

1664. Then when you say forty or fifty said they were going to kill Union men and negroes, 
do you mean to say that there were that many persons in that squad who said it ? 

I do not doubt but what there was ; there was a great crowd, and it was the general cry 
all day. 

166-3. The point I want to get at is this: Whether you heard all this said by a squad of 
twenty-five policemen ? 

I heard it every time I saw a squad. 

1666. How do you make forty or fifty speaking that way in a squad of twenty-five ? 

Outsiders and everybody came in and were talking this way. 



New Orleans, La., December 22, 1866. 
' EUGENEE STAES sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

1667. What is your age ? 
Forty. < 

1668. Where do you live ? 

I have lived in New Orleans all my life. 

1669. What is your occupation ? 
I am a clerk. 

1670. Were you in the city on the ^Oth of July last ? 
I was, sir. 

1671. Were you in the Mechanics' Institute ? 
Yes, sir. 

1672. At what time in the morning did you go there 1 
About twelve. 

1673. When did you leave ? 

About half past one or a quarter to two. 

1674. Were you a member of the convention 1 
No, sir. 

1675. What took you there ? 

I went there to witness the proceedings. 

1676. State what took place while you were there. 

About half past one I heard the report of a pistol in the direction of Canal street, and some 
time after, perhaps five or ten minutes, I heard yells and the reports of several pistol shots. 
I went to one of the windows of the hall and looked out, and I saw many negroes rushing 
towards the hall, and police officers pursuing them, with pistols in their hands, shooting 
them, yelling and crying, "Shoot them all," "Kill them all," &c. AVhile I was at the 
window several shuts were fired from the outside through the windows. I went towards the 
middle of the room, and then I looked towards Common street, through the windows ; there 
I saw police officers running through Common street towards the building, with pistols in 
their hands, yellmg and firing. Several shots were fired at the window's. I went back into 
the room, and then a rush came from the outside, and a great many negroes were coming 
into the room and closing the door. They were pursued, but the doors were fastened. There 
was great noise, and yells, and shouting, hurrahing for .left'. Davis, with cries of "Kill them 
all;" "Shoot them all;" " Set fire to the building ;" "Don't let one of them escape;" "They 
are all damned rascals, kill them all.'' The excitement outside was terrible. Now and then 1 
looked through the windows, and saw the citizens and policemen were mixed up together, 
yelling and firing, until we heard " Here they come, here they come;" and they were 
entering the hall; the doors were burst open, and then appeared a gang of police officers 
armed with pistols, ami then they began shooting into the room. I saw there was no escape, 
and in fact it was not possible to escape by the entrance ; the stairs were guarded by police 
officers, and no one could get out. I went 'to the last window of the hall, on the right hand side, 
and looked out, and there I saw a little house, one of the outbuildings of the Medical College, 
the roof of which is, I suppose, about twenty-five or thirty feet from the window, and I made 
Tip my mind to try and escape from that window. I prepared to jump; and, as I was there, 
I noticed that the fence that separates the Mechanics' Institute from the Medical College was 
lined with police officers all along, shooting in the direction of the building. At that moment 
I saw several men drop from the windows, and as they were dropping they were shot at; 
and when I appeared at the window, there were perhaps twenty or thirty shots — a volley at 
any rate — fired at me. I jumped on the roof of the house, and as I was there several shots 
were fired at me. I had time to place myself behind a chimney, and I suppose that saved 
me. I looked around, and could see that the policemen behind the fence were shooting con- 
tinually. I saw several negroes jump from the down-stair windows, and at the same moment 
were fired at. I saw that it was possible for me to reach the trunk store on Baronne street, 
and I made another jump into the yard ; then I found that I had sprained my foot, and could 



TESTIMONY OF L. J. P. CArLA. 119 

hardly walk, but I managed to aTrive at the store. As I reached it, I saw a hand of police- 
men reach it at the same time, and 1 placed myself" near the wall to let tliem pass, and while 
there 1 heard several shots tired. I crossed the street and went into the office of the Baronne- 
Btreet cars, and regained there until I found a chance to leave, in something like about 
three-quarters of an hour afterwards. During' that time they were firing - . 

1677. Could you see whether any persons were killed? 

I saw two or three negroes killed as I came out. As I passed on Canal street- I saw sev- 
eral more lying there on the banquette, and on Phillipi street I took the cars and went home. 

1678. How general were the cries of " Hurrah for Jeff. Davis" that you heard? 
I heard it several times. 

1679. When it was done, how many persons united in it? 

A fair number ; a great man}'. It was almost unanimous among those that were there. 

1680. Did you see any attack made or any violence used by the negroes themselves ? 

No, sir; they were asking pardon ; they were begging for their lives ; they did all they 
could to beg off. 

1681. Who beside the policemen did you see, if any, using arms ? 
I saw several citizens. 

1682. Did you observe any badges upon them, ribbons or medals ? 

I could not see that from the place where I was ; but afterwards, when I was going, I saw 
several badges ; on my way from Baronue street to the cars I saw several badges — different 
kinds. 

1683. What were they? 

I saw some with a blue ribbon, and some with a crescent and star. 

368-1. Did you see any negroes shot while they were begging? 

No, sir. The only shooting that I saw was indiscriminately in the room ; I saw them 
falling in the street, as I could have a chance to peep from the windows ; I saw several fall. 
In the room they begged, went to the door and begged, and said "For God's sake, don't 
shoot us ; we've done no harm, don't shoot us." 

1G35. What replies would be made? 

Cursing and shooting. 

1686. While you were in the hall of the convention did you see any preparation by those 
in the hall to defend themselves by arms ? 

No, sir ; not at all. 

1687. When the doors were opened by the police, what was said before they fired ? 
The rush was made by the police and they immediately began firing. 

1688. Is there anything else you know of to throw light upon the occurrences of the day ? 
I have stated all I personally know. 

1889. Do you know anything with regard to this matter being preconcerted ' 
The evidence itself shows that it was ; the alarm being given, the police on hand, the 
attitude of the citizens and people; it could not have taken place if it had not been a pre- 
concerted thing. 

1690. You speak of the alarm ; what alarm do you refer to 1 

The alarm is a signal which is given by the telegraph to call the citizens whenever it is 
deemed by the authorities that their presence is necessary to arm themselves. 

1691. What is the signal? 

It is a certain number of strokes on the bell. 

1692. Did you hear that alarm ? 
Yes, sir. 

1693. Did you see any firemen out after that ? 
After I left I saw several. 

1694. With or without their engine ? 
Without their engine. 

1895. Did you see any engine ? 
No, sir. 

1696. Was anybody wounded that you know of, except the members of the convention, 
or those who were friendly to it? 

I know a great many persons who were wounded ; friendly or not, I could not say. 

1697. Were there any killed or wounded, to your knowledge, who were unfriendly? 
None, sir : and I do not believe there was a single one. 



New Orleans, La., December 24, 1866. 
L. J. P. CAPLA (colored slightly) sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

1698. State your name, and where you reside. 
L. J. P. Capla ; I reside in this city. 

1699. How long have you lived here? 

I was born and raised here ; my father w r as one of the fighters of 1815. 



120 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

17-00. Were you here ou the 30th of July last f 

Yes, sir; just before, I was in the parish of St. Amanie, forty miles back, and I came here 
to see this convention. I arrived here on the 29th of July. 

1701. Were you a member of the convention ? « 

No, sir. 

1703. Did you see any of the disturbances which occurred on that day.' 
Yes, sir. 

1703. State, in your own way, all that you know about these disturbances. 

I was standing upon the west side of the Mechanics' Institute, about half past twelve 
o'clock, when they began to shoot the people ; I saw policemen tiring, and shooting the 
black people; they were shooting poor laboring men, men with their tin buckets in their 
hands, and even old men walking with sticks. Although they prayed, "For God's sake, 
don't shoot us !" they shot them, and when they done that, they tramped upon them, and 
mashed their heads with their boots, and shot them after they were down. I was at the door 
of the Mechanics' Institute, and I saw policemen kill the people in this way, and I began to 
get uneasy when they began to fire upon the Institute, for the balls were coming in every 
way through the windows. 

1704. Where were you at that time? 

I was in the Institute, and heard Doctor Dostie say, " Keep quiet ; we have here the em- 
blem of the United States, and we will be protected by that emblem ; they cannot tire upon 
us when we have this emblem ; we desire to do no harm, and if they want to arrest us, they 
may do it." But they came in and fired upon us although he took up the flag of the United 
States, it was not respected, for they continued to tire. Then those who were inside took out 
white handkerchiefs and waved them ; but these they did not respect, but still fired upon 
us, and I saw the people fall like flies. Then I took my son, who was with me, and we ran 
out at the door among the policemen, who fired at us ; and when we got down the stairs 
they got upon us, and if I was not killed quite, it was because God did not want me to be 
killed ; but my sou was separated from me, and left on the banquette for dead. When the 
policemen broke into the hall, they did not respect the United States flag, but they cried, 
" Damn that dirty rag ;" we'll have nothing to do with it ;" and, "No quarter." 

1705. Who said that ? 

It was the policemen who said that. I looked for the number of the policeman, but his 
number was turned back, and I could not see it; but he called the United States flag a 
"dirty rag." Hundreds of gentlemen, who dare not tell a lie, will say the same. 1 saw the 
policemen fire, and when their pistols were unloaded they would take them to citizens for 
others that were loaded, so that they could fire quick. There was a colonel standing on the 
balcony in front of the Institute, on the other side of the street, and he staid there during all 
the time of the actiou. I said to myself, I must go and get arms to protect myself; that was 
my first idea. 

By Mr. Bovi.r : 

1706. Did that officer you spoke of interfere in any way? * 
No, sir ; he was standing all the time on that balcony. 

By the Chairman: 

1707. Where is your son ? , 
There he is upon that sofa, [pointing to his son, who sat upon the sofa.] 

1708. State how he was wounded. 

It was when we came out of the door of the Mechanics' Institute. He has lost one eye, 
his right eye, when he was shot with a bullet. He has four bullet wounds on his head, and 
three stabs. He is sixteen years of age. 

17(1'.*. How was it done'.' 

He came with me from mere curiosity, to see the convention, and when Ave were coming 
out they fell upon us without any pity. I was dragged up to the calaboose and miserably 
maltreated ; my head was broken and my leg injured, and I was shot in the side, but it was 
by a spent ball. The wound became black a few days afterwards. I was badly treated in 
the calaboose. When the military got possession, I had to furnish bail, and was allowed to 
go out. I am well known here, but they maltreated me merely for my opinion. I was the 
first man to have General Butler at my house, when he would probably have been murdered. 
You will find that in the testimony given before the military commission When Magruder 
was marching upon this city, 1 raised a. company in twenty-tour hours. My store was taken 
for a recruiting bureau by the confederates, and I probably did not sell a pair of shoes in 
this city for six months, and all for my opinions. 

1710. Were you taken direct from the hall to the calaboose? 
Yes, sir. 

1711. How long did you stay there? 

Till about nine o'clock at night, when the military came and took us out. Ibelieve if the 
military had not come they would have hung every one of us ; that I heard them say. 



TESTIMONY OF L. J. P. CAPLA. 121 

By Mr. Boyer: 

1712. 'Whom did you hear make that proposal .' 

I do not know who it came from, but I heard it in the room; they said, " We'll fix them 
this night ; we'll hang every damned son of them, right opposite the City Hall." If, gentle- 
men, you want to know the spirit of these people, you have but to take your troops away, 
and you will find out that the northern men cannot live here ; they will have to leave in iu- 
ture; and if a southern man came here, who was a Union man, he could not live here. I 
am a Creole ; I know these people ; I know how they hate these " damn Yankees." 

By the Chairman: 

1713. Say whether you saw any colored people on that day attack other folks ? 

No, sir; because they had no arms. If we had had arms, I would have been the first to 
defend myself. 

1714. Did you hear any threats made towards members of the convention ? 

I heard them say, myself, "These Yankees that they seud down here we must kill" — that 
is, northern people. 

1715. Who said that? 
The policemen. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1716. Which of them said that? 

I do not know ; I did not even see their numbers, but I know myself that they were po- 
licemen. Some of them were special policemen; they were rebels, know-nothings, and 
great rascals. It was this class that joined the police — and the firemen took a great share 
in this affair. 

1717. State anything else you saw. 

There were even women that had weapons to kill the negroes with. 

1718. Did you hear any threats of any kind? 

Yes, sir; all the way along I heard some women call out, " Those dirty Yankees, and 
those northern men that were sent down here to destroy us, and those niggers — mmder and 
kill them ; don't let one of them get away." 

1719. What kind of people used those threats ? 

I heard threats of this kind from well-dressed people, as well as from the very low class ; 
but they were all southern people, and a great part of them were Frenchmen too. 

1720. From all you saw, are you prepared to state that the colored people would have 
made any disturbance if they had not been attacked 1 

O, no, sir ; at no time. 

1721. What kind of persons composed this police force ? 

This police force is composed of the worst kind of men generally ; they have among them 
assassins and know-nothings, that kill people like dogs. I have seen them shoot at people 
like birds in the fields. These were the kind of men that mostly joined the police, but since 
that disturbance many of them have been sent away, and since that they have made the 
Creoles and a better class of people come into the police force, for there are many such 
who were slaveholders that were ruined by the war. 

1722. Have you told us all that occurred that yousaw ? 
Yes, sir ; that is about all. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

1723. Do you live in the city? 

Yes, sir; I have kept store here for twenty-nine years. I am a merchant. 

1724. Are the people of Louisiana more in favor of the government of the United States 
now than they were during the war ? 

No, sir ; they will have nothing to do with the United States, never. 

1725. How do you know that ? 

Because I know their sentiments. I hear such sentiments expressed every day. They 
will never be reconciled to the government of the United States. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1726. Do you mean for us to understand that you are informed as to the sentiments of the 
people throughout the State ? 

I know that I am in favor of the United States, and I know they are not of the same opin- 
ion with me. I know their sentiments, and I know I have a gre^t many enemies among 
that people. 

1727. Since the war have you held much communication with the people throughout the 
State, or has your intercourse been confined to the citizens of New Orleans ? 

I mean to tell you, sir, that there is not one inch of ground in Louisiana that is loyal to 
the United States ; and they teach their children to be disloyal in the school-books they use. 

1728. That is not answering my question. I will put the question again : are you ac- 
quainted with, and have you the means of knowing, the sentiments of the people of the 
State of Louisiana ? 



122 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Yes, sir. 

1729. Have you visited all parts of the State since the war ? 
No, sir. 

1730. What parts have you visited ? 
St. Amanie parish. 

1731. Auy other? 
Not since the war. 

1732. But there are other parishes, are there not ? 
Plenty. 

1733. How many ? 
I do notjknow. 

1734. And you have visited but onejluring[the'war 1 
Only one. 

1735. Then when you speak of the sentiments of the people it is only in reference to the 
state of feeling in New Orleans and the one parish you speak of? 

Yes, sir. 

1736. How often since the war have you visited the parish you speak of? 
Only once. 

1737. How long did you remain there at that time? 

I was there some time, and I came here on purpose to visit this convention, and I have 
been here since. 

1733. What you have given us, then, is your opinion, based upon your intercoupe with 
the people in these two places. 

Yes, sir. 

1739. Do you mean to say that there are no loyal citizpns in the city of New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir ; there may be, but they are few ; and I believe that those who are loyal are 

good loyal ones, for a great many that pretended to be loyal went back to their party. 

1740. Do you infer that they are not loyal from the fact of their being in the confederate 
army ? 

A man that has been in the confederate, army, I don't believe in him ; but I have other 
reasons : what I understand to be loyal is doing the work that I have done during the war. 

1741. How? 

I lost all popularity and all friendship ; the rebels would have nothing to do with me — 
they would not trust me. 

1742. And those who have been rebels you would not trust now ? 
No, sir ; because if they had a chance they would be rebels again. 

1743. Do you think it possible for you to know that ? 
I hear such talk from them every day. 

J 744. Please to give me the names of those citizens of New Orleans whom, since the war, 
you have heard utter sentiments of disloyalty and opposition to the government of the United 
States. 

I do not recollect the names of all. I recollect a few who have said " We must submit till 
we come into our property again," or "We must do so because we want to work to earn our 
living ; " one was named Dereuco ; he has come back from the war, and has his property back ; 
I heard him say "I have to do so because I want my things back." 

1745. Who else did you hear say anything like that? 

Plenty of those who were in the rebellion ; some of them are now in the police ; they said 
"We must go into the police, because we want some work to live." 

174(j. At this time you cannot give us the names of any ? 

No, sir. 

1747. Do you recollect that you heard any one who was not a police officer say so ? 
I remember one named Bucksay. 

1748. Where does he live ? 

I do not know. I do not associate with him. 

1749. Can you name any others ? 
One was named Billy Tayer. 

J 750. What did he say? t 

He said, " If I put this uniform on it is because I am in need, otherwise I never would 
do it." 

1751. Are these all you can name? 
Yes, sir. 

1752. You alluded to the school-books used by the children in this city. I understood you 
to say they taught rebellion. Describe the books you refer to, and in what respects they 
teach rebellion ? 

I have seen children coming from school by my store, and, pointing to their books, they 
would say, "That's our flag;" I would say, "Where is your flag, sonny;" but they would 
point into their books, and when I looked I saw it was not our flag. 

1753. Where did you see the flag? 
Marked in pencil in the book. 



TESTIMONY OF FORTUNE LECLERC. 123 

1754. Ton mean to say that you saw a confederate flag marked in pencil on the books of 
some of the scholars. 

Yes, sir. 

IT.")."). I want to know how you wish us to understand that the school-books in New Orleans 
teach rebellion : yon say now it was because you saw a confederate flag in pencil upon some 
of the school-books? 

I saw them point to that flag- in their book, and I said "Who told you that?" And the 
reply was, " They teach us to make that flag - .'' 

1756. How old was the child who said that .' 

A little boy, eight or nine years old. 

I?.")?. Do you know his name? 

No, sir. 

1758. Is that the only case of that kind you know ? 
Yes, sir. 

1759. Have you any other reason for thinking; that the school-books in this city teach 
rebellion ? 

I have always heard that they do, but have no other personal knowledge. 

1760. You said that in the crowd, amongst those who made threats upon the day of the 
riot, you saw some persons well dressed. 

Yes, sir; that was when they dragged me to the calaboose, when they said "Hang him, 
hang him ;" they said " There's one of them that went to the convention to get his tights, 
we'llB'ive them their rights; hang him, hang him." 

1761. Do you know any of these people who were well dressed? * 
No, sir. 

1762. And you do not know to what class of people they belonged ? 

Some seemed to belong to a very decent class, and some to a very low class ; but when 
you have revolvers pointed at your head, and they are dragging you to the calaboose, and 
beating you with clubs, and kicking you in the backside, I think you would not notice who 
it was saying " Hang him, hang hint." That is, sir, how I was treated. I was badly treated 
by decent and by ill-dressed people. 

176:!. You say that the police force has been changed since the day of the riot ? 
, Yes, sir; I so understand. I do not know the policemen; I heard they were changed; 
they are not the same ones in the police force now, but there are some of the same sort left. 
Most of those who were at the riot were changed or have left the place. Many came on that 
day on purpose to join that crowd. 



New Orleans, December 25, 1866.' 
FORTUNE LECLERC (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

1764. "Where do you live? 

I live in New Orleans, and have lived here for three years ; before that I lived in Baton 
Rouge. 

1765. Were you in New r Orleans on the 30th July last ? 
I was. 

1766. Did you see any acts of violence or disturbance on that day? 
Yes, sir. 

1767. State, if you please, what you saw on that day? 

I saw Manuel Kohn, a schoolmaster, in a buggy, wounded. I saw one of the officers stop 
the buggy ; then the firemen came and said to the policeman." Here is one of the fellows," 
when they dragged him out of the buggy, and as they dragged him out of the buggy one of 
them struck him ou the head with a stick ; two of them then took him and drove him to the 
jail. 

1768. Did the police have him under arrest ? 

He was in there by himself; nobody was with him but the coachman? 
176L). Was he a colored or a white man ? 
He was a colored man. 

1770. Which way was he going ? 

He was going down Dauphin street. They were right in front of my father's cigar shop. 

1771. How many policemen had him when they took him off? 

There was a whole crowd going down ; I don't know how many there were. There was 
a lot of them. 

177J. How far is it from your store to the Mechanics' Institute ? 
About ten blocks. 

1773. About what time in the day did this occur? 
I do not remember what time it was. 

1774. Do you remember the alarm that day by the taps on the bell ? 



124 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

No, sir, I do not remember hearing that. 

177f>. At what time did you take your dinner ? 

At 3 o'clock. 

1775|. Can you tell bow long 1 this was before dinner ? 

I cannot tell how long this was before dinner. 

1776. Did you remain in your shop all day, or were you out on the street ? 

I kept in the shop awhile, but we saw policemen come around there, and we shut up the 
shop. I went through the yard and came out of the gate and stood before the door. 

1777. How long did you stand before the door? 

I stood awhile after they struck that man, when my aunt made me come in. 

1778. What else did you see? 

Nothing, only they took some money out of the coachman's pocket, and then told him to 
go, when one of the officers jumped into the buggy and drove on. 

1779. Was the coachman colored too ? 
Yes, sir, a black mac. 

1780. And where they went you do not know ? 
No, sir, I do not know exactly. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1781. How old are you ? 

I do not know my age exactly ; I believe I am about eighteen years old. 

1782. Did you see this occurrence you speak of yourself? 
Yes, I saw when they took the man out of the buggy myself. 

By Mr. SlIELLARARGER : 

1783. How badly was the man hurt before they took him out of the buggy? Was he sit 
ting up lying down ? 

I do not know ; I saw them taking him out. 

1784. How do you know that he was wounded ? 
I saw the blood on his face. 

1785. What effect had the blow you saw struck — did it hurt him ? 
I do not know ; I heard him holloo. 



New Orleans, December 25, 1866. 
CHARLES W. GIBBONS (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

1786. State where you live. 

290 Gravier street, New Orleans ; I have lived here ever since I was born ; I am about 
twenty-eight years of age. 

1787. Were you in the city on the 30th of July last ? 
I was. 

1788. Did you witness any of the disorders on that day ? 
I did. 

1789. State, beginning in the morning and going through the day, all that you saw and 
heard in connection with the riot. 

On the evening of Friday previous to the riot there was a man by the name of Tasspot 
who went to the meeting, and fell dead there. We were invited on Sunday to go to hia 
funeral, which was on the Sunday evening previous to the riot. When on the corner of Cus- 
tom-house street I stepped into, a little grocery, and overheard two policemen talking. I 
heard one of them say, " By God, we are going to hang Dostie and Habn." The other po- 
liceman said, "Do you think so ?" The first one said, " Yes, we are going to shoot down all 
these God damned niggers." I think the numbers of these policemen were 41 and 42; I 
took the numbers, and as I am near-sighted, and to be positive, I got some of my friends to 
get the numbers so as to be sure. There were two policemen and a citizen together ; one 
policeman was larger than the other; the smallest policeman made the remark, "You cannot 
do that ; there are too many troops here." The citizen said there were not many troops here, 
only a few companies of the Eighty-first up by the cotton-press. The policeman asked if 
there were not some up at Camp Parapet and some at Fort Jackson. The citizen said, before 
there would be time to bring them up they could exterminate the niggers. They did not see 
me at the time ; I was in the grocery store ; the moment they saw me they stopped. I men- 
tioned what I bad heard to Captain Jourdan, and he said I had better go and take the num- 
bers of these policemen, which I did, and got some of my friends also, to be sure that the 
numbers were correct. The next morning, which was Monday morning, I made out a state- 
ment in writing of what I had heard, though, by the advice of a friend, I did not sign my 
name. I took it to Dr. Dostie's house; he was not in. I gave the letter to the servant, and 
asked her to give it to Dr. Dostie when he came in. The servant said she would ; that she 
expected Dr. Dostie would be in soon. I said I would call back. I went back and found 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES W. GIBBONS. 125 

l)r. Dostie in. I told lain I came to warn him of the danger about to happen to him. He 
made the remark to me, "I am going unarmed ; I know they want to take my life, but I 

think it is a good cause to die in; if they want to take my life they can do so." Said I, 
" You can do as you please; I thought it my duty to call and tell you, as in your remarks at 
the meeting on Friday night you told the people to come out and attend the convention." 
He said on that night, "Go home— go quietly — go orderly — behave yourselves, and if there 
is anybody, white or black, that disturbs you, protect yourselves." These were the remarks 
he made. ' After that I bade him good morning, and then went home ; and at half past eleven 
o'clock L went to the convention; a friend went with me, a Creole. As we were going along 
he said tome, "Captain, there is a procession coming up." It was coming up Dauphin 
street, and I went over there with him; there were, perbaps, forty or fifty persons iu the pro- 
cession. They had an American flag, which I believed belonged to the First Native Guards. 
We turned up Burgundy street to Canal street with the procession. As we got there I was 
right behind the baud. A man in citizen's clothes, having a blue ribbon in his buttonhole, 
stopped out and ordered the procession to halt. No one would halt for him. Tbeu he fired. 
"Whether he hurt anybody or not I do not know. With that the procession became somewhat 
confused. 

1790. Where was this first shot fired? 

It was right on Canal street, near Dryades street. He then turned and ran towards the 
levee. A part of the procession ran after him. Then they came back, formed into line, 
and marched to the hall. After we got into the hall, (I was up there about ten minutes,) if 
I am not mistaken, the flag was taken up to the stand. I am not positive about that. 
During the time that I was there I noticed a detective, who seemed to be noticing what he 
could see or hear. I made the remark that there was going to be something squally. By 
and by I heard firing outside. I weut to the door, and came up Dryades street towards 
Common street. There was a policeman about ten feet from me, who said, "There goes 
one damned nigger captain, the son of a bitch ; kill bim." He fired at me. Then two or 
tbiee of thfflga ran out together. I ran with the, friend who was with me until we were mid- 
way on the Block from Common street. I said to him, "Let us turn round, and we may 
have a chance to dodge the balls." I had doue that wheu I was in the army. We turned 
round and retreated about ten steps backwards, wheu my friend said, "I am shot; I believe 
I am killed." He put his hand to his side and fell. I turned and ran. When I reached the 
corner of Common and Dryades, two men grabbed me and said, "What are you doing 
here?" Said I, "Doing uothing." Said he, "You God damned black son of a bitch, go 
'way, God damn you." I went to the corner of Baronne, and there I was arrested. They 
carried, me about twenty steps. There were others with me. I stepped aside without their 
noticing me, and got away from them. That is all I know of it. 

1791. Where did you go then? 
I went home. 

1792. What was the name of the man who was shot? 

I do not know. He was in the same regiment with me ; but I did not know his name. 

1793. Where did you join the procession? 
At the corner of Conti and Dauphin streets. 

1794. Who fired that first shot? 
I do not know the gentleman. 

1795. Was he a policeman? 

I cannot say ; he had a blue ribbon tied in bis buttonhole. 

1796. What had the procession been doing that made him call upon them to halt? 
Nothing ; they were marching down peaceably. The band was playing " Yankee Doodle." 

1797. Was that procession armed, so far as you know? 
Not to my knowledge. 

1798. What was the object of the procession ? 

The object was merely to go there and hear the proceedings of the convention ; that is 
all the object they bad, to my knowledge. 

1799. Were you iu the United States military service ? 

I was captain of company K, third regiment Louisiana Native Guards ; but, on account 
of the prejudice there was against colored officers, I resigned. At the time, however, that 
Dick Taylor was about to march on New Orleans, General Banks called on us to raise three 
regiments. I raised my company in two hours from the time I got rny authority. 

1800. Can you read and write ? 
I can. 

1801. At the time you left, when the firing commenced on the street in front of the In- 
stitute, had any of the police then gone up stairs into the convention room ? 

No, sir ; as I came down stairs, the policemen, a majority of them, were at the corner of 
Dryades and Canal streets. As I came there, three of them who were ahead of the others 
came, out, aud oue of them said, " There is that damned nigger captain ; kill the black son 
of a bitch." 

1802. Did they shoot at you? 
I hey did. 

. 1803. How many shots 



126 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I do not know ; they were shooting at me continually until I got out of their way. I 
could not count the shots. 

1804. "\V1ki. was it that shot at you? 

The police ; no citizens, to ray knowledge. 

1805. Did you say they called you captain ? 
Yes, sir ; they knew me. 

1806. Had you been a captain in any other service than in the United States service ? 
Never ; 1 have been a tree man since my infancy. At the time the rebellion broke out, 

they called on all the free people to do something for the confederate government ; and if 
they did not do it, a committee was appointed to look after them, and they would be robbed 
of then - property, if not killed. I was against the rebellion until the last moment. There 
was a policeman by the name of Robinson, who came to me and said I had better go into 
the service ; if I did not, they would take me and lynch me. Under that advice I enlisted 
in Captain Jourdan's company, but I did not stay in it longer than I was absolutely com- 
pelled to. At the time I got out I tendered my resignation, and it was accepted, though it 
is the first time I have heard of tendering a resignation as a private, 

1807. What did this policeman say to the citizen besides what you related, when he said 
they were going to hang Halm and Dostie ' 

I did not hear them say anything. The only thing I heard else was when he referred to 
the troops. 

1808. What time was it when you heard that conversation? 
It was, I think, about four and a half in the afternoon. 

1809. Could you tell that citizen now if you were to see him again? 
No, sir ; I do not think I could identify him. 

1810. Where was the grocery you were in ? 

At the corner of Derbigny and Custom-house streets, on the Sunday evening before the riot. 

1811. Your letter, as I understand you, was left with Dr. Dostie? 

It was left with the servant girl ; Dr. Dostie told me he had received it. I havfnot seen it 
since. 

1812. And you do not know whether the letter is in possession of the family or not ? 
That is more than I can say. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1813. Were there not colored men in the city of New Orleans who did not enlist in the 
confederate service ? 

There were plenty of them. 

1814. What necessity was there, then, for you to do otherwise than they did ? 

Because I was free. A majority of the population of the city of New Orleans had to do 
the same thing in order to save themselves ; if they did not they would have been hung or 
driven out of the country. We did not go with the" intention of fighting for the rebels ; we 
said among ourselves that the moment "we saw the flag, we were going to drop our arms ; 
that we would not fight;" but we had to enlist to save ourselves. 

1815. Do not you know of any free people in New Orleans who did not join the confed- 
erate service ? 

I do. 

1816. Are there quite a number of them ? 
That is more than I can say. 

1817. Those who did not choose to join the confederate service did not lose their lives, did 
they? 

No, sir, not to my knowledge. Nobody ever lost his life, for we never went into any en- 
gagement. 

1818. Then why could you not have done as the others did, and not volunteered in the 
confederate service ? 

Because of the warnings I received. 

1819. You volunteered then, you did not wait to be conscripted ? 
There was no conscription in the State, at that time. 

1820. So yon were a volunteer in the confederate service ? 

Yes, sir, in order to save myself, as a majority of us had to do it in order to save ourselves. 
But tin- moment General Butler arrived, several of us wrote him a petition asking his au- 
thority to raise a company. I assisted first in raising a company to fill up a company for 
the second regiment. Then I recruited a company for the third regiment, of which I went 
captain. 

1821. How long were you in the confederate service ? 
About two weeks. 

1822. Did you state all the circumstances, in your opinion, that compelled you to join the 
confederate service? 

Yes, sir. 

1823. What is your occupation ? 
House painter. 

1824. Are you pursuing your calling in this city now ? 
Yes, sir ; I am at work now. 



TESTIMONY OP PHILIP WINFREE. 127 

New Orleans, La., December 25, 1866. 
PHILIP WINFREE sworn ami examined. « 

By the Chairman: 

1825. State your age and residence. 

I am forty-three. I reside in New Orleans. I am a native of Louisiana, and have resided 
in the State all my life. I removed here just at the beginning of the war from the parish of 
Ascension. 

1826. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

1827. Did you hold any office in the convention? 

I had been assistant secretary in the convention, and supposed I was retained. I do not 
know whether I was or not. 

1828. Were you at the Institute on the 30th of July ? 
No, sir. 

1829. State any reason why you did not go. „ 

I had several reasons for not going. I had a family dependent on me for support, and I 
had received warning that no man would be permitted to come out alive. 

1830. Who did you receive that warning from? 

From Colonel Marks, of the eleventh Louisiana; I believe an old acquaintance of mine, 
formerly auditor of public accounts, was the principal one; but then I had received it from 
others. Colonel Marks had been in the Mexican war, but was a confederate officer. 

183J. State when Colonel Marks gave you that warning, and what Avas said, as near as 
you can remember. 

I could not be positive as to the exact words. It was some two or three weeks previous. 
I do not know whether he knew whether I was connected with the convention or not. My 
impression is that he did, and as a personal friend he advised me not to go there, lie said 
that not one would be permitted to come out alive ; that he knew nothing in particular him- 
self, but that he was satisfied that not one would be permitted to come out alive. 

IK'.-J. Where is he now 1 

I suppose up at his residence at Bayou Sara. He made the strongest impression on me. 
I remember hi offered to bet one thousand dollars that no one would be permitted to come 
out alive ; and knowing him to be a very safe betting man, I had no hesitation in taking his 
advice. Another reason which served as an excuse for my not attending the convention 
was, that I had just been transferred from entry clerk in the custom-house that day, and that 
served as an another reason. 

1833. In point of fact, then, you did not go to the Institute because you were afraid? 

I did not. I attended a preliminary meeting of the convention two or three weeks or a 
month previous. 

1834. Where were you on the 30th of July ? 

I was in the custom-house when the riot commenced. My family lived next door to Mr. 
Neelis, secretary to the convention, who was with me at the custom-house, and supposing our 
families would be uneasy, at abont one or two o'clock I went up home to let them know we 
were safe. I then returned to the custom-house, and remained during business hours. 

1835. Did you see any disturbance? 

No, sir ; I could see people running to and fro, but I was too far off to distinguish what 
they were doing. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

1836. Did you hear any threats made by any people as you passed along the street? 

No, sir ; I did not hold any conversation with anybody. I would not permit anybody to 
talk to me. 

1^'M. Were you known at that period as a friend to the convention or as a Union man ? 

That was somewhat doubtful. My intimate friends knew me as friendly to the conven- 
tion, but there were others who did not know me as such ? 

1838. Then you do not know whether Colonel Marks knew you as a friend of the conven- 
tion or not ? 

I do not know whether he did or not. I do not think he did. 

1839. You state that the warning Colonel Marks gave you made the strongest impression 
on j-our mind, he being known to be a reliable man. What other reason than the one given was 
there for the impression he made on your mind .' 

Colonel Marks and I have been intimate for years. We served in the war together, and, 
to be frank with you, we have also been connected in the' confederate army together. I have 
always found him to be a man who knew what he was talking about. 

1840. Was the warning, then, given to you as a friend? 

I do not know what he intended by his warning. We knew each other ; we had been 
together, and I suppose he wanted to save me. 

184 1 . Did he tell you not to go ? 

No, sir ; he did not tell me not to go, but he gave me that warning. I could not say what 
his motive was, but from my intimacy with liim I took it for granted that he knew what he 



128 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

said. I had friends who doubted my friendship for the convention, and in fact I have bene 
doubted on both sides. Since I whs out from the confederate army I kept have aloof from 
both sides. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1842. What is your occupation? 

I am now in the custom-house. I have been editing a newspaper in this State for fifteen 
years. Since the war I have not been connected with any newspaper, except as a local edi- 
tor, in this city. 

184:?. By whom were you appointed in the custom-house? 

By Judge Kellogg, I suppose, though I never spoke to him, I believe, but once in my 
life. 

1844. How long were you in the confederate army? 

From eighty-six to ninety days. 

184;"). Were you a conscript or volunteer? 

It is difficult to say. I was not conscripted, but I feltlthat I could not stay here in peace 
unless I went into the army. I had already become suspected. I had been brought before 
the provost marshal here once. 

1^4fi. Wen? there not some who lived here in peace without enlisting in the confederate 
army ? 

Yes, sir; those who had means, and who were able to live without exertion, and to con- 
tribute something to the confederate cause in lieu of personal service, were permitted to re- 
main. 

1847. Your object, then, in going into the confederate army, as I understand it, was for 
safety and employment. 

Yes, sir ; I am a native of the place, and everybody said I would be disgraced if I did not 
go. 

1848. Did you, after having received the information of which you speak from Colonel 
Marks, communicate that information to any members of the convention? 

• I do not think I did. To be frank, I was not very familiar with the members of the con- 
vention, although I was assistant secretary. It was well known that my sentiments were 
the other way. I communicated it to the gentleman who appointed me, Mr. jfeelis, and he 
did not go. 

1849. Did you make any effort to inform others ? 
Only through Mr. Neelis. 

185U. How long after receiving the warning did you tell Mr. Neelis? 

I think the same day. I am not positive. We lived together, in adjoining houses. 

1851. Did you mention it to him casually? 

No, sir; 1 tried to impress it on his mind, as far as I could without implicating Colonel 
Marks or any one else, that there was danger. 

i852. Did you ask him to communicate what you had told him to the members of the con- 
tention ? 

I do not know that I did. I do not think I did. I presumed that he would do it with 
those with whom he was intimate; but I do not think I made any request of the kind. I 
was satislied that the members of the convention had the same information that I had; that 
each of them had received some friendly warning, or that their intelligence would let them 
know that there was danger, and that it would be provided for. 

1853. Do you mean to be understood in saying that, under the circumstances, the intelli- 
gence of the members of the convention ought itself warn them of the danger? 

It would have done so with me, although it would not have deterred me from doing so. 



Nkw ORLEANS, La., December 25, 1866. 
THOMAS JEFFERSON EARIIART sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRMAN: 

1854. What is your age? 
I am fifty-six years old. 

1855. Whei'e do you reside ? 
I reside in New < )i leans. 

L856, For how long have you resided here? 
For twenty odd 3 ears. 

1857. What is your profession ] 

I am a practicing lawyer in this city. 

1858. Have you practiced in the United States and State courts both ? 

Yes, sir; I have practiced in this and the adjoining parishes, and also in the federal courts. 

1859. Have you been present at those, courts when the jurors have been empanelled ? 
1 have, on some occasions. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON EARIIART 129 

1860. It is in regard to th< oath administered ! wist to ask. 

I was present assisting in a trial for which I was employed, for firing into a colored church; 

isecuted the man before the United States commissioner. He was sent to the federal 

court, under the civil rights bill, to be there tried by a jury ; the grand jury indicted him. 

On the 17th of this month he was tried. He was a white man. I was present to assist the 

district attorney in the prosecution, having examined the witnesses - previously. 

1861. Who was the presiding officer? 

E. II Durell is the United States judge of the district court. The jury was called and 
empanelled, but no oath was administered except the usual oath to the jury that they should 
well and truly try. There was no test oath administered; whether there was any previous 
test oath or not 1 do not know, though I think they had been serving- in that court previous 
to that day, during- that term, and whether a test oath had been administered previously I 
cannot say. 

1862. Was anything said in regard to the omission? 
Not a word. 

1863. Or in regard to the oath ? 

Not a word. I was astonished that the district attorney did not administer the test oath ; 
but as I had no business there except as the prosecuting attorney had solicited my services 
there, 1 said nothing to him as to whether he did or did not administer the test oath, think- 
ing- that it' I did he would consider it officious. 

1864. Was this the first trial ! 

They had met before, but had not tried any criminal cases. 

1865. What is the test 'oath .' 

It is an oath, as I understand, that they have not taken up arms against the Unittd 
States, nor rendered aid or assistance in carrying on the rebellion. 

1866. Does the law require the administration of that oath to the jurors ? 

Yes. sir; it is a special statute for jurors, requiring that before they act as jurors they shall 
take oath that they never have rendered aid or assistance to the rebellion, or taken up arms 
voluntarily against the United States. 

1867. Were you acquainted with the composition of that jury enough to know whether 
they could lightly take that oath ? 

I know most of them by sight, and a number of them by name, and I think those I knew 
by name were unable to take such an oath. 

1868. Why so? 

rise I think they were very active and zealous in their feelings and aid to the rebel 
can-". 

1869. What was the result of the ease ? 

The jury acquitted the man. The case had been argued before the court, in which I had 
also assisted the prosecutor, on a demurrer under the civil rights bill. A question was 
raised by the counsel for the prisoner as to the jurisdiction of the court, and though the 
judge decided that the question of jurisdiction had been passed upon, and was not open to 
discussion, the jury, after coining- in with a verdict of "not guilty," asked whether the 
question of jurisdiction was before the jury or not, and the judge asked them if they wished 
to retire ; it so, they could go out again. 

1870 What did the judge answer as to the question of jurisdiction being before the jury ? 

He did not answer the question. He said: "I see you have found a verdict; do you 
wish to go out again ?" and one or two said "No." 

187 1. Was that the only occasion that you were present when a jury was empanelled ? 

This is the only one. I have seen some jurors empanelled in civil cases, and I have not 
seen the test oath administered to jurors. 

1-7-2. Have you been present at the opening of the courts ? 

Yes, sir ; the test oath, I remember, was administered to the grand jury that found an in- 
dictment against the man for filing into tin- church. 

1873. At what court was it that you were present when the test oath was not administered 1 
I saw jurors empanelled, and the test oath was not administered ; whether it was previously 

administered to the same jurors in other cases I caunot say ; they may have been in session 
the same day before. 

1874. I wish to ascertain whether at any time you have been present in court when the 
jury have been empanelled for the first time for that term, and can tell us whether the oath 
was or was not administered. 

1 cannot answer that question. 

1 -?.">. Can you say whether you have been present at the first empanelling of a jury ? 

I cannot. 

1876. Am I to understand that you do not remember to have been present at the empan- 
elling of a jury the first time during- the term of a court, so that you cannot say whether 
the oath was then administered or not .' 

I cannot; I was not present when this jury was drawn. When they were first drawn 

and brought to the stand the test oath may have been administered. All I can say is, that 

it was not done when I was present. Whether it was done before I cannot say. The 

proper time to administer the test oath is when the list of jurors is called, and before they are 

9 N. o. 



130 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

called upon specially to sit in any case. On such an occasion I never was present that I 
recollect. 

1827. From whom should we he able to get the information? 
From Mr. Charles Claiborne, clerk of the circuit and district court. 
L828. Yon were counsel in this case .' 

I was the counsel before the commissioner, and assisted the district attorney before the 
jury. 

1828. Was it a case in which, in your judgment, there should have been an acquittal or 
a conviction ? 

It was a clear case of conviction, because it was a case where the party fired into the 
freedmen's church once or twice; and I tbink, from the evidence, the man should have been 
convicted. A lawyer, of course, when he becomes interested in a case is apt to think his 
cause to be right. 

1829. Yon have been in New Orleans as a practicing lawyer some time? 
Yes, sir : for about twenty years. 

1830. I wish to ask you whether, in your judgment, the feeling is such on the part of men 
who compose the juries here, supposing the test oath is not administered, as to secure the 
conviction of men residing here who are not known as Union men ? 

That is a question as to my opinion. I will say that in our State courts the test oath is 
never used; no man's loyalty is ever questioned ; it is not questioned whether they are for 
the Union or against it ; and I do not think there is much chance in any of our courts, 
under the present organization, of getting justice where you have trials by jury, where, as a 
general thing, the majority of the people are those who really have been more or less mixed 
up with the rebellion. The juries that are summoned in the federal courts are of this class 
of people, and I doubt very much whether you could get a grand jury out of the whole com- 
munity who would be able to take the test oath, much less a traverse jury. I am convinced 
from what I saw on this case that there are men who. if the test oath were put, could not 
take it. I never saw it taken by them. I know there were men that had been in the con- 
federate army and held commissions; the foreman of the jury himself, an elderly gentleman, 
and a man I have known for a number of years, I know that his feelings and sympathies 
and actions and everything else were really for the confederacy and not for the Union ; I 
refer to the foreman of the traverse jury of this city. A Union man is small fish in this 
country at present, and is not looked upon with any sort of respectability. 

1831. State, from your own knowledge, what is the feeling in this community. 

The feeling is very vindictive against all men and everybody that made the slightest pro- 
fession of loyalty to the United States. 

1832. How does that show itself? 

I I demonstrates itself in our courts, in our railroad cars, in our churches, and in every 
public place. 

1833. How is it in social life ? 
It is the same in social life. 

1834. In what way? 

So much so that members of my profession who have been outside in the rebel government 
seldom notice a member of the bar who remained loyal to the government, unless they 
come in contact with him; they do not notice him in the street, or anywhere else. 

1835. Docs it show itself in the employment of counsel by the community? 

Very much ; no Union lawyer is ever employed by a man whose sympathy or interest was 
with the confederate government; those who were outside, and took an active part in the 
confederacy, get that practice altogether. 

1836. From your knowledge of the fact, can you say whether a counsel who is known to 
have been a sympathizer with the confederates would be more or less likely to gain his 
cause than one who is known to be a thorough Union man? 

There appears to be a. leaning that way on the part of our district judges; so much so that 
counsel like myself have noticed it, very much to our disparagement and regret; and we get 
but few favors in tin- courts, from the fact that the clerks and officers of the courts, the 
sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, are entirely opposed to men who have not taken an active part 
in the rebellion. 

1837. What is the fact in regard to offices, either elective or by appointment? State 
w hethcr or not Union men can ami do obtain them. 

As far as I know, tin- Union part of the community have been unable, either by election or 
by apppointment, to obtain any office, be it ever so minor; the offices are obtained by men 
who have been in the rebel army; 1 know of no exception. 

1838. Take the time immediately after the surrender of Leo's army and this time, now, and 
state whether or not, there has been any change in that respect. 

I think, at the first elections that came after the surrender, in 18(>5, the offices were gen- 
erally tilled by men who had either been officers or soldiers in the confederate army; the 
Union element was in the minority, and was unable to carry any point. The sheriff of New 
Orleans was a rebel general, ami 1 believe all bis deputies were in the rebel army. The 
clerks of the courts were, generally, in the rebel service. The mayor of New Orleans and the 
city council were of that class; whether the mayor was in the army I do not know, but I 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON EARHART. lol 

know lie was outside; and I believe that one of the qualifications for policemen in his em- 
ploy was that they should have served iu the rebel army before they could serve in the 
police, be having the appointing power. 

1839. Stare when the present mayor, Monroe, was first mayor of the city. 

He was elected mayor of New ( Weans about 1859 or 1360. He was mayor at the time the 
city was surrendered to Farragut and General Butler; I think he was probably elected twice 
before that. This is his second or third election. 

1840. How long did he remain in office after General Butler took control of affairs? 
Two or three mouths. 

1841. How was he removed? 

By military older of General Butler. 

I - 12. When was he next irf office ? 

Some tiiu- in 1866. Shortly after his return from Richmond or Mobile, after the surrender 
in l^ti"), he came back; and I think the elections took place in the fall of 1865 ; I was con- 
fined to my house and took no part iu it. He was elected, but General Canby did not allow 
him to take his seat; he then went to Washington and get pardoned, when he took his seat 
and appointed his police board ; and he took very good care to appoint on his police board a 
man by the name of Lynch, who had been attorney general of the State, and the balance of 
them had either been soldiers in the confederate amy. or sj mpathizers outside, or active men 
iu the confederacy; all such men composed the police board, with the mayor at their head. 

184:1. Is that state of facts general iu other parts of Louisiana, as far as you know ? 

1 am unable to say outside of the parish of Orleans; but I believe it is the same in 
the parish of Jefferson, in which the town of Carroll is situated; the same policy, I believe, 
prevails there. 

1844. What, iu your judgment, would be the condition of the Union men here if the gov- 
ernment of the United States should withdraw the military, and leave matters here to take 
their course .' 

Well, sir, I do not think the Union men, the real sympathizers with the government of the 
United States would be able to live here at all. 

1845. Do you think you have had sufficient opportunity to know the facts in this matter 
to make that opinion one that ought to be relied upon .' 

I think I have; I think it is a pretty general opinion among Union men that if the gov- 
ernment of the United States should withdraw the military authority, neither the lives nor the 
property of Union men would be safe ; I think I know Monroe's people's opinion. 

1846. Do they claim to be loyal 1 

They claim to be, and say they are just as loyal as anybody; and they are generally ready 
to take all the oaths as to their loyalty to the government, but their acts do not always cor- 
respond with their statements. 

1847. 1 want to have your opinion as to the loyalty of the people of Louisiana; tell us, if 
you please, as to the majority of the voters in Louisiana under your present laws, so far as 
your knowledge extends from your experience in Louisiana, what is the condition of their 
loyal ty. 

I cannot speak with any accuracy as to what the voting population of the State is ; but I 
think that the parish and city of New Orleans should poll about 6,000 votes; that is about 
the number of voters, and out of that number I suppose you could count about 1,000 loyal 
men ; I do not think there really are more. 

1848. In case of war between the United States and a foreign government, supposing that 
majority of which you speak were free to act as in your judgment they would like to act, 
would they support the United States or would they oppose it ? 

Iu my opinion they would oppose it; this is a mere opinion, based upon what I have seen 
of the people since the surrender of Lee in 1865. 

1849. What brings you to that conclusion ? 

Their general character, and their acts towards those who really have been loyal to the 
government of the United States. I base my opinion on the actions of these people since 
their return to the city; their tendency to exclude from society, from office, and from every 
position in daily life and intercourse, all men whose opinions are known to be favorable to 
the United States, and who expressed any opinion against the rebellion. By these acts, and 
by the opinions I have heard expressed, I judge that if a foreign war should occur, or an- 
other rebellion, were it possible, they would arm themselves and take part against the United 
States. 

1850. Do you know anything in regard to an organization which is spoken of as the 
Hays brigade? 

I know Hays ; I knew him years before the rebellion broke out ; he was a practicing mem- 
ber of our bar, and 1 know that a number of his brigade were also citizens of New Orleans ; 
a large number of them returned to this city after the surrender. Hays was elected sheriff 
of the parish of Orleans; indeed, he owes his election to his soldiers, to those who re- 
turned with him ; it was they who elected him to office; but he, like others, was unable to 
take his office until the President pardoned him ; then he took it as sheriff of New Orleans. 

1851. But how about Hays's brigade ? 

Personally I know of no such organization ; I know no fact about it, and I would be the 



132 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

last man in New Orleans to find it out. I Lave seen printed calls, in the newspapers, for 
meetings of the brigade for charitable purposes, and also on occasions of funerals; but if there 
were any other purpose the paper did not name it; and 1 believe there was an order issued 
by General Sheridan that no more monuments should be erected to confederate heroes. They 
were meeting once or twice a week, according to their notice in the papers. 

1852. You have given to us the condition of affairs here, judging from your knowledge of 
the people and their actions, and the state of political matters as it respects the holding of 
office, and the condition of Union people ; I want you now to state to the committee what, 
in your judgment, is the proper remedy to be applied to this state of affairs in order to bring 
back a condition of loyalty in this State. 

I am one of those who have long held the opinion that this State, and more especially this. 
portion of it, was in no condition to exercise its civil function!?; that there was such a feeling 
between the two classes, the loyal and disloyal, that without a strong go vein men t. or a terri- 
torial government, or a provisional or military government, it was really unsafe for us to re 
main here much longer. I was one of those who signed a memorial to Congress recently 
upon that very subject ; and I think, to produce anything like harmony or safety, there should 
be a government organized by the United States and not by the people themselves here ; 
that some other power ought to control this people, as they are entirely unfitted for self- 
government. Until they come to their senses, I think there should be a power, from some 
place, to control these people; whether it should be a territorial, or provisional, or military 
government, it is not for me to say ; but it should be a government emanating from some 
pow-er that could control us ; I think we are not in a condition to organize a civil state of 
society. 

1853. Do you mean to state that without some such government as that the loyal men of 
the south cannot be properly protected? 

That has been my opinion lor a long while. 

1854. State what has beeu the effect here, if any, of what is known as the policy of the 
President. 

The policy of the President is generally reprobated by the Union men, and very much eulo- 
I by the disloyal portion of the community; that appears to be the feeling as far as my 
knowledge extends. 

1855. To what do you attribute that fact? 

We attribute it partly to the wholesale pardoning of rebels by the President, and throwing 
them upon us ; and, again, to their appointment to the federal offices. We consider that a great 
deal of harm has been done in that way. Whether right or wrong, the majority of us hold 
these opinions, that to the wholesale pardoning of the President and the appointment to 
federal offices of men who really have no sympathy with the government, but whose sym- 
pathies lean the other way — we may attribute a great deal of the dissatisfaction, arid I may 
say the danger, by which we are surrounded. 

[Mr. Boyer objected to the foregoing evidence of this witness, upon the ground that it is 
not relevant to the subject-matter into which the committee are authorized to inquire.] 

By Mr. Boyer: 
• 185G. I understood you to say that the feeling in this State is very vindictive towards all 
those who made the slightest profession of loyalty. 

I meant to say in this parish ; 1 am not so well acquainted with any other parish. 

1857. Is that what you say of the people in this parish I 
Yes, sir; in this parish and city. 

1858. Please define what you mean by loyalty when you use the word in this connection .' 
I understand a loyal citizen of the United States to be one who, during the late troubles, 

was loyal and faithful to the government of the United States, notwithstanding all outside 
pressure ami consequences; one who never sympathized with the late rebellion, nor took 
pait in it in any shape or form; such a man is what 1 term a loyal citizen. 

1859. Then do you consider all those who took part in the rebellion against the govern- 
ment of the United States, at this time, destitute of loyalty 1 

I will answer that by an explanation. I do not. ! 'consider that there are many loyal men 
who took a very active part in the late rebellion, whose disloyalty, at the time, consisted in 
certain circumstances over which they had neither power to control or resist, and who now, 
or since the surrender, as we term it here, are probably as loyal to the United States as those 
who never took any part at all in the rebellion, except to crush it. 

1860. \)<> you not admit the possibility ol a man's taking part in the rebellion and volun- 
tarily becoming a loyal citizen ' 

( i,' certainly ; I think that every man may repent of his sins, and I think it is very possible 
he may become a loyal citizen, though he may have taken a very active part in the rebellion. 

1861. Then you do not adhere to your definition of loyalty.' 

While to my construction of loyalty and my opinion as to what would really be a loyal 
man I do adhere, for 1 have always looked upon a really loyal man as one who never took 
an active pari in the rebellion, still, at the same time, I do not go so far as to say that because 
a man took a very active pari in it, he could not now, or hereafter, be a loyal man; but my 
definition of a truly loyal man is, one who never took part, voluntarily or otherwise, against 
the government of the United States. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS JEFFERSON EARHART. 133 

1862, Is not every man loyal who yields, unreservedly, bis allegiance and obedience to 
the laws ? 

I do not think thai because a man yields obedience to a superior power, lie is always loyal to 
that power; because 1 believe that circumstances may he such that it may be to his interest 
to yield obedience, tor every man is supposed to obey the laws; whether he believes in them 
or not is not for me to say. 

186:# is it not always the interest of good citizens to yield obedience to the laws? 

Most undoubtedly; it is a fundamental principle, as 1 understand it. 

1864. Can a man, then, in your opinion, be disloyal who in good faith obeys the laws and 
conforms to the requests of his government 1 

It being the first duty of a citizen to obey all laws, it would follow by his acts of ob( 
that he -\as a loyal citizen; but I do say that a man may be disloyal, though he may out- 
wardly obey every mandate that he is called upon to observe. 

1865. You will remember that my question embraces the element of good faith, and tb I 
the obedience of which I speak is obedience rendered in good faith; may a man render that 
obedience, and yet be disloyal .' 

I think be could. ■ 

186b' If one who participated in the recent rebellion against the government of the United 
States were, in good faith, to profess allegiance to the government of the United States, and 
obey all its laws, would be, in your opinion, be a disloyal man? 

No; if his professions are in good faith, whatever they may be, if they are in obedience to 
the mandates of the government of the United States, I think he would be a loyal man, pro- 
vided his ads conformed to his professions, for I judge of a man's faith by his acts. 

J 867. Are there at this time, to your knowledge, any citizens in this parish who are engaged 
in acts of rebellion against the government of the United States? 

None to my personal knowledge. 

1868. Do not all profess at this time to be loyal? 
No, sir; I think not. 

1869. Do not the majority ? 

Yes, sir ; I think the majority of the parish and city of New Orleans profess to be loyal. 

1870. If there are any who make open professions of disloyalty I should like to have 
their names. 

I know none who make open professions of disloyalty, except if I may judge of certain 
acts or sayings ; but I know of none personally who make open profession of disloyalty. 

1871. You say that you infer a prejudice and opposition to Union men in this community 
because they are not able to obtain any offices. 

That was one of the reasons. 1 inferred it from the fact that the feeling against the Union 
element in the parish and city of New Orleans is so apparent, upon the record, as you may 
say, that none of them, with the exception of some minor officers, have been elevated to any 
office in the gift of the people. 

1872. Is not the governor of this State recognized as a Union man, and was he not elected 
to that position by the people of this State? 

Most assuredly he was elected to the office by the voters of the State. As to the governor 
being a Union man, upon that subject I am not so clear ; I have always regarded hiin the 
other way, and voted against him whenever I had an opportunity. 

1873. Do you recognize no one to be a Union man at this time who was not so during the 
existence of the rebellion ? 

Those whom I know as Union men now I knew as Union men previous to and during the 
rebellion ; there may be others I do not know, and I know some Union men now whose 
sympathies I did not know previous to the ebellion. 

1874. Would you believe in their Union principles now if you knew that they had for- 
merly assisted the rebellion ? 

I should require some acts or demonstration on their part, and not entire say-so, to make 
me believe they were Union; if they were over-zealous on the part of the Union, I should 
require something more than their say-so to make me believe them Union. 

1 :75. Do you believe that such men should be elected to office in this State ? 

No, sir. 

1876. Then the men you think should be elected to office are comparatively few ? 
Yery few. 

1877. iTou are one, are you not 1 
I do not say as to myself. 

1878. If the people of this State were, to divide all the offices among them, without dis- 
tinction iif men, you would not consider that sufficient evidence of the loyalty of the people 
of this State, and their capacity for self-government? 

If the people of this State were to elect none but well-known Union men, I would consider 
that an act on the part of the electors of this State of being true in their professions of faith 
and loyalty to r:;e government of the United States. 

1879. And until they do that you would regard their acts.as evidence to the contrary ' 
I would. 



134 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

• 

1880. Have you any other reason than those you have assigned for believing that in case 
of a foreign war. the peeple of this State would unite with the enemy? 

I have none but those 1 have slated; their general aets ami conversation demonstrate that 
if a foreign war were to break out, they would unite with that power to crush out the United 
States. 

1881. ]>o you not consider their conduct in the election of men to office as the principal 
reason of that conclusion 1 # 

I consider that as one ground for my reason; I do consider their conduct in elevating that 
class of persons to all offices in the State, both federal and city, as one strong reason why I 
think them opposed to the government of the United .States. 

1882. Is that the strongest reason you have, or have you a still stronger one? 

I do not know that I have any stronger reasons than those I have stated ; from the whole 
course of their conduct since their surrender, I believe that would be their course. 

1883. You say that they proscribe in society and business those who are considered Union 
men in the community; have you not known proscription of that kind on account of 
political difficulties to be common in loyal communities? 

yes. 

1884. Are you sufficiently acquainted with northern communities to know the fact that 
that same proscription has existed, and still continues to exist, on the part of the radicals of 
the north against those who do not agree with them in political opinion ? 

1 have not been in the north since id-45. I was in Washington at the inauguration of Mr. 
Polk. I know nothing of the state of society in the north now. I know there has been 
social proscription always, and I suppose there always will be, both in church and Hate. 

Id85. Do you think it ought really to be considered as an evidence of disloyalty where 
associates in arms, no matter in what cause, afterwards cherished friendly relations and 
associated tor charitable purposes ? 

No, I do not. 

IK86. Then, so far as you have had any evidence, the association in existence here, termed 
"Hays's brigade," and others, are not in themselves disloyal ? 

So far as my own personal knowledge g'oes, they are not ; the presumption is that they 
always associated for charitable or lawful purposes. 

1887. You have spoken of the President's policy, by which you mean, I presume, the 
President's policy of restoration ? 

I had reference to the pardoning power and the federal appointments of certain parties to 
office. 

1888. Then would you approve of the President's policy if the issuing of pardons and the 
objectionable appointments to office which you refer to were not a part of it? 

So far as my knowledge extends, the only part of it, and the only cause of dissatisfaction, 
has been the pardoning power and the appointments to office. I presume if that were 
removed, that that dissatisfaction would not exist among loyal men. 

1889. If, then, those whom you term loyal men in this State had the control of all the 
offices they would be satisfied with the President's policy? 

I am rather inclined to think they would. 

1890. And you think that this community is not capable of self-government, as you have 
said, because the small minority which you have described is not allowed to control and 
govern the majority I 

No, 1 do not say that exactly ; I think that the feelings of the majority of the people are 
so embittered against the minority of the people that it would be unsafe for the control of 
the civil government of this State, more especially of this parish, to be intrusted entirely to 
the hands of that majority. 

1891. Do you not think that the efforts of the minority to establish negro suffrage and to 
disfranchise those who participated in the rebellion has something to do with their dissatisfac- 
tion .' 

I think it has all to do with it. I think that very question is probably the cause of all the 
dissatisfaction and all the trouble. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

1892. Suppose the government is left in the hands of this majority whom you have de- 
scribed as disloyal ; will they protect and guard the rights and lives and property of the 
Union men of this State ' 

I have said before, I think not. I think it would be dangerous to place this government 
in the hands of the majority of the people. 

1893. What is the ground of hostility on the part of those who control the government 
here now to the Union people? Is it because they do not like them as individuals, or 
because they do not like the course they have taken in adhering to the government of the 
United States ! 

I think the hostility evinced" towards what I term Union and loyal men is entirely brought 
about by the feeling they have against that class of' citizens for their faith and worship at 
tlie shrine of the government of the United States. I think it is possible on other grounds, 
the doctrine set up by that minority, or Union class of men, that there should be a negro 
right of suffrage, is probably the cause of the principal part of the hostility. 



TESTIMONY OF E. F. DAUNOY. *135 

New Orleans, La., December 2fi, 1866. 
C. B. H. DUPLESSIS sworn and examined. 
l'.\ the Chairman: 

1894. State your age and residence. 

I am thirty-eight years old; a resident of New Orleans. I Lave resided here all my life 
except about six years; from 1851 to 1856. 

1895. What is your occupation? 

I was for about eight or ten years a custom-house broker. Since May or Juue of last year 
I have been without any occupation. 

1 B96. Were you in New Orleans ou the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir. 

1897. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute on that day? 

I was there front about a quarter to twelve uutil I was brought to the lock-up about half 
past two or three, I suppose, as I had no watch; I could not tell the exact hour, as I could 
not see the clock at the Institute. 

1898. So much testimony having already been taken as to the general occurrences in the 
hall, your attention will be directed to only one or two points. State, if you please, how it was 
you escaped. 

About the third time the police made their entry into the hall I stepped out and surrendered 
to Captain Phillips, a representative in the legislature from the eighth district of this city. He 
turned me over to two policemen with instructions to take me to the lock-up. I may say that 
in surrendering to Captain Phillips he said "he would save me if he could: that lie had no 
sympathy for me, because I was trying to dictate to the people." 

1<S99. Were you a member of the convention? 

I was not ; I was wounded there. Captain Phillips was not a policeman, but he was act- 
ing with them, and turned me over to them. They took me down stairs, and were just 
about stepping outside, when, for some reason, I do not recollect what, they turned round 
and brought me into the corridor of the senate chamber ; when five or six feet inside a half 
dozen other policemen appeared. I saw them pointing their pistols at me ; one of them said 
" Take 'him into the room." Anothar, a little more impatient, pointed his revolver in my face 
and fired. I fell, and did not know anything more until I was taken to the lock-up ; how 
long afterwards I do not know ; as I said before, I thought it was between two and three 
o'clock. 

1900. Have you been so situated as to tell us what the feelings of the people of Louisiana 
are to Union men and the government of the United States? If so, please tell us. 

So far as that question is concerned, I move about so little, it would be difficult for me to 
make any answer. I could only state what my impression is. 



New Orleans, La., December 26, 1S66. 
R. F. DAUNOY sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

1901. State your age and resio'ence. 

I am thirty-six years old ; I reside in New Orleans, and was born here. Some years ago I 
was elected by the people as coroner of parish of Orleans, and have spent most of my life in 
the courts clerking it, &c. 

1902. Were you a member of the convention ? 

I acted on the 30th of July as assistant sergeant-at-arms for the convention. 

1903. Were you present at the assembling of the convention at the Institute? 
I was. 

1904. How long did you remain at the Institute ? 

When I got there it was about half past ten or a quarter to eleven, and I came out of it 
about half past two. 

1905. How did you escape? 

The whole thing was over when I went out. The police had been in the rooms about ten 
or fifteen times. I had made up my mind that they were going to shoot, and I thought I 
would go to the window and ascertain if I could not see any person that I know. Winn I 
got to the window I saw some police officers with whom I was acquainted. I saw a squad 
of police officers, at the head of which I thought I saw a Mr. Clark; he was acting mayor 
here some time before that, and is now a member of the city council. I had by this time gone 
down into the office of the p ivate secretary of the governor. As soon as I got to the window 
the police shot at me. I dropped down from the window, but Mr. Clark and some police 
officers came in ; I told them that I surrendered myself; that I was unarmed ; and asked him to 
protect me. He did not take any particular notice of it. There were fellows running about 
trying to shoot ; at this time three or four negroes got out, and ihey all turned on them. Mr. 



136 * NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

• 

Clark took charge of me, and told two police officers to take charge of mp. I was taken to 
the lock-up; when I got t<> fhe corner of Common there was a crowd who hallooed, " Shoot 
him; shoot him." They could not well shoot me ; 1 believe nearly all their revolvers were un- 
loaded at the time, so they contented themselves by throwing bricks at me all the time. I 
could point out those men that .shut. I do not know them, but I know their faces well. 

1906. Were they police I 

Police and citizens both. 

I D7. Did thf citizens have any badges? 

Some of them had a little red badge, and some had nothing. They kept on firing until 
half past two or a quarter to three. We returned no shots from the Mechanics' Institute at 
all ; all the shooting came from them. I must tell you how the first firing took place before 
the Mechanics' Institute. There was a colored man shot on Canal street about twenty min- 
utes before the tiring commenced in front of the Institute. The police was not then there. 
There was a little cab-driver who got into a difficulty with a negro, struck him and knocked 
him down. Some of our friends went around to separate them, then the police rushed over 
and fired; two or three of our men who were aimed then fired two or three shots, and 
v. ent immediately into the Mechanics' Institute ; hut the police had fired first. Captain Loup, 
who was going, like myself, to notify absent members or the convention, pot shot ami died. 
That is about all I saw. There were five or six shots fired on our side after these fellows 
shot ; alter that there was no shot fired from the Institute. The police rushed into the room 
» while we were all inside. In this city it is almost usual for everybody to carry revolvers : hut 
in that room, out of, perhaps, 1,000 people, there were not 200 people armed, and those that tad 
them had them unloaded. The police rushed in and, without calling on us, or giving us an 
opportunity to surrender, fired on us. 

1908. Did they try to make any peaceable arrests ? 

On the contrary, the Rev. Mr. Horton, Mr. Fish, and myself, had our white handkerchiefs 
tr\ ing to make them stop ; we were unarmed and wanted to surrender, but they would uot 
hear anything; they rushed in and fired. 

1909. Did you see the chief of police there ? 

1 saw him at last, just a little while before I was arrested. 

1910. Did the officers of police try to keep their men from shooting the people? 

I never heard any command, nor did I hear any officer say anything about stopping. 

1911. Did they surround the building so as to prevent any from getting away? 
They did. 

1912. State whether they cut off all methods of escape. 

They did; you were bound to go to them. Those who tried to escape could not go any- 
where ; it was impossible to try to get away from the police. 

1913. Did you hear the police say, or any one say,_that they would take no prisoners ! 
I heard that before the convention. 

1914. Did you hear that cry in the crowd? 
I did not hear it in the crowd. 

1915. Could they not have dispersed that convention and carried it off under arrest without 
bloodshed if they wanted to.' 

Very easily; two policemen, with the chief of police, could have arrested the whole con- 
vention. 

1916. Were you in the United States service during the war ? 
No, sir. 

1017. Were you in the confederate service ? 
I was for ninety days. 

1918. At the first or the last? 

At the last, when the people here were around forcing everybody to enrol themselves or get 
in the militia. I did not want to go into it. I asked Governor Mooie whether i I' [served ai 
days be would release me; he said he would, and I went voluntarily without being sworn in; 
1 was never inns! ered in, and never required to take any oath. After I had been three weeks or a 
month, the confederate congress passed a law declaring all the militia in the State in the con- 
ate army. As soon as the city was taken I applied to my captain to be relieved; he 
said the confederate congress had passed a law declaring all under forty-five to serve during 
the rest of the war. I told him if he did not give me a discharge 1 would go to the enemy on 
the firsl occasion. He saw that I was positive about it, and gave me my discharge. 1 Stai I 
about one month ami a half in the army, and iff had not insisted on my discharge, I would, 
by thai law passed by the confederate congress, have been in for the war. I cam,' here and 
took the oath of allegiance, and now all that population here have turned their back upon 
na because i i»«>h the oath of allegiance, and called me a "damn traitor." 

1919. When did they do thai 1 

Soon after I took the oath of allegiance ; fifteen days after General Butler's arrival here. 
A great many of them knew 1 had taken the oath and did not want to speak to me ; the . 
I was a traitor. 

19^0. 1 low is it now witli these people who have been in the confederate army, or engaged 
in the rebellion ; are they friendly towards the government of the United States ? 

No. certainly uot. 



TESTIMONY OF E. F. DAUNOY. 137 

1921. How did you know that ? 

By the talking of these fellows every day. Why, just a minute ago, as T was coming up 
here, two or three of these fellows told me I was a "God-damn traitor and a turncoat." 

1922. What did that mean— traitor to the United Stales.' 

No; traitor to the confederacy. I hear those things every day, and I do not fchinh my life 
safe it' I go out after ten o'clock at night. I left on the 4th of August, and 1 have remained 
north until within the last five weeks. 

[923. Do the people here who stood by the government during the war need protection 
more that] the State government gives them .' 

There is no doubt of it. 

1924. Can any of those fellows who killed negroes and Union men on 30th July be suc- 
cessfully prosecuted in the courts for their crimes? 

They cannot. 

1925. Why not? 

Because they are all of the same opinion. If they could be prosecuted, the fellows who 
murdered Dostie and others would be arrested. 

1926. Would there be any difficulty in finding evidence to convict them if the jurors would 
be willing to convict? 

None whatever. 

1927. .State if this failure to prosecute offences against men who stood by the government 
during the war is general, or whether it is only in a few cases they fail to inosecute. 

It is general. No man who has taken the oath and stood by the government during the 
war, can make his living here. On the contrary, they will keep him from making a living 
here if they can. 

1928. What would be the effect upon the men here now who stood by the government din- 
ing the war if the military were withdrawn ? 

For my part I would leave immediately. I could not live here, and I think they would 
all leave. I was a know-nothing here. I know every thug in the city of New Orleans, 
and they are the very men who are on the police now ; they are the secret police, the night 
police, and the day police. 

1929. How many thugs are on the police? 
There is not one who is not on the police. 

1930. How many are there of them? 

1 should think there are about 150 or 200 of them. 

1931. Were thfcy selected and put on the police because they were thugs ? 
There is no doubt about that. 

1932. What is a thug? 

A man who goes about at night with brass knuckles and knocks men down, as they used 
to do here ; and the next morning a man is found, and nobody knows who killed him. 

1933. Were these men on the police on the 30th July ? 

They were, and have been on ever since Mr. Monroe was mayor. 

1934. Was the character of the police and mayor well known previous to the riot? 

We knew very well tint all these damned rascals were on the police. I know officers on 
the police who murdered Richardson and others. Richardson was a thug himself. 

1935. Did you see any of these thugs at the massacre? 
They were all there. They were the police officers. 
193*5. How do you know they were there ? 

All the police were there, and I know that three-fourths of the police of the city are thugs. 

J9:'>7. Suppose the chief of police or his lieutenants desired to have stopped that massacre, 
could they have done so by an order ? 

They could not have stopped it very easily after it had started, but they could have pre- 
vented it very easily. The chief of police could have sent one of his officers and stopped the 
convention. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

1938. You say you are doing nothing now. For how long have you been doing nothing ? 
During the war and since. I am living on my property. 

1939. What did you follow- before? 

Before that I had come from the college at Paris. I never learned the English language 
well. 1 was raised in Paris. 

1940. Did you take an active part in politics ? 

Yes, sir; a long time before the war. When I came back from Paris my father, who was 
a rich man, did not care about my working, and they put me up for coroner. I did not know 
a word of English at that time, hut they elected me, nevertheless. This was in 1847. 

1941. Who did you serve under iu the confederate army ? 
Captain 1 >reux. 

194'2. Where did you serve*? 
At the battle of Shiloh. 
1943. On the rebel side ? 
On the rebel side. 



138 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

1944. In what other battles? 

That was the only one. Some ten or fifteen. days after the battle of Shiloh the city of New 
Orleans was taken, and I forced my discharge. 

1945. Since that time have you taken a conspicuous part in politics? 

None, whatever. I came here and took the oath of allegiance. That was all I clone. 

1946. Did you not say you were about to be a candidate for the convention .' 

Yes, sir. I will tell you why. When I left the army I came here and took the oath of al- 
legiance, intending to remain quiet; but as these fellows continued to call nie a " God damn 
traitor," &c, I concluded to join the radical party, and did all I could for them. Some of 
my relations turned their backs on me, and after endeavoring to do much, I said I would do 
more, and took part in politics. When I came from the army I had no intention of doing 
anything of the kind. 

1947. Then, after that, did you become active in politics? 
I went into politics ; yes, sir. 

1948. Were you a supporter of the convention? 
Yes, sir. 

1949. Did you participate in public meetings held before that? 
Yes, sir : every one. 

1 9.">( I. I >id you publicly advocate negro suffrage ? 
Yes, sir. 

1951. Did you publicly advocate the exclusion of the rebels from voting? 
Yes, sir; even if it excludes me from voting. 

1952. Then you became a politician latterly of the radical class somewhat out of revenge? 
Not out of revenge. I had no prejudice against the negro. While I was in the college of 

Louis Philipe there was right alongside of me a great big black negro. 

]9.'>:>. If all those were excluded from voting in this city whom you call rebels, what pro 
portion of the white population would be allowed to vote? 

I would not be in favor of excluding all of those who had been in the confederate army, 
because, in my opinion, a great many were driven into it. I know I was forced viitually 
into the army ; and I do not think that soldiers who were so forced into the rebel army ought 
to be place 1 on a par with such men as Slide]] and Benjamin and others, who wanted to make 
money out of the rebellion, as Slidell and Benjamin did. I am in favor of excluding the. 
leaders who weut iuto the rebellion, but not the soldiers who were forced into the confederate 
army. 

1954. Do you believe, then, that some of those that took part in or who sided with the re- 
bellion would now make good loyal men ? 

Yes, sir. I am satisfied of that. Many of them were dying for want of something to eat. 
They were promised a support for their family, and they weut into the army to get food for 
them. 

1955. You think that many went into the army then who would be reliable supporters of 
the government .' 

I think there is no doubt about that in regard to many of the soldiers. 

1956. Then you think it would not be right to disfranchise all those who went into the 
confederate army ? 

No ; if I had my way to-day I would disfranchise all the leaders and officers of the con- 
federate army. 

1957. And none others ? 

I would disfranchise the civil and military leaders and none others. I would be down 
more upon the civil than military, because they were on the make. 

1958. Then you believe that most of those who took part in the rebellion would now most 
faithfully support the government? 

All the soldiers 1 believe would. There was nothing for them to do and nothing to prevent 
them from starving, and they went into the confederacy as the only way of giving their 
families a support. I do not think they went into the army because they were rebels. 

1959. There were other ways then of being forced iuto the army than by conscription ? 
Yes; that was another way. 

19(i(). Don't you think a good many who were not forced into the army would now support 
the government? 

Not one single one of these. 

1961. Are not you aware that some of the members of the convention at one time supported 
the confederacy 1 

I am aware of thai ; but if you will look at their history you will find they are politicians, 
and went into that because they thought it was the strongest side. 

1962. But they did it without any necessity on their part .' 

Yes. 

1963. Do you think they ought to be excluded from voting too? 
Yes. 

1964. Which of the men that belonged to the convention can you point out as men of 
that character*? 

I do not know of any. I suppose there are some, though I don't know of them ; but I do 



TESTIMONY OF R. F. DAUNOY. 139 * 

riot know of any to my knowledge. I do not think that there was anybody who went with 
the confederates. 

1965. Do you thilk there is anything to prevent a man who was a rebel by choice from 
becoming a loyal citizen I 

As-long as these men are in power I do not think they will change. 

1966. Do not yon think that the agitation of the question of negro suffrage has done a 
great deal of mischief in this community and embittered public feeling very much 1 

Yes, 1 think so; but I will tell you what I think ; there are persons who were in the con- 
federate army, and who are confederates now, and who say I cannot live here. I do not care 
about voting. I am in favor of negro suffrage and disfranchising rebels, if it excludes me. 
1 do not can- about having any office at all. 1 do not fear the men who are in power, although 
I think they would have killed me if they could before I got out of the house that day. 

19li7. If the doctrine of negro suffrage were not advocated here by extreme Union men 
would there not be. more harmony in the community? 

No, I do not believe it; they do not like me because I took the oath of allegiance to the 
United States. They did not like me when I took the oath, and there was no negro suffrage 
about that: on the contrary, they did not think that Mr. Lincoln was going to touch the 
question at all. 

1968. Have not many of those men taken the oath of allegiance to the United States 
themselves 1 

Yes ; and some of them are great rebels now, who are registered enemies of the United 
States in one hand and carry an oath of allegiance in the other. 

1969. Has not Mayor Monroe taken the oath of allegiance to the United States 1 
Yes, sir. 

1970. Do they hate him ? 
I do not like the man. 

1971. I did not ask you if you liked him. They do not interfere with him, do they ? 
No, sir. 

1972. Lieutenant Governor Voorhies has taken the oath? 
Yes. 

1973. Have not all in authority here taken the oath of allegiance? 

Yes ; and they were all leaders in the rebellion, and they would never have taken it but for 
the purpose of getting into power. 

J 974. You express your opinions freely and independently, do you not ? 

I will not express them now. 

1975. Have you done it heretofore ? 

I did, before these men got into power. 

197H. Have you not heard doctrines discussed to which the mass of the people here are 
opposed, at public meetings, in public halls, and in the public streets, without being molested 
or disturbed I 

As far as the Union party were concerned, they were always insulted when they had a 
meeting. At their mass meetings there was always some rudeness towards the speakers, 
and sometimes the meeting was broken up ; but when the democrats had a meeting nobody 
disturbed them. 

1977. Did you ever know a public meeting here broken up by violence, except that on the 
30th of July ? 

Not exactly by violence, but by noise and cursing the speaker. A meeting was broken up 
on Canal street, when Judge Field was speaking. There was a captain, I forget his name 
now, of the confederate army who told him "that he was telling a lie, and that he was a God 
damned rascal," and so on, until lie prevented him from speaking. He was obliged to sit 
down; if he had persisted in going on we might have had a fight. We were very careful 
about that; we wanted to get along without any fighting. 

1978. You say you know all the thugs in the city ; are you one of them ? 
No, sir. 

1979. How came you to become so well acquainted with them? 
Because I was a member of the know-nothing party. 

1980. How did that make you acquainted with the thugs ? 

We knew them. There were a great many big gentlemen here who were not thugs, but 
who gave the knife to the thugs to kill poor people with. 

1981. How did being a know-nothing make you-acquainted with the thugs? 

From this circumstance: I knew that the head of the know-nothing party had only to say 
to the times, you must knock down so and so, and it would be done. 

1982. Were the know-nothings thuga 1 
There were know-nothings thugs. 

19-;>. Were all the know-nothings thugs? 
No, certainly not; I was a know nothing, but I was no thug. 

1984. But the thugs and know-nothings, if I understand you correctly, acted together? 
Yes, sir; know-nothings knew what was going on, and they had a lot of rascals in their 
employ who would go and prevent people from going to the polls. I was rfoiumated to 



140 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

mind the polls of one district. I had the money, and I was to give this man so much money 
to go and fight the people who were voting against us. 

1985. That, yousay, is what you did I 

Yes, sir. 

19S6. You employed thugs and paid them money to drive voters from the polls? 

Yes, to knock them down and prevent them from going to the polls. 

1987. Did you expect to be elected to tins convention in the same way ? 
No, sir; because all the thugs were against us. 

1988. Were ii aot for that would you employ thorn to work for you in the same way as 
before ! 

No, sir, I was always against these principles. 

1989. Row came you to practice them it' you were opposed to them ? 

Well, I was then a member of the party; those gentlemen asked me to take charge of 
that district. 1 was not there myself that day. I paid the cash to those men who came to 
me; I knew them. I would be told to give such ami such money to such and such people; 
that they would call for their fees. The money I gave, was given to me for that purpose. 



New Orleans, La., December 2G; 1866. 
Dr. JAMES B. COOPER sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

1990. Describe as briefly as you can all the acts of violence you saw on the 30th of July 
last. 

I w as on my way to visit a patient, and had just arrived on the corner of Canal and Phil- 
ippi streets, where the Mechanics' Institute is situated, when the first firing I knew of com- 
menced. I remained there a few moments, and saw two persons shot down in the street. 
The crowd rushed out towards Common street, and I stepped back. While I was standing 
there two negroes came down and stood by me, one a man about my size and the other a 
tall, slim man, whom 1 judged to be in poor health. They came on by me. and I think four 
men started alter them, armed with clubs, and one armed with a pistol. One was a confed- 
erate soldier, with his left arm off. They hallooed " Kill the damn niggers, kill them." The 
negroes were very much frightened; they ran diagonally across Canal street towards the 
railroad track. As a matter of course I stood there very much excited. The old man suc- 
ceeded in reaching the curb and getting under the curbstone, and they reached under to 
catch him. The other one fell, and as lie commenced to rise up this man from tin confede- 
rate army came up and began to strike him on the head. He fell as if senseless. Three of 
the others came up as he lay there and struck him on the head; he remained lying as if 
dead. I then went back to myoffice; and that was all the cruelty or murder I saw on the 
streets al the time. 

1991. Ii yon heard any threats before the convention met as to what they were going to 
do about it. siate briefly what you heard. 

1 can simply say that I heard the common remark made in the street — I heard it in the 
car and elsewhen — that they were going to break up that convention at all hazards. 

1992. From whom did you hear these remarks .' 
from old citizens of this place. 

1993. liow did they say they were goiugtodo ii ? 
They did not say how. 

1994. State anj thing you know in regard to the riot being a premeditated matto r. 

My idea is that it was prearranged, from the tact that as J passed the police station, coming 
to my office that morning, i saw the police, a large body of them, there mas-.- iiion 

I was surprised, and the idea struck me then that they were there for that purpo b. The 
.station is at the corner of Elysian Fields and Dauphin street. 

L995. Al w hat time did you pass if .' 

About eight o'idock in the morning. 

1996. Were they all armed I 
That I eoidd not see. 

1997. Is there anything else you know, to show that it was prearranged .' 
] was also pasi a fire-engine house, aim saw the firemen collected. 

1998. Ai w aal lime was that .' 

Some time about eight o'clock in the morning. 

1999. How long before the alarm signal was given ? 

Some lime boiore that. I heard that alarm, and it was something unusual. I never heard 
it before Directly afterwards 1 saw the firemen rushing down towards the Institute. 

•-'"imi. Do you know whether the firemen carried cartridges when they rushed to the scene 
of action .' 

I do not know that. The next day after the riot I was going down as usual iu the morning 



TESTIMONY OF DR. JAMES B. COOPER. 141 

hi a city car; there were very few in the car. One man sat right alongside, and another 
stood up in the car; he seemed an elderly gentleman. He remarked that, had not martial 
law been declared, there would have been one thousand lives lost. The other said, we ought 
to have driven these negro troops out of here ; that is what we ought to have doue. 

2001. What is the state of feeling of those lately engaged in the rebellion, generally, to- 
wards ill'' United .States ; would they desire to renew the rebellion if they saw a good chance 
of success I 

1 hear nothing else but that opinion expressed; that is their opinion. 

2002. Who ill* you hear it from ■' 
From citizens, passing on the cars. 

2003. Union men, or rebels ' 

Rebels ; prominent men. That is the general feeling expressed, as far as my knowledge 
goes. My own life has been threatened several times. 
•_'! 104. What is your occupa-tiou ? 
1 am a physician ? 

2005. How long have you been here ? 
Fifteen months. 

2006. How have you been engaged during the war ? 

I was a surgeon in the army during the war, from Wisconsin. 

By Mr. BoYER : 

2007. Are you practicing your profession here ? 
1 am. 

2003. Are you in the enjoyment of any practice. 
Smne ; yes, sir. 

2009. Sufficient, I suppose, to induce you to remain in the city? 

Should things change, I shall remain; should things continue as they have been, I cannot 
stay here. I shall go in the spring. 

2010. Do you practice any among those who were formerly rebels? 

Some: yes, sir; but my practice is very limited among that class. I am marked distinctly 
as a northern man and as having been in the army. I have been told very frequently by those 
who had been in the rebel army, that I could not succeed on that account. 

2011. Still, you get some practice? 

Yes. 1 have had sufficient to sustain myself well, so far. 

2012. Is not that a pretty fair beginning for a physician who has only resided in this city 
for fifteen mouths .' 

I do not think it is, under the circumstances ; there was no other physician of standing, 
scarcely, in my district, at all. 

2013. 1 >o you mean to say that you are the only physician in that district? 

Mostly ; the only prominent physician. Another physician, who had sided with the 
rebels, bas come there since I came, and has almost three times the practice I have, and I pre- 
sume any one who knows us both will say that his reputation as a physician is not equal to 
mine. 

20 1 4 . You consider yourself a prominent physician ? 
1 am considered so, and consider myself so. 

20.15. Where were you practicing, before you came here ? 
In the city of Madison, Wiscousiu, and also in New York. 

Were you in the enjoyment of a good practice, there? 
I was. 

2017. Would it not have been better for you to have continued in the enjoyment of a good 
practice there than to have come to a rebel city? 

Ii would, most undoubtedly. Had I known how things are, I most assuredly should not 
have settled here* ; but things are very different now from what they were when I came here, 
fifteen months ago. 

2018. Do you mingle freely among the people here? 
I (1... 

•in)',). Have you ever been assaulted, or suffered violence, while you have been here ? 
sir; I have merely been frightened. 

1 lave you been in the habit of expressing your political feelings freely ? 

Scarcely; I have been very careful about it. 

2021 Did you sympathize with the convention that assembled on the 30th of July ? 

I bad no sympathy with it ; knew nothing about it. I did not g'o near it. 

2022. You say that while travelling in the cars you heard sentiments of hostility expressed 
towards Union men and the government .' 

They did not use the term Union men; they said "Yankees ;" every man who is a Union 
man they call "Yankee." That is the expression that is used here, and all over the south. 

2' 123. Can you give the names of any of the citizens of New Orleans whom you have heard 
express themselves in that way .' 

I cannot. I do not know their names. 

2024. Then you cannot give the name of a single one? 

No, sir. 



142 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New Orleans, La., December 26, 1866. 
MICHAEL O'NEIL sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 
2025. State your name and age. 

Michael O'Neil. I am about thirty-two. i 

2020. Where do yon live .' 
In this city, on the corner of Liberty and Poydras streets. 

2027. How long have you lived in New Orleans .' 
About nineteen years. 

2028. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? 
Yes, sir. 

2(120. What office did you hold, if any? 
I was a police officer <>t the first district. 

2030. Who was the lieutenant of the police in that district? 

Rammell; he was lieutenant of the first district ; since that he has been transferred to the 
second district. 

2031. About how many policemen were there in your district ? 
There were about 250 in the district, including supernumeraries. 

■ 2032. Did you get any orders from any one on Saturday before the convention, or on Sun- 
day, in regard to your duties > 

Yes, sir; I was called by the sergeant about 12 o'clock on Sunday; he told me to go 
home and go to bed ; to be at the station-house the next day at 8 o'clock, and that if I had a 
revolver to bring it along with me. 

2033. Who told you this? 
The sergeant of police. 

2034. Did you do so? 

Yes, sir; and reported myself at the station about 8 o'clock. 

2035. Whom did you find at the station-house when you arrived there? 

There were perhaps twenty or thirty when I got there, and the rest came in one after 
another. 

2030. Do you know if the same orders had been given to all to report at that time? 

I do not know, sir; there were some left on duty on Sunday night; still they were there in 
the morning. • 

2037. What took place there? 

I did not know the meaning of it. When I was ordered to report by the sergeant I ex 
pected this convention to meet; but I did not know it was for that, at the time. Nextmorn- 
ing when 1 gol to the station-house I lay down till about a quarter to twelve, when we were 
called into line. 

2038. How many were tbere*at the station-house until you came away? 
There were 150 to 200. I could not tell how many. 

2039 What was done? 

There were arms given to some of them. 

2040. What kind of arms? 
Revolvers and belts. 

2041. Who gave the policemen these arms? 

They wen' taken down stairs to get them, and I saw them come up with them. 

2042. Did you see the chief of police there 1 
Yes, sir. 

2043. D'nl they have arms when they went down ? 

No, sir; they did not. They went down without them and came back witli them. 

2044. How many police were there in the city at that lime.' 

About f'oiu hundred and fifty, I guess, of regular policemen, and about two hundred and 
fifty supernumeraries. 

2045. What proportion of them was getting arms? 
I could not tell exactly. 

2046. Mid you have your revolver with you? 
Yes, sir : the one 1 owned*. 

2047. What was said about revolvers being returned .' 

They were to In- returned after the thing was over. They were to be returned the next 
day. There was a store on Canal street where they got sonic out, and they were to be 
returned the next day. The store is on tin' comer ot Canal and Dryades streets. 

2048. What is the name of the store / 

I do not know. I never felt any interest in it to notice. 

20411. Alter the arms were given, how long did you stay at the station before you went 
away .' 

It was about a quarter past twelve when we were ordered to go down. The whole bjdy 
of police were ordered. 

2050. How many were there ? 



TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL o'NEIL. 143 

There were about one hundred and fifty. 

2051. Where were they ordered to go 7 

There was a sergeant, a lieutenant, and a corporal in charge, and we went down Canal as 
far as I >ryades street. When we got to Baronne we were ordered to march double-quick and 
to hurry up ; and when we got round the corner the tiring commenced. 

2052. Who began t? 
The policemen. 

2053. How near to the Institute were they when the firing commenced? 

When they got to the corner of Dryades and Canal. Several citizens helped the police- 
men when they used their clubs. 
2054 Against whom ! 
Against the negroes. 

2055. Why did they begin the firing? 

To kill the whole of them, if they got a chance; that is my opinion. It was awful. I 
stood off for some time, till the sergeant called me up and told me to go into the Institute and 
bring down the dead. It was horrifying. I was sick for two days alter it. 

2056. What did the negroes do to make it necessary to tire on them. 
They did not do anything that I saw. 

2057. Did they appear to be armed ? 

No, sir ; I did not see any kind of weapon on them. I did not see a club or anything 
else. 

2058. Did you see the procession of negroes that day, with a band of music ? 

No, sir; I was kept at the station-house confined till nearly twelve o'clock, and I did not 
see it afterwards. 1 only saw a crowd of people. There were lots of people standing round 
the corner of Canal, and Common, and Dryades. 

2059. Were any shots fired into the Institute ? 

Yes, sir ; they fired from the outside into the Institute ; they surrounded the Institute, and 
fired into it. There is an alley-way running back, and a few fired from there into the Institute ; 
there were some negroes in there, and some of them were wounded, and were takeu away. 

2060. Were the windows of the Institute open at that time ! 

Some of them were up, for some of the people inside jumped out to save their lives. Some 
of the windows were shut and some were open. I saw three or four dodge, and jump out to 
save their lives. I saved the life of one man, a white man, that I got hold of. He was 
under the impression that I was going to take him to the lock-up, but when i got away 
three or four squares I let him go ; that same man is a very rich man in this city. 

2061. State what instance you saw of shooting? 

When we turned the corner of Canal and Baroune, we were ordered to march double-quick, 
and everybody commenced firing at the Institute, and at the negroes in the street, no matter 
whether they were innocent or not ; and when a negro ran, they followed him till they killed 
him. Every man had his club there. 

2062. How long did that continue ? 

They kept it up for about an hour and a quarter. 

2063. Did you hear auy alarm horn the alarm bell? 
Yes, sir. 

20114. What was it? 

Twelve bells. 

2065. What was that for? 

That was for the purpose of bringing up the whole force of the police, and the firemen too. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2060. Was that a preconcerted signal for that purpose ? 

Yes, sir, for the purpose of bringing up the whole force of firemen and policemen. • 
2d67. How do you know it was a preconcerted signal .' 

We had orders at the station, when we heard twelve taps to come to the station-house right 
away. 

2068. Do you remember hearing this signal before? 

No, sir ; I never heard it given before that time. 

2009. By whom was it given at that time? 

It was ordered by the sergeant, but I expect he got his orders from the chief. 

By the Chairman : 

2070. W T hen the alarm did sound, did the whole police force and the firemen come up? 
All the policemen, but only one engine, No. 21. 

2071. What badge did the policemen have? 
A blue ribbon. 

2072. What was done when the firemen came up ? 

They commenced hallooing, and said they were going to kill everybody. 

2073. Do you know if the firemen had cartridges in their engine .' 
No, sir ; I did not examine. 

2074. Did you see the men come down from the Institute when they were wounded ? 



144 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Yes, sir, somecf them. 

2075. Did ymi see Dr. Dostie? 

No, sir; I do not know him. I saw Governor TTahn. 

2076. How were they treated when they came down? 

They threatened to kdl them. Governor Halm was saved by the chief of police. 

'2077. Did you see the man who tired the first shot .' 

No, sir; I could not tell, there was so much confusion at the time; but nearly everybody 
tired pretty nearly at the same time. 

2078. What did they do it for? 

I could imt tell what they did it for. 

Had there been any rioting that made it necessary to fire their pistols ? 

No, sir; there was nothing but a crowd of people standing round there. There had been 
a report at the station that there had been a riot on Canal street. 

2080. What were the pistols given to the police for 1 What did you hear said about it ? 

They were to use them in case of a riot. I did not hear what they were given for, but I 
was ordered to bring mine. 

208J. After the alarm was sounded, and the whole body of police and firemen came there, 
you say they kept on tiring at the negroes? 

Yes, sir. 

2082. I »id you see the policemen when they went up stairs into the Institute ? 

Yes, sir. 

>. I >id they say what they were coming up stairs for? 

The chief oi police went up. His name is Thomas Adams. 
Was be armed ? 

1 could not say. 

2085. How many went up with him? 

There we e three or four went up. There was one man, a policeman, got killed; he got 
wounded, and died a short time afterwards. 

20 -<>. 1 >id you go up with them either time? 

No, sir: 1 did not. 1 was on the other side of the street all the time. 

2087. Did you see Adams when he came down? 

Yes, sir ; he had hold of somebody : I do not know who it was. I do not know whether 
it was Mr. Dostie or not ; but a citizen beat him, and, I believe, killed him before he could 
gei away from them. 

-. Did you go up into the hall at all? 

I was ordered up to bring down the dead bodies. There were a great many broken panes 

of glass where the bullets had come in, and there were several marks of bullets. In the 

verj upper part or" the building I found five men hid; two white and three colored. The 

two white men were saved, but a citizen shot the negroes. They were taken down on the 

piette, and afterwards put into a wagon and taken off. 

2089. Why were they shot? 

They were hiding to get away. These men were on the roof; there is a kind of sky-light, 
o'U of which they had got. I suppose they were scared for their lives; and went up stairs 
to save themselves; it was the last thing they could do. This happened after it was all 
over. 

2090. 1 >o 3 mi know wdio shot them? 

I do not. I was down in the hall bringing down the dead; I heard the shots fired, and 
I saw the two uegroes thrown down from the roof. 

2091. Had the man who shot them any badge on? 

1 did in. i observe. 1 was bringing these wounded men down, and was much excited 
myself. 

•jn'.i'i. Give us some idea of the quantity of blood there was around there. 

The day was very hot. In some parts of the street there was half an inch of blood where 
these bodies were lying. Upstairs in the hall there was about two and a half inches of 
blood ; a regular mass in one place. When I got up there I got my shoes all covered with 
blood, and ii took my wife half an hour to clean them. There was one man there of the 
name of Hite, or Hyatt. He asked me if 1 had any more cartridges, as his were all "played 
■ m i." I told him I had not any, and did not mean to use any. He said he was going up 
to St. Chai les streel to get some. 

2093. Was he a policeman ! 

Yes, sir. His name is Benjamin Hyatt. 

2094. Where did they get their cartridges ' 
They could get them from several places. 

2095. Were they distributed to them as they wanted them? 
I could imt say. 

2096. .- ; iate how many were killed, if you know. 

I eon hi not say exactly. In my opinion, there were r about one hundred and fifty. They 
were taken away in wagons. 

2097. Where were they carried to? 
To the burying-ground, I suppose. 



TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL o'nEIL. 145 

2098, Row wove they thrown into 'he wagons I 

Tbey were picked up and thrown into ;be wagons. Tbeir bodies were swelled by the 
heal o a* -n/'. i'o; .In- sun was wry iio. iha,i day. 

2099, D : o mii see any negroes chased in he streets ' 

Yes. sir; I saw some of them that were followed fb 1 .-wo squares. 
•Mini. l»;.' von sr9 any of the policemen jump upon ihe negroes ! 

I saw men jump upon the negroes; but whether tut y were policemen or not I do not 
know , 

2101, When they jumped upon them were they lying Upon the ground ? 

Yes, sir. Some citizens fired upon them, and when they were down they jumped upon 
them, when they were not dead, when they were lying upon the banquette. 

2102. Where did you go after your day's work was over.' 

I wont in and reported to the seiigeant tliat I was so worn out that I could not stand duty 
that uight; I was quite sick; he told me to go home and be back at 8 o'clock that nip-lit. 
I went home and did not return until half past six Tuesday evening. I was worn out and 
disgusted. 

2 1 i 13. What officers of the government or city did you see at the convention ? 

I did not see the mayor. 1 saw the chief of police, also the sergeant and lieutenant.. 

2101. Do you know of any policemen returning their pistols? 

I do not know, sir. I suppose they would be returned. 

2105. How long have you been on the police? 
Since the appointment of Mayor Monroe. 

2106. Had the police been armed before at any time as they were armed on that day?' 
No, sir; the police are generally supposed to carry pistols ; but I never knew of orders* 

being given till then, and I was on :l.e police before the war. 

2107. Did you, during that day spy to the sergeant of police, or any other officer, that it 
was wrong for those things to b* 6 one .' 

Yes, sir; I said it was aga ■' [laman nature altogether. 

2108. To whom did you say ,iai? 
To one of the policemen. 

2 1 09. What did he say ? 

He said it was no sin to kill a " nigger;" and I said I would go.home-v-I did not care foir 
the sergeant or any one else. 
"21 L0. Have you been dismissed by the police ? 
Yes, sir; 1 was dismissed about a week ago. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2111. What were you dismissed for? 

There was a prejudice against me ; they were all down upon me because I was not in the- 
rebel army. The sergeant of police came and asked me if I was in the confederate army ; 
I said no. I told him I was in Mexico part of the time; and when I asked him why he 
wanted to know if I was in the rebel army, he said it, was all right, and to go on my beat :, 
but they have watched me ever since, and some of them have said they would get me off. 

2.1 12. You feel as if injustice had been done you ? 

Yes. si : they are fairly down on me all the time. 

21 13. When were you first put upon the police force? 

I was appointed about ten days after Mayor Monroe was elected. 

2« 14. Who appointed yon ' 

The mayor himself. I had the interest of the controller of the city of New Orleans. 

2J15. In what year was that ! 

In J 8(36. 

21 16. Then your appointment took place after Mayor Monroe's last election to office ? 
Yes, si;-. 

2117. And you served in the police from that time till about a week ago. 
Yes, sir. 

2118. On the 30th of July were there not other police who tried to quell the disturbance.. 
and preveni these barbariries? 

Yes, sir; i here were some, I guess. I saw some few. I was one of them myself.. 

21 19. Did y r ou see the chief of police upon the ground ? 
Yes. sir; iie went up siairs. I saw him go up. 

2J20. Did you see him afterwards .' 

Yes, sir; I saw him come down stairs with a white man. He did his best to save him, 
2121. To save him from whom? 
From being killed by the mob. 
2l2 - 2. Did you see the chief of police afterwards ? 
No. si--. 

2123. Did j t ou see the chief of police at any time during the day doing any acts which were ■ 
barbarous, or unbecoming an officer? ■ 

No, sir; I did not see him at any time until I saw him go up stairs. 

ION O 



146 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

2124. It' the police had not been there, how would those engaged in the convention have 
been likely to Lave fared ! 

My opinion is, that there would not have been half tin- bloodshed there was had it not been 
for the police firing first. 

2125. If the police had not been there, would not the mob have been likely to attack those 
in the convention .' 

It encouraged the mob when the police came there. 

2126. What proportion did the mob of citizens bear to the police in point of numbers? 
I could not say ; there were a lot of men and women, but I could not say exactly. 

2127. Was the crowd of citizens greater in number than the police force? 
Yes, sir. 

. Did you see a number of these in citizens' clothes armed ? 
Yes, sir; some of them were armed with clubs and soiue with iron bars. 
2129. Were there any tire-arms among them .' 
Yes. sir.; I saw some with revolvers. 

. Did you see the mob use these weapons ? 
"i es, sir. 

2131. When the commanding officer came round with the cavalry a little before one 
ii k. what effect did it ha\ e .' 

The United States officer told the lieutenant to keep the mob back. 

2132. Did the lieutenant of police obey ! 
\ es, sir. 

2133. Was there any further disturbance after that? 
No, sir; not in the least. 

2134. Was that officer accompanied by any soldiers? 
Yes, sir. 

• 135. How many .' 
Three, on horseback. 

2136. Did the appearance of the United States officer, with three men on horseback, put 
n end to the riot .' 

The riot was over, sir, at the time, and they were taking the dead bodies off the street. 
S137. Was there any repetition of the disturbance after that? 
No, sir. 

2138. If the military had appeared on the ground at any period before that, could they 
Lave readily quelled the riot and put an end to further disturbances ? 

Yes, sir; it' they had been sent for before the riot it would have been all right, and there 
would have been no bring at all. 

2139. Was the police changed for this particular occasion? 

It was the same police appointed by Mayor Monroe; the night and the day police were 
-ordered to be there at the same time. 

2140. Did you hear of any instructions to the police further than that they were wanted to 
quell any disturbance that might arise.' 

No, sir. 

2141. Vnu did not then hear of any orders which could be construed into instructions to 
commence a disturbance '. 

No, sir. 

214£. Then if any police encouraged the disturbances it was not in obedience to any in- 
tions they received, but from their own mo ion I 
ir; from all 1 know . 

21 13. 1 'id you see any white flag or pocket-handkerchief displayed by those in the hall of 
the com ention ' 

Yes, sir; v. lien I was on the opposite side of the street. 

2144. Were you at any time, during the continuance of the riot, on the landing on the 
second story in front of the ball door .' 

No, sir. 

■.'I 15. When the police first commenced firing, where were the persons against whom they 
directed their tire .' 

The people were in the street, in front of the Institute. 

2146. Did you see the procession of negroes .' 
1 did not. 

2147. What were the people in front of the Institute doing? 

Some were looking on and some were using violence tew aids the negroes. 

2148. Were they citizens who were using violence towards the negroes ! 
\ es, sir. 

2149. In what way were they using violence? 
With sticks and iron bars. 

2150. Was there not a contest at that moment between the citizens and negroes ? 
Nil, sir. 

2151. Did vnu see any negroes using weapons? 
No, sir, 1 did not. 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES SMITH. 147 

2152. Did you see none of them throwing brickbats? 
Yes, sir; 1 saw some of them throwing brickbats. 

2153. Was that about the time that the firing commenced ? 
Yes, sir; they threw brickbats at several persons-. 

2154. Did not the negroes at one time drive bark the policemen with brickbats and other 
missiles ' 

No, sir ; not that I saw. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

2155. Did the negroes throw any brickbats before they were shot at ? 
No, sir. 

2156. Did the police come there under command ot their usual officei's 1 
Yes, sir. 

2i.">7. Who are the officers of the police companies ? 

There are two corporals, two sergeants, and one lieutenant in each district. 

2158. Is it the duty of the police force to obey their officers the same as in a military com- 
pany I 

Yes, sir. 

2159. Is it the duty of the lieutenant to obey the orders of the chief of police when he is 
on the ground with them ! 

Yes, sir. t 

2160. Supposing that orders had been given by the officers to the members of the police 
not to fire ; would they have fired that day .' 

No, sir. 

2161. Do you know if any order of that kind was given by an officer of police that day, 
not to fire upon the people ? 

No, sir, I do not know of any. 

2162. Could the officers of police have prevented that firing and murder, had they so de- 
sired, in your judgment ? 

I think they could. I think so. 

'2 Hi:!. Were those men you speak of on the roof killed after the rioting was over? 

Yes, sir, they were. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2164. Please to repeat whether or not the police fired before you saw the brickbats thrown 
by the negroes, or whether the brickbats were thrown first. 
The police fired before, sir. 



New Orleans, La., December 2(3, 1866. 
CHAELES SMITH sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

2165. State your name and your age. 
Charles Smith ; I am 41 years of age. 

2166. Are you a resident of New Orleans .' 

I have been a resident of Louisiana nearly 22 years ; anc I have resided in New Orleans 
since 1862. 

2167. Have you held any office ? If so, what .' 

I was a member of the convention in 1881, and president of the senate; and was elected 
to the United States Senate by the legislature of 1864. I was collector of internal revenue, 
which office I held for a year, and was appointed by Mr. Lincoln. 

2168. Were you present at the assembling of the convention here in July, 1866? 
Yes, sir. 

2169 How long did you remain in the hall ? 

I went at twelve, but some little debate occurred with regard to appointing a committee 
to wait on Judge Durell, which Mr. Cutler objected to ; but I succeeded in carrying the mo- 
tion, and a committee was appointed, of which I was chairman. We then took a recess ; what 
time we were absent I could not positively tell. We went back to the hall and the conven- 
tion organized. 

2170. How long did you remain in the hall? 

I am not positive. I remember, on walking from the custom-house back to the hall, that I 
began to think they intended to make pood their threats. I thought so from the appearance 
of the crowds on the corners of the streets. Very shortly after we went into the hall the 
firing commenced. 

2171. How long was it before you left the hall ? 

I came down just before Doctor Dostie came down. In the excitement I could not tell 
exactly the time. 



148 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS 

2172. State as briefly as you can what acts of violence you saw while you were there. 

"When 1 came down stairs I saw several shots fired. J saw no one firing up stairs. The 
police were guarding round the doors of the building, and when I got on the sidewalk I saw 
several shots fired, and one was fired at me directly. The ball passed right through my coat. 
Then 1 went hack again, and after the convention was dispersed I went and stood right op- 
posite en Dryades street, and saw five or six that were shot and killed. I saw them pick 
them it]) and put them on a couple of wagons and drive off. Thinking; that I might he recog- 
nized in the crowd, 1 left. 

•Jl?:'>. Were you present at the preliminary meeting held before the 30th by the members 
of the convention, upon matters connected with the coining together of the convention/ 

Yes, sir; I was present at the meeting at Mr. Cutler's office? 

2174. State what it was the intention on the part of the convention to do when they got 
together on the 30th. 

As far as 1 have any knowledge, the object was to meet and see if we could get a quorum, 
for we were going to discuss the necessities of the loyal people of Louisiana, and submit it 
to the people whether they would sustain it or not. 

2175. Had there not been writs of election issued returnable in September? m 
Yes, sir. 

2176. Was it your business to transact any business before the return of those writs ? 
I did not so understand it. 

2177. Upon the question of suffrage was the convention of one mind, orwere they divided? 
They were not unanimous. 

2178. Was that one of the matters that you expected would be subjects of discussion at 
the proper time .' 

Yes, sir. 

2179. And such action as the majority determined upon would be submitted to the Con- 
gress of the United States, subjected to their approval or disapproval .' 

Yes, sir. 

2180. Slate what reasons there were for recalling the convention at that time. 

The reasons were simply these: The loyal men (1 mean the men that had stood by the 
government during the war) were ostracised. They could get no office and had no rights 
under the present government. 

2181. Why could not a loyal man get any office .' 

He could not furnish evidence that he had been in the rebel army. 

2182. Was that a requisite for official position? 
I have been told sua hundred times. 

2183. What, in fact, is the character of the persons who do hold office as to their having 
been connected with the confederacy.' 

As far as 1 know they have all served in the confederacy. I do not know that they have 
all been in the rebel army. Mayor Monroe, for instance, who was sent from New Orleans 
when General Butler was here, returned, and went on to Washington and was pardoned by 
the President, after his election as mayor of New Orleans. 

2184. State what was the condition of feeling here and in the State of Louisiana generally, 
so far as loyalty to the United States government is concerned. 

1 will state now, as 1 stated in the convention, that I do not think there is any real loyalty 
to the government outside of the negro population, and, perhaps, I should include the poor 
men or mechanics. There are exceptions, of course, but, I think, a majority of the citizens 
of the State of Louisiona are hostile to the government of the I Fnited States, and I think they 
are more so to-day than they were in I860, though they may have modified alittle. 

•Jf~f>. When you say hostile to the government of the United States, what do you mean .' 
1 mean they are not only hostile to the government of the United States, but to all men 
that come from north of .Mason and Dixon's line, or at least from States that did not join the 
confederacy. 

By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

2186. Is that hostility to which you allude a hostility towards the government itself, or is 
i; only a hostility towards what is called the radical policy? 

it is a hostility to the government and to northern people, and to what is termed the rad- 
ical party, hut which used to lie called in the convention of 1864 the Yankee party; it is a 
hostility to the perpetuity of the government of the United States and to northern men gen- 
erally. 

•Jl^7. There are men in the city who were not connected directly with the confederacy, 
who claim to he Union men, that would not agree to what jrou say, are there not .' 

1 presume there are. 

2188. Then how is it you have come to the judgment which you express? 

I come to my conclusion for this reason : 1 find that those men you refer to, as far as 

/le-'n actions go and as far as their sympathies and feelings are concerned, are with those 

who fought for the confederacy. I can point out many who claim to be Union men, but 

when you come to trace them down you find that they have more or less aided and abetted 

confederacy. 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES SMITH. 149 

By the Chairman : 

2189. What, if there shouldjbe a foreign war between the United States ami another gov 
erment, would be the conduct of these men ! Would they support or oppose the government 
ot the United Stales ! 

That is a question I hardly feel able t<> answer. There is a feeling of bitterness existing 
among many of those who have fought in the rebel army against foreign governments for 
not interfering in their behalf; but if there should be another chance of succeeding against 
the United States, my opinion is that almost every man of them would take up arms again. 

2190. Do yon come to this conclusion from your intercourse with these persons here, and 
from your own observation in regard to their actions, or from what others have said ? 

From my own observation and experience in the community. Six or seven months ago I 
was in the country on an errand of death — my private burying- ground was there — and I was 
insulted on the street and called a damned Yankee. I had lived in that neighborhood and 
married from that parish ; my wife was born on that soil, but I had never aided the rebellion ; 
on the contrary, I took a decided stand against it. I was here fourteen months within a 
day's distance of my family, aud did not see them once till General Banks came here. 

2191. What is .your judgment as to the proper remedy for the condition of things now ex- 
isting .' 

I do not know that we have more than one remedy, that is, the disfranchisement of those 
who have fought for the confederacy, or the enfranchisement of the negro, and I regard the 
enfranchisement of the colored population as the safest of the two. 

'Jl'd"2. Suppose the protection of the military should be withdrawn, aud affairs in Louis- 
iana left to take care of themselves, what, in your judgment, would be the result? 

I can tell you what would be my T action ; I would follow them immediately; and I believe 
that a man who has stood by the government since the commencement of this war would 
not be safe here for twelve hours. 

By Mr. Shellabargek : 

2193. Have any of those who were engaged in the riot been arrested ? 

No, sir. I am myself under a $1,500 bond for meeting at the Mechanics' Institute on the 
30th of Julj r ; I was arrested two days alter. 

•21'J4. Would there be any difficulty in securing convictions, provided the people were loyal ? 
Would there be any difficulty for want of testimony ? 

I think not, sir; I think there could be ample testimony furnished to convict. 

2195. State whether crimes committed against Union men can be successfully pi'osecuted 
in the criminal courts here. 

I think not. 

2196. How are the juries composed.' 

They are composed of this same class of men to whom I have referred. 

2197. How are jurors selected? 

They are drawn in boxes by the sheriff. 

2198. Do you know anything about the administration of the test oath to jurors ? 
No, sir. 

2199. Suppose it had been desirable to disperse that convention, or to arrest its members, 
and in that way to prevent its session; could that have been accomplished without violence 
or bloodshed? 

I think so ; I believe so. 

2200. Was there any preparation made for resistance to the process? 
None that I know of. 

2201. Would there have been any resistance to process, if process had been resorted to? 

I think not, so far as 1 know r ; in fact, several members that 1 talked to were expecting to 
be arrested on Monday. 

2202. Had the convention, or any member thereof, been requested not to meet by the city 
authorities, or by the commanding general, or the attorney general, so far as you know? 

Noue, so far as I know. 

2203. Had they been notified that their meeting would be a dangerous one to the public 
peace? And were they requested .to desist from meeting? 

Not that I am aware of. It may be well to state here what occurred at Judge Durell's ; 
he was a member of the convention. John Purcell was on the committee that waited on 
Judge Durell ; I was chairman of that committee,. and, as chairman, I put the question di- 
rectly to the judge, "Will you proceed ?" Judge Durell remarked, "No, sir." To the best 
of my recollection he said, " It will be as much as your life is worth to lie there." This was 
the day the convention met — that is, on Monday. When we came down out of the room 
Mr. Purcell said, '' I'll have nothing to do with the convention." He had been there, and 
was there at the roll call. Mr. Purcell left the hall and did not come back. 

2204. You stated that you did not know but that they were going to put their threats into 
execution at the time you saw the crowd gathered. What threats do you refer to ? 

To the threats generally heard on the street. I had heard that Mayor Monroe had said 
that he would disperse the convention, if they met, at the risk of taking every member's life. 
This was said quite a week before the convention met. I heard no threats 1113 self. 



150 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2205. When was the preliminary meeting of which you speak that was held at Mr. Cut- 
ler's office? 

Some time the week before, but I do not recollect what time. 

2206. How many were present at that meeting? 

I do not know how many ; then- wen- some eight or nine persons there. 

2207. Did they arrange a programme for the meeting of the convention? 

They merely talked over the meeting of the convention; there was no regular programme 
arranged. Each member, 1 presume, was aware of what the meeting of the convention was 
for. The subject to be discussed was talked over. I met individual members of the conven- 
tion oft< ti 'in the street and talked with them, urging them to attend the meeting on Monday. 

2208. Had a majority of the members of the convention of 1864 ever had a meeting upon 
the subject ? 

Net that I know of. 

2209. Vou say the object of the meeting at Mr. Cutler's office was to have the convention 
meet ami see whether you could get a quorum at the convention? 

Yes, sir. 

2210. What steps were taken to get a quorum there at Mr. Cutler's office ? 

There were no steps taken more than that the members we knew were in the city were to 
l>e notified, as well as those in the adjoining parishes. 

2211. How were they to be notified? 

Through the post office, I presume ; each member, I presume, received notice in this way ; 
1 received my notice through the post office. 

2212. Were? they all notified.' 

I do not know whethei they all were or not. 

2213. When the convention did meet, on the 30th of July, was there a quorum of all the 
members present ? 

There was not. 

•J. i !. Had the convention ever before attempted to hold a meeting since 1864 ? 

Not what might be termed a legal meeting that I am aware of. 

2215. Were there any steps taken by those who did meet on the 30th of July to enforce the 
attendance of absent members? 

Yes, sir; the convention took a recess, and the sergeant-at-arms was despatched to bring 
n absent members. There were several members in the city who were not there; there 
i ere two in the building who were not at the meeting. 

2 - 2Ui. In ease tluy refused io attend, was he instructed to enforce their attendance? 

Not that 1 know of : he had no means to use to coerce the attendance of members; he 
had no authority by which he could enforce them to attend; besides, there was a divided 
opinion on the legality of the meeting. 

22 i 7. Was the sergeant-at-arms the same as officiated in that capacity in 1864 ? 

No, sir. 

2218. When was the one who acted in that capacity on the 30th July chosen? 
1 think he was chosen at that meeting:. 

2219. Who was he? 

1 paid but very little attention to the selection oi this sergeant-at-arms. I think his name 
was Loup. I was at the time away about other matters. I know Mr. De Courcy was ser- 
geant-at-arms in 1864, and I believe he was in the hall at the time. 

_ 2220. How was ii intended to proceed, in case a quorum of the members of the conven- 
tion of i 36 I could do! be gol together? 

I do not know that that matter was discussed. We had only held an informal meeting 
outside. 

2221. Was not thai matter discussed at Mr. Cutler's? 

It was proposed that the vacancies should be rilled by elections. We did not expect to 
do anything without a regular quorum '. . 

2222. Was the objeel of the convention to amend the constitution of the State I 

1 do not know that I heard anything about the amendment of the constitution of the 
State. The object of the convention was to protect the loyal citizen in his rights, to discuss 
the question of suffrage and other questions that might come up, and then to submit all 
naiters to the government at Washington for their approval or disapproval. 

2223. Do you mean to be understood as saying thai the convention did not intend to take 
any action in reference to the amendment of the constitution of the State ' 

1 'I" not wish to be underst 1 to state that; but that the question of suffrage was one 

question on which the convention was going to act, ii' they wen- sustained by the govern- 
ment. 

2224. My question was not in reference to negro suffrage, or any other question of the 
kind, Imi simply whether the managers of the convention, so far as your personal knowledge 

intended to amend or in any way modify the constitution of the State by the action of 
the convention. 

As far as the suffrage question is concerned, yes. sir; I so understood it, provided, 
always, that the convention was sustained by the government. 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES SMITH. 151 

2225. Then, as I understand you, the intention was to submit the action of the conven- 
tion to Congress, and Dot to the people of the Slate? 

Speaking for myself and several others I conversed with, thai was my view, from the 
simple fact that it must be submitted to Congress, because uine-tenths of the people of the 
State were opposed to emancipation. 

2226. So yon understood it ? 
Yes, sir. 

2227. Have you any knowledge of that being the view of other members of the conven- 
tion ' 

Yes, sir; of some few I conversed with. 

2228. Was that generally the design of those members with whom you conversed ? 
. sir. 

222;'. Did yon suppose that the Congress of the United States had the right to alter the 
constitution of the State of Louisiana in that way ? 

I never considered that the State of Louisiana had any constitution since she seceded, but 
that all authority belonged to the government of the United States ; and this from the simple 
fact that the government of the United States has (tartly acknowledged the authority of the 
State of Louisiana and partly repudiated it. She has refused to admit the members of Con- 
gress elected under the constitution of the State, and yet she has recognized it so far that 
the officers of Louisiana are working under it. 

2230. Then it was not expected that the action of the convention should be sanctioned hy 
the people, of Louisiana ; but it was expected to be submitted to Congress for their ap- 
proval ! 

Provided the right of suffrage was accepted by Congress ; then it would be act-opted by 
the State of Louisiana; bnt it had to be submitted to Congress, and if the government sus- 
tained us, we could, of course, proceed and pass an act of suffrage. 

2231. Have I understood yon to say that after the approval of the action of the conven- 
vention, the constitution framed by them would have been approved by the people of Lou- 
isiana ? 

Yes, sir ; by the loyal people. 

22:52. Whom do you mean by the loyal people? 

I meau, of course, those who stood by the government of the United States during the war. 

2233. Do you not recognize as loyal now some of those who took sides with the rebellion 
against the government during- the war '. 

There may be isolated cases which I might regard as loyal now ; but so tar as my expe- 
rience goes, I have never in my personal relations met one that I have heard speak favorably 
of the government, and I have heard them speak, often and often, of the gallantry of the 
confederate soldiers and the heroism of the confederate dead. 

2234. You say you never heard One speak favorably of the government who had partici- 
pated iu the rebellion ! 

Not as a class : nor any one who participated in the rebellion, or held any command under 
the so-called confederate government. 

2235. Did not some of the members of your convention alluded to at one time participate 
in the rebellion ? 

I have been told so, but I do not myself know of any such case. I have been told that 
such a man participated in the rebellion against the government, but I could not point out 
any such one. Those men, however, were very bitterly opposed to the meeting of the con- 
vention. 

2236. Was it one of the objects of the convention so to amend the organic law of the 
State as to take away the right of suffrage from those who had participated in the rebellion ! 

Many were divided on that question; some were in favor of disfranchising those who had 
participated in the rebellion and of enfranchising the colored men ; others were in favor of 
a total enfranchisement of the negro. 

2237. Were any in favor of both ? 

Some were, perhaps, to some extent in favor of both. 

2238. Was the latter doctrine generally proclaimed at public meetings held previously to 
the convention in which Dr. Dostie and other leading members of the convention partici- 
pated ' 

Dr. Dostie was not a member of the convention. 

2239. Was Dr. Dostie a friend of the convention, a supporter of the convention, and an 
advocate of the convention ? 

Yes, sir. 

2240. Did he participate in the meeting held a short time before, in relation to tin' con- 
vention .' 

Yes, sir ; and I heard him speak on the Saturday in front of the Institute. 

2241. State whether the doctrines of negro suffrage and the disfranchisement of those who 
had taken part in the rebellion were not upheld at those public meetings at which those who 
favored the convention spoke. 

As I said before, opinions, as far as I know, were divided. Dr. Doslie, as far as I heard 
him express his opinions, was in favor of the total disfranchisement of those who had partici- 



152 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

pared in the rebellion and the entire enfranchisement of the negro ; but Dr. Dostie wielded 
but very little influence in the convention. 

'2'2A'2. Were not he and others entertaining similar opinions allowed to discuss these and 
similar questions in the public halls and public streets of New Orleans without molestation? 

I do not know that 1 have heard Dr. Dostie speak from the time of the elections of 1864 
until I heard him in front of the Mechanics' Institute on Saturday prior to the convention. 

'22V-K 1 speak of public meetings held by the supporters of the convention. 

I could not answer this question, because I did not attend those meetings, or a very few 
of ;hi hi. 

2i4i. Do you know, notwithstanding, that such is the fact? 

1 knowthat many entertain those opinions. , 

'!'J'~ . 1 a&k you if they were not publicly discussed .' 

It was seldom I attended their meetings, If they had allowed the convention to assemble 
a cm: ■■ of days it would have been known ; for the very first thino- that would have occurred 
in Lin i (invention would have been a discussion on this very subject. 

22 '>•. You say that a Union man in this city cannot get any office ? 

He coil i not at that time. 

2247. Could he now ? 

I have very serious doubts about it now. There may be some modification of sentiment 
just about this time. 

2248. Do you think there is any general bitterness of feeling in this community against 
any other class of Union men except those who agitated negro suffrage and the disfranchise- 
ment oi those who formerly took part in the rebellion .' 

.\s far as my experience goes, 1 hear it against northern men in general. I cons . i v hear 
them talking about the "damned Yankees" coming down here and staying ne'e. J. is ve ,- y 
seldom that I hear a man abused for being a radical, but the universal term •'Yankee" is 
applied. 

2'24i>. Do you mean to be understood as saying that northern radicalism is attributed to all 
northern men ' 

No, sir. I mean to say that it is only very recently that I have heard the wo <i li •< eVal" 
used, but it has been universally the case that they have been cal'ed " Yankees." and uey 
have been hated accordingly. Now you can put your own construction on it whether " Yan- 
kee" means "radical" or not. 

2250. I ask you, and I now repeat my question in substance, whether the bit erness of 
feeling in this community of which you have spoken does not arise from the fact that some 
of those who call themselves Union men here advocate and insist upon negro suffrage and 
upon the disfranchisement of white men who have been engaged in the rebellion? 

Probably it is. In all probability the majority of the people of Louisiana are very much 
opposed to negro suffrage, and the majority of them would be very much opposed to the dis- 
franchisement of white men, because it would affect themselves. 

'-—-"> 1 - And do not that class of extreme Union men in this community desire to disfran- 
chise white men and to give suffrage to black men for the same reason, namely, that it would 
secure to '.hem the offices to the exclusion of their opponents? 

I think that would he a very hard question for me to answer. I presume all men like 
office, but as to answering for others, 1 cannot. 

2252. Yon have answered for others before, and this is the reason why I propose the question. 

What you term the extreme I 'nion men were men that stood by ihe government in its dark- 
est hour, and aided and assisted the government while these men were out fighting against 
the government. There must necessarily be bitterness of feeling existing between the two. 

2253. [fthe restoration policy of President Johnson were to prevail, state whether or not 
it would have any influence in allaying the bitterness of feeling in this community. 

To the best of my belief then- is a class, the majority, the class of which we have spoken — 
those who have been in the confederate army, or who have assisted in some.way the confed- 
erate cans. — who would approve : but I do not think it would allay their feelings of bitterness 
towards the men who have stood by the government. They might approve of this policy, 
because it would throw all power into their hands — that is, into the hands of the same party 
that existed here in IS60. This party would have all the power back into their own hands, as 
they have it now in this city. They would accept the President's policy because they would 
have t heir seats in t longress again, because they would have a majority in the State, and they 
would just he in tin- condition they were when this State seceded; whereas that c' ass of men 
that siood by the government and opposed secession would be thoroughly and fully ostra- 
cised as far as any place or office is concerned, and this will be the case unless we have uni 
versa! suffrage. 

2254. State whether it is your opinion, from what you know of the sentiment of the people 
in this State, that if admitted to representation, and if all their State rights were restored as 
they existed before the rebellion, they would in good faith yield obedience to the government. 

1 certainly do not think they would, so far as 1 know. They would yield obedience, but I 
do not think it would be in good faith or in good feeling. 
•2'2.")."). Practically, however, you think they would yield. 
They would yield, because they would have their representation on the floor of Congress 



TESTIMONY OF JEREMIAH SULLIVAN. 153 

ami be in a situation to enact this thing- over again in eight or ten years, which I believe they 
would tin it' thev had a show of a particle of success. 

2256. Is the feeling of bitterness to which you have alluded more intense now than it was 
immediately after the suppression of the rebellion I 

I do not know. I have mingled very little with the~people of late. I do not know that I 
could answer that question. 

2257. 1 think you stated that there is no real Loyalty to the government of the United 
States except among the negroes and the working classes ' 

Yes, sir; and many of those are not loyal. 

2258. Then those whom you term loyal constitute a small minority of the community I 
Yes, sir ; but if you take the colored men I think the loyal people would be in a majority. 

2259. Is it your doctrine that those loyal negroes and the few others comprehended in your 
description of loyal men should govern the State? 

That is my doctrine. 

2260. To the exclusion of the other people of the State .' 
I do not wish to say to the exclusion of all others. 

2261. How would you allow them to participate ? 

If the right was given to the colored men to vote, and if within a district a man was 
popular enough to be elected, I say, let him be elected, and serve; I would not ostracise 
every man. 

2262. Would you permit those who had participated in the rebellion to vote ? 
If I knew his sentiments I would. 

2263. That is, if you knew on which side he would vote? 

I do not wish to be understood that way. I would not ostracise a man on account of his 
opinions. If I knew that he accepted the situation in good faith, and had seen the conse- 
quences of the rebellion, and had taken the oath in good faith, not as I have heard dozens 
of them say, take it thus far, (the witness here put his hand to his throat, indicating that what 
was above it was speech, not conviction,) so that they could throw it up. 

22(>4. Who should lie the judges in that case? 

They should be judged by their daily walk and conversation. If a man mingles in the 
community and associates with others and is heard to converse on politics I should be very 
dull if I could not tell on which side his sympathies lay. 

2265. My question was not how this should be decided, but who should be the judge to 
make the decision — that is, who should decide when the walk and conversation of those who 
had participated in the rebellion qualified them for the ex* v c'se of suffrage? 

They would not allow a minority to be the judge. I be ; ieve, if the right of franchise is 
igven, the majority should be the judge. 

2266. But are you in favor of giving it to the majo' itv at present ? 

I am in favor of giving the right of suffrage to ihe colored man, and have been. 

2267. But are you in favor of giving it to the whi i man '. 

I do not know that I understand your question. Since the white man has already got it, 
it has never been taken away from him. 

2268. As I understand, you are in favor of depriving those of the right to vote, in this 
community, who took part in the rebellion. 

There was a class of those who took up arms in the rebelion that I would disfranchise. 

2269. What proportion of the white community would that embrace? 

I do not know that I could correctly answer that question. There is a large number of 
the rank and file, a great many, that 1 know were forced into the rebel army ; those I would 
not wish to disfranchise. 

2270. You would disfranchise all those who went into the rebel army otherwise than by 
compulsion .' 

I would disfranchise all who went voluntarily, unless they would enfranchise the negro, 
as I said before ; if they would en!' anchise the negro, I would be in favor of enfranchising a 
portion of those who fought in the confederate army. 



New Orleans, La., December 26, 1866. 
JEREMIAH SULLIVAN sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

227 J . How old are you ? 

I cou'd.not tell my age ; I was about twenty when I landed here in '45. 

22T^. Have you been living in New Orleans ever since 1 

Yes, sir. 

2273. Were you at any time one of the police of New Orleans ? 

I was seven years and eight months with them. 

22/4. When did you cease to be a member of the police ? 

At the election of John T. Monroe, the mayor. 

2275. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last ? 



154 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. . 

Yes, sir. 

2276. Where were you ou that day ? 

1 lived on Clio street back of the asylum; coming down St. Charles, I was informed that 
they were going to meet at the custom-house ; I went to the custom-house and was informed 
by an old citizen at the custom-house that they were going to meet at the. Mechanics' Insti- 
tute. I started up towards there, and coming to the corner of Canal and Philippa the shoot- 
ing commenced: My sou was in company with me and a Mr. Jones. 

2v?77. What did you see \ 

I saw the police running, some of them were running bare-headed. Barney Fox I noticed 
had no cap ; lie was running with a pistol in his hand, and I heard him fire five shots off. 
lie has Lived next door to me for five years. 

2278. What did he fire the five shots at .' 

At the colored people who were running. Then I saw William O. C. O'Donnell; I saw 
him with a revolver in his hand. At the time of the vigilance committee he had a grudge 
against me. and I retreated and went into the house. When I saw him I thought he would 
have a good chance, when they were shooting in all directions, to have a chance shot at me, 
and I told Mr. Jones to keep an eye on him. O'Donnell shook his head at me. Jeff Burke 
came in ; he was shot in the ribs ; I told the doctor Jeff wanted to see him. I took a decanter 
of brandy to him and told him to drink some of it, till he could get a carriage to go home ; 
then I went into the street to see if he could get home, when I heard of the murder of Dr. 
Dostie and of Mr. Henderson, who died afterwards from the effects of his wounds. I saw a 
colored man running, without his hat, about a block and a half away from the Institute, 
and as he was running, the policemen after him, they shot him with four balls and be fell, 
and they began to jump upon him. Mrs. Mewkes, before whose house this happened, said, 
" For God's sake do not do such a brutal thine: before my door." Then I saw a captain of a 
company of colored people, Captain Loup ; I think he is a German; I know the gentleman right 
well ; he ran, making towards the confectionary, and four police tookhim into custody. After- 
wards I heard lie was killed and brought to the district station. He was in good health 
when they took him into custody, and he was dead when he arrived at the station-house. 

'2'J?lt. How many persons did you see dead or wounded ? 

When I was crossing the street I saw a United States officer with his sword by his side. 
In my estimation I saw about sixty colored people lying in the street, none of whom I sup- 
posed would recover, so badly were they wounded. 

2280. Did any of the carts or drays with dead come by your place? 
No, sir; I live in the upper part of the town. 

2281. How were those policemen armed? 
"With revolvers. 

2282. Had they belts ? 

I did not see any belts. 

228A. Had they any badges? 

^ es, sir; I did not see any exposed at the time of the riot. O'Donnell, that I spoke of 
before, was in the police then, but has since been discharged ; he is notorious in the city for 
outlawry. 

l'>\ Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

^2284. Name over the different number of men you saw shot. 

*At the corner of Philippi and Canal streets there were about five colored men lying at the 
corner, two at one place, righl by the left-hand corner of Philippi street : then on the neutral 
ground there were ten or twelve; they were retreating across the street when they were shot ; 
some had life in them ami some were lying still. At the corner of Philippi street, on both 
sides of the banquette, they were somen here lying down ; there were perhaps fifteen or twenty 
there when I was crossing ihe corner, and I saw that one that was killed before Dr. Mewkes's 
door. This was the one that was killed when Mrs. Mewkes said, "For God's sake do not 
commit so brutal a murder before my door." I had no conversation with the police. 
'J - >r.. Did you hear them talk among themselves? 
No, sir; I kept my distance away from them. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

'J'J~(i. When you spoke of information having been given to you that they were going to 
meet at the custom-house and afterwards at the Institute, who were to meet? 
The legislature. I believe that was the title they gave them. 



NEW ORLEANS, La., December 26, 1866. 
ANTHONY REMOTE (colored) sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

2287. State your name and your age. 
Anthony Remoir. I am forty-five years of age. 

2288. Where do you live? 



TESTIMONY OF C. RENAUD. 155 

I live hero. I was born and raised in Now Orleans. 

2289. Are you a laborer '. 
I am a brickmason. 

2290. Were you in Now Orleans when the convention was here, on the 30th of .Inly last ? 
Yes, sir, I was. 

2291. Were you in the Institute .' 

I went to see it. I wont to hoar what was said. I stopped there, but I heard nothing. I 
staid for about half an hour, and left. Then the policemen came and began to fire down 
Btairs; that killed plenty of them down stairs. I had nothing to do with them. I did not 
want to get into any row. When they came up stairs they began to shoot inside. 

•J',".* - .'. Do you mean those inside began to shoot? 

1 do not think anybody had any arms only two or three, perhaps, but they did nothing. 

2293. What did you do? 

When I saw I could do no hotter, I jumped right out of one of the back windows. When 
I jumped out a policeman got hold of me by the arm, and he took a stick and knocked me on 
the head, then another with a bowie-knife cut me in the back of the hand. I staid in the 
hospital for throe weeks, and then I came home. 

2294 Did they take you to the lock-up .' 

Yes, sir, they took me in a cab, and in about two hours they brought all that were wounded 
to the hospital. 

•JJi*"). Did you see any citizens or firemen commit any violence? 

Only policemen. I did not see any firemen. 

•2'J9t>. How many times was the door of the hall broken open before you jumped out of the 
window .' 

I think the door was broken open two or three times. 

2297. Did the policemen fire into the room ? 
Yes, sir, every time the door was open. 

2298. Did you see the chief of police ? 

No, sir. In an affair like that you try to get yourself away, and when you have no arms 
you try to get away, not to bo killed. 

2299. Did you go right from 3"our house to the Mechanics' Institute? 
Yes, sir. 

2300. Did you see anything in the street before you went to the hall ? 
No. sir. I saw about five or six men that had a drum beating, and a flag. 

2301. Did you see any firing in the street ? 
No, sir. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2302. Are you a full-blooded colored person ? 
I believe so. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

2303. Were you a soldier in the United States army ? 
Yes, sir ; in company E, fourth Louisiana. 



New Orleans, La., December 26, 16GG. 
C. EENAUD sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

2304. What is your age ? 
I am thirty-eight. 

2305. Where do you live ? 

At No. 91, Saint Peter street. New Orleans. 

2300. How long have you lived here ? 

Fifteen years. 

23U7. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th July last ? 

Yes, sir. 

2308. Were you at the Institute on that day ? 

Yes, sir, I was in the hall when the convention was called. 

23U9. How long did you stay there? 

About half an hour. 

2310. Were you there when the prayer was offered ? 

No, sir; I was called to take a drink, and before I left there the first firing commenced on 
the street, and I saw four or five policemen fire upon the procession that was moving with 
the United States flag, and one special officer, a detective, Crevon. I saw him firing on that 
procession ; one black man I saw arrested on Canal street, and taken to the jail. There was 
firing by the police and the boys, but I do not know their names. 



156 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

231 1. Who were the policemen firing at? 

I saw four or five with pistols in their hands, but in my judgment they were firing indis- 
criminately at tla* procession. 

23 "2. \\ here was the procession at that time ? 
Crossing Canal street to go to the Institute. 
23 I 3. What time of day was this? 
About 124. 

2314. Go on and describe what you saw after that. 

After that I saw the arrest of colored men who were in the procession by Crevon, especially ; 
lie struck me on the street with his club. After that 1 saw the sergeant of police of the 

second district, Thomas ; I forget his other name; he came with twelve or fourteen 

firemen, who fell in by twos, like soldiers, and they fired on the colored people in the street, 
before the Institute. 

2315. Did you notice if any colored people fell under that firing ? 

They all ran, but they got but little chance to get away, for they were killing them as fast 
as they could. 

2316. Were the police stationed at both ends of Dryades street to prevent them escaping? 
They did not get a chance, for if the colored men did not run, the policemen would kill 

tie ii on the street. 

2317. Could not the negroes run in the direction of Common street without getting shot ? 
No, sir; they could not run away except to be shot. There were policemen all round the 

Mechanics' Institute in every direction. 

2318. "W 1 1 1- 1 1 the negroes attempted to escape they were shot in every direction .' 

Yes, sir, whenever they ran ; there is a little door behind the Mechanics' Institute, and 
BOme may have got there. I saw one policeman, Teyard, of the second district, firing at the 
horse-car, for there were negroes on the car, but I don't know how may he killed, for the 
driver ran away ; a negro was running to get to the car. but he was killed before he got 
into it. 

2319. State all the cases where you saw men shot. 

At 4 o'clock, after the United States troops came, I saw one negro killed near the market 
by a police officer. 

2320. How far is that from the Institute? 
It is about three squares. 

2321. What was the negro doing ? 
Nothing at all. 

2322. How did he kill him? 

He just saw him and killed him like a dog. 

•j:i'j:>. Did you see them shoot any negioes over in the lot by the side of the Institute ! 
At that hack doorof the Institute I saw some pe; [taps f,weniy , thai were killed at that door, 
for there were forty or fifty policemen. 

2324. Where is that door? 

It is a door passing from the Mechanics' '\is i'XeVn Baronne street, and as the v attempted 
to escape by that door into Baronne streei (bey wee sboc. 

2325. Where were you when you saw iheni sho. .' 
I was* just opposite the door. 

232(1. Did you see them killed, or did you only see them after they were killed ? 
I saw two or three killed. 

2327. How many were killed at that door, as far as you know, altogether? 
Four or five is all that I saw killed myself. 

2328. How many were killed there that you did not see killed, but whose bodies you saw ? 
Fifteen or sixteen. I saw nine killed at the corner of Baronne. 

2329. Did you see whether the police had concealed their numbers on their caps ! 
I do not know; hut the ribbon 1 saw on the police myself. 

2330. Did you see any men marked by a blue ribbon'.' 
Fes, sir, I did. 

2331. Did you see any marked by handkerchiefs tied round their arms? 
No, sir. 

2332. Did you see any marked by handkerchiefs tied round their coat collars ? 
No, sir. 

2333. Did you see any citizens that were not police take part in the shooting and disorder? 
Yes. sir, plenty. 

2:534. What military service have you been in? 

The United States service, company A, 1st Louisiana, and detective to General Butler. 

2335. Judging from all you saw there, could those negroes and members of the convention 
have been arrested without any violence, it' they wanted to arrest them .' 

Yes, sir; they did not want to arrest them, they wanted to kill them. 

2336. Do you know whether there was any previous preparation for that slaughter made 
by the police? 

Yes, sir; hut I don't know by myself. Baptiste De Jourdain, who has property here and 
is a good friend to the recorder and the lieutenant of police, said to me that be understood 



TESTIMONY OF J. F MOLLEKE. 157 

from the lieutenant that he had received orders. I did not see the order, but the lieutenant 
told me that he and two or three officers had received orders to arm the police, because 
they were going to have a big tight at the Mechanics' Institute the next, Monday at the con- 
vention. This was on the .Saturday, two days before the riot. 

3237. When were you told that? 

It was on the Saturday, about twelve' o'clock, it was told to De Jourdain, and it was told to 
me the same day. 

3338. I [ave you told all you saw of the fight? 

I cannot tell all. I saw plenty of policemen fighting negroes, and I saw them fighting on 
every street. I was round all day. 

2339. Was the fight on many of the streets .' 

Yes. sir : on plenty. I can't say the number, because I saw too many. 

[Mr. Boyer objected to the reception in evidence of the conversation of Baptiste De Jour- 
dain with the witness.] 

WITNESS. I also wish to state that immediately after the general alarm on Monday, about 
three-quarters after twelve, I saw the firemen bring three boxes of cartridges on Canal street, 
and the policemen used these cartridges to load their pistols with. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

2340. How long were you present while the disturbance was going on ? 
1 was there about fifteen or twenty minutes. 

2341. Then it was only during these fifteen minutes that yon saw anything going on? 
Before that I saw nothing, as I was at the Mechanics' Institute. 

2345. How many firemen did you see with cartridges ? 
I don't know the number. 

2343. How many policemen did you see get cartridges from them ? 
I cannot say how many ; there were many. 

2344. How do you know they were firemen who brought the cartridges ? 
Because some had the firemen's belt 

2345. Was that all they had on to distinguish them as firemen ? 
I only saw the belt. 

2346 Is not that the same kind of belt that policemen used ? 
No, sir. 

2347. Did you see any of the policemen have any prisoners in charge ? 
Yes, sir. 

2348. How many I 

I could no. lei' lie number, but I saw plenty. 

2349. Where were they taking them ? 

From the Mechanics' Institute as they were running away. As you caught, one others 
would fight him. 

2350. What did you go to the Mechanics' Institute for? 
Like anybody else, from curiosity. 

2351. Were you not afraid to go ? 

No, sir ; because 1 did not suppose there was going to be a riot. 

2352. Wh?t is your occupation? 

I have property here, and I live on my revenue. 
235X Were you born in this city? 
» I am a Frenchman. 

2354. Were you ever in business here in this city ? 
It was a long time ago — five or six years ago. 

2355. Were you here during the war ? 
Yes, sir ; I was in the field. 

2356. In which army ? 
In the United States. 

2:!57. Were you ever in the confederate army 7 
No, sir. 

By Mr. Swellabargee : 

2358. Y r ou have said he firemen brought four boxes of cartridges i how large ware these? 
About one foot iong and eight inches wide. 

2359. How high? 

About eight or ten inches hiffh. 



New Orleans, La., December 26, 1866. 
J. F. MOLLEKE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 
2360. State your name. 
F. J. Mollere. 



158 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

2361. What is your age? 
I am forty-three. 

2362. Are you a resident or this city .' 
1 am. 

2363. For how long a time? 

Forty-three years, off and on. I followed the sea some twenty years and odd. 

2364. What is your occupation ? 

My occupation for the last four years has been that of a United .States detective, here and 
in Washington city. 

•. , : , .'." 1 . Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July? 
Yes, sir. 

66. Were youat the Mechanics' Institute? 
Yes, sir, 1 was. 

2367. What time did you get there in the morning .' 

About ] I o'clock, or a little after ; about an hour before the convention was called to order 

2368. How long were'you in the hall ? 

I was in the building from about 11 to about 2 o'clock, or about 21, to the best of my 
knowledge. 

2369. ! >id you sec the disturbance that took place there ? 

In part ; i saw some confusion from a riot in the street, under the window of the hall, but 
the principal part of the confusion was in the hall. 

2370. Give us a brief statement of what took place in the hall. 

A few moments after the recess of the convention my attention was drawn to some musk* that 
came from the direction of Canal street ; the next thing that drew my attention was some shots 
that were tired, and looking out of the window I saw a mass of colored people falling back 
from Canal towards the Institute — that is, from the right hand side of the Institute. I saw a 
mass of citizens advancing, firing upon this crowd. The next that drew my attention was a 
dead body that lay upon the opposite side of the street, in front of one of the residences winch I 
could see from the window. Immediately upon that Mr. Cutler instructed everyone in the con- 
vention to >it down ; to shut the doors and put down the windows. I went myself, with J. B. 
O'Connell, and assisted in putting down the windows. At the multitude of colored men that 
had passed there was a great deal of hurrahing, and a kind of yell-was given in front of the In- 
stitute ; the tiring- then ceased for four or rive minutes. Most of the colored people were then in 
front of the Institute; then some music commenced playing and they walked up stairs; 
there was a lull then of about four or five minutes ; then my attention was drawn to the 
corner of Dryades and Common streets, and I saw a body of, I suppose, forty or fifty police- 
men coming on the run from that corner towards the Mechanics' Institute. I immediately 
heard firing. The doors were closed and we heard a great deal of tiring outside, but I did 
not see any of it. We remained in the hall, and the next thing that drew my attention was 
that one of the double doors of the ball was pushed open by force, and I saw some eight or 
ten policemen at the door witlt their revolvers in their hands, filing, without asking- any 
questions, right into the body of three hundred or four hundred souls that were inside. 
There was a. rallying then of those inside of the hall, and the people inside succeeded with 
broken chairs, or anything else they could get hold of, in repulsing the police and getting 
the door closed ; immediately all the material inside of the Institute, such as tables and 
chairs, was accumulated and placed against the door with the intention of barricading it to 
prevent any other parties from coining in. Dr. Dostie and others inside said: "Be patient, 
bi patient, the military will lie here in a few moments." After a while the police succeeded 
in opening the door a, second time. There was one policeman whom I could recognize if I 
were to see him. After this I lay down in the back part of the hall for shelter ; but I dis- 
tinctly saw one policeman, an old Irishman whom I know very well : la- came to the door 
with a pistol in one hand and a club in the other; he came very near to the platform, when 
the colored people rallied upon him and succeeded in driving him back; he ran to the door, 
leaving his hat inside; this was the second time of their entering. The third time they 
opened the door, and just as soon as they opened it, the Reverend Mr. Horton, who stood in 
front of the doe,- — 1 suppose not more than thirty paces away — with his white handkerchief 
in his right hand, and waving it at them, said : " We surrender, we are peaceable, don't tire ; 
take us prisoners, but don't nre." He had no sooner said this than the policemen tired a 

volley. The ] pie inside then rallied again, and drove them back with the broken chairs ami 

sticks they had. in this third volley Mr. Horton was shot in the arm, 1 titling this period I saw- 
several white handkerchiefs put out of the windows like Hags. On the fourth charge of the 
policemen, when they broke in again, I gol to the side of the door, and was some tour or live 
paces from it, when a police officer, Mr. Thayer, rushed in at the door, with a large navy revolver, 
which was pointed at me; 1 said to him in French, '" Don't shoot me;" he looked very exci- 
ted and commenced tiring into those at the back part of the building. Immediately the 
colored men rallied again, and succeeded again in driving them out. 1 stood by the door, 
and Mr. Waters said: " What are we to do if they open that door again? I am going out." 
Previous to this, there was one little boy. about fifteen or sixteen years old, who had a 
single-barrelled pistol, and while the police wen' tiring he wanted to tire. I took hold of 
his arm and said, " Don't shoot." but he got away from me to the back of the platform, and 



TESTIMONY OF J. F. MOLLERE. 159 

when the policemen began shooting again he. fired a single shot. Presently the door was 
again opened by the policemen ; [ then weDt outside, whenoneof the men was in the 
of levelling a blow at my head, when some person said, " Don'l strike him." lie took me 
by ill!' arm to the head of the stairs. I rushed down stairs and went back to the senate 
chamber, but found all the doors locked ; I then came to the front of the building, and 
when presenting myself near the door I was met by a volley. I jumped back, and at this 
time 1 saw two colored men rushing out, and as the mob made after them I got out. When 
1 got cm 1 met Mr. LeClerc, a friend of mine. " You will protect me," I said. He said, 
" The unlv protection I can give is to hand you over to the police." He drew his whistle 
and whistled. Then I saw young Clark, whom I knew. I said, "You are not goingtosee 
me killed .'" and I walked with him towards the door, when the crowd cried out, " Kill him," 
"hang- him," " kill the damned Yankee." I never said a word, but walked with him for 
about two blocks, to the corner of Gravier street, when Clark said, "There is no more danger 
now." 1 turned, and seeing no one following, I started towards the; back part of the town. 
As I was going along I saw a colored man of sixty or seventy years of age coming after me, 
with live or six people, with pistols in their hands, following him. 1 did not know whether 
they meant to kill him or me, so I crossed away over to the other side of the street. When 
they got up to the old man he stopped and said, "What is it, Massa .'" Immediately one of 
them shot, and blew his head off. It made me feel mighty queer. I made the best of my 
way towards my own house. After I got home, being a native of this city and pretty well 
known, I thought they might follow me, so I kept going to my front door. Once I saw the 
police run past and put their arms around some colored people to feel if they had any arms, 
and I saw- one colored man running towards Claiborne street, and two policemen were after 
him, and fired two shots at him. I remained at home until next morning. This is the 
principal part of what I saw that day. 

2371. What was the condition of things in the street when you left the Institute? 

To the best of my knowledge I saw about twenty dead or wounded; eight of them, from 
their position, I thonght were dead. I saw several others in a dying condition, bathed in 
their gore, and no one near to give them assistance. 

2372. Did you see any of the dead bodies carted away? 
No, sir ; I was not there when the riot finished. 

"■J".?:'.. Did you see any acts of cruelty in the streets, except what you have spoken of? 

No, sir. 

L J">74. Did you see any parties fire revolvers, except policemen ? 

Yes, sir; as I was looking through the windows of the Institute I could see persons, 
some of them on the balconies, levelling their pistols and filing; and in the yard there was 
a big pile of lumber, and there were some parties behind it that were firing; and I saw 
policemen towards the college, and when any colored persons presented themselves they 
would give them a pop. 

2375. How many shots were fired into the Institute before you left? 

At the building and into the building there must have been 600 or 700 shots. I have 
been on many a battle-field, but I never heard the like of that before ; first it was like the 
firing of a line of skirmishers, and then it was a constant succession of shots, a perfect 
volley,; there must have been 0U0 to 1,000 shots fired, and all coming in one direction — 
towards the Institute. 

2376. How many people were killed and wounded? 

I believe we traced up, killed and wounded, 295 or 395, I cannot now remember which. 
Every party that I found out, that had been killed or wounded, I made a report of the fact ; 
but it is a matter of impossibility to arrive at the exact number of killed and wounded, 
because a great many who were wounded went to their homes, and were afraid to show 
themselves, for fear they would get murdered afterwards. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

2377. Were they counted — the dead and wounded ? 
No, sir. 

By the Chairman : 

2378. Have you reason for believing that persons died whose bodies were never discovered? 
From various sources of information, and from the representations of persons that came 

fur their relations — some for a brother, some for a husband — of whom no account could be 
found, we were led to believe that many were buried or otherwise disposed of, of which we 
knew nothing. 

2379. How about the burying of those who were killed .' 

The next morning I went to the Treme station. There was a dead body lying there, 
and I was summoned by the coroner to sit as one of the jurors at the inquest, and all the 
testimony that was taken was that of a sister of the dead man, who said that a young man 
had come for her brother at about 11 o'clock, and that she had never seen him alive after 
that. The verdict of the jury was, "killed by some parties unknown." 

2380. What became of Dr. Dostie after he was taken from the Institute? 

I left him in the Institute, and the next I saw of him was at the Hotel Dieu. 



160 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

2381. Was he living! 

Yes, sir; 1 had a conversation with him; that was two days after. 

23e2, Who took care of him 1 

Dr. Avery was attending him. and Mr. Fisher's wife was there off and on. 

2383. Did you see Mr. Horton? 

The his: I saw of him was when I saw him shot ; n the arm. 

2384. Could Dr. Dosiie talk when you saw him? 

He was lying on the flat of li's back more like a corpse than anything else, with a smile 
on his face. Hesaid, "Whois this?" I said, " I am Molifere." He then said, "Ithinklwill 
outlive tiiis: it' 1 don't, I think justice wi'l be rendered hereafter." He was lying with his 
head back ; his eyes peifeci'y black, and he was covered w!Mi wounds. If it had not been 
for his whiskers, I should not have known him. His ( 'ace was all cut and much swollen; 
lie could not move in any direction; lint lie did not die, I believe, for two days after that. 

2385. 1 lave von stated all the facts that occurred to your knowledge concerning this affair .' 
All that 1 can remember that occurred on that day. Had it not been for this young man, 

Clark, and Sergeant Le Clare, 1 do not believe, sir, I would have been here to- day to give this 
testimony. To ihese two I owe my ,i,e. 

2386. 1 >id the negroes appear to be armed ? 

No, sir ; 1 saw but two or three pistols in the whole crowd, but the only one I distinctly re- 
member was in the hands of the little boy I before referred to. and that was a single-barrelled 
Derringer. The only instruments the crowd inside had were broken chairs and tables. 

2387. Were you in the service of the United States 7 
I was, sir. 

2388. Were you in the army ? 
No, sir. 

2389. Have yon been living in this city constantly? 
Yes, sir; since Feb: nary, 1864. 

2390. What is the state of feeling bere on the, part of the citizens towards Union, loyal 
nv.en I 

Most bitter, sir, by a certain class of the community, but not in general. Those that they 
are most imbittered against are the leaders in the rebellion, and those that made the must 
ambitious speeches a; the beginning — these 'hey are must imbittered against; and the slay- 
at-homes, who neither participated in the rebellion, nor took either one side or the other, or 
that took the oath of allegiance 1'om ihe beginning and professed a greai friendship for the 
United States ; ibegeare the '<>\ erest enemies the government now has, and those who would 
to-day create another revolution if they could, and still stay at home and let others do the 
righting. As for most of the returned confederates, I have to say (bat a great many among 
them, many of whom I have known from iheir infancy, since their retv. u have trade no 
kind of demonstration ; while o'.hers of ihe ignorant ciass, who are led eu ire'y >y this 
class of stay-at-homes. a>e prepared at any moment to commii any act o; vio euce. should 
the occasion present itself. 

2:5!U. What, kind of persons hold the offices here? 

The majority that hold offices here to-day are what we ca 1 ! stay-at-homes. A' "n .,s ;he 
State at large is concerned, our lieutenant governor once held the position of eu tenant 
colonel in the confederate army. Our governor was one of the refugees from ihe tied river. 
Our attorney general held a commission as lieutenant general in the confederate army. Mr. 
Hardie was in the rebel army, and remained there till the last. He is secretary of state. 
When it comes down to the municipal government, there are a few of those installed in 
office who were s.a y -at-homes, and were too cowardly to do other than stay at home These 
are every day showing their animosity. 'J here is Monroe, Joseph Amandes, Mr. Richard S. 
Bawn, clerk of the court, and Mr. Savior, judge of 5th district court, who deserted from the 
confederate armj ; and there is Mr. James Beggs, who, during the administration of General 
Butler, had a book in his possession which was called the black devil or son-of-a-bitch book, 
and every man that went and took the oath of allegiance he put down his name, and also 
put down the corner of the st"eet where they should be hung. General liutier found this 
out, and condemned him to Fort .Jackson and hard labor. When General Banks arrived he 
was pardoned, and took the oath of allegiance. Mr. .Jim BeggS was one of those who re- 
turned to the city, took the oath of allegiance, remained here one week, ran the blockade, 
and was at the siege at Vicksburg. When the rebellion ended, he returned to New Orleans. 
I had him arrested, and preferred charges against him, and General Cauby proscribed hint 
from being a citizen of the United States. When I preferred charges against him, Mr. 
Monroe stiid he was ignorant of these facts ; but they were published in all the papers of 
this city ; but. Monroe was speculating in Mobile at the time. 

2392. How is the police force filled up .' 

Principally by registered enemies of the United States, and by men who, after the order 
issued by General lSutlcr to take the oath or register themselves as enemies of the United 
States, at a subsequent date, passed the lines into the enemy's ranks. 

2393. Did General Butler permit men to register themselves as enemies of the United 
States, and then permit them to leave and go over to the enemy .' 

After the names had been registered and handed in, to either take the oath of allegiance 



TESTIMONY OF J. F. MOLLERE. 161 

or pass into the linos of the enemy, some took the oath and some passed into the enemy's 
lines; and many of these men, who are now in the police, are among the men who were 
registered as enemies of the United States. 

2394. I><> you know anything of Hays's brigade? 
I know nothing particular of it. 

2395. Do you know anything of these people being organized ? 

I have reason to believe that there are organizations among the higher classes. They are 
organized, I believe, in small circles, and are prepared for any emergency. I have seen 
letters, which I have read, applications for employment, where their chief recommendation 
was that they had served in the confederate army, aud I have understood that applicants for 
office had to state what company and regiment they served in, how many battles they had 
fought in; and sometimes these letters were indorsed by the captain of the company, and 
these letters were applications made to Monroe for situations in the police force. General 
Kautz, who was then acting as military governor, got several of ihetn. Several of these ap- 
plications for office had on them the iudorseinentof Mayor Monroe, and were marked "private." 
There were others of these applications where the applicants hadn't these'indorsemeuts, and 
these were marked "disapproved." 

•S.V.Hi. Do you know Mayor Monroe's signature? 

It is such a poor one that I could hardly say whether I should or not. They were signed 
with his name, and the supposition is that it was his signature. They were found in his own 
office. 

2397. Do you mean to say that these applications which stated the amount of rebel service 
rendered by the applicants were indorsed by Mayor Monroe as approved? 

Yes, sir: Lieutenant Custer, brother to General Custer, has one or two of these letters in 
his possession. 

[Mr. Boyer suggests that if this witness's testimony be received as evidence, the letters re- 
ferred to should be produced.] 

2398. Where were these letters found ? 

In the City Hall, in Mr. Monroe's own office, when it was taken possession of on the 30th 
of July. 

2399. Do you know if these letters have been sent off, or if they are retained by the persons 
who held them .' 

Some of the letters were shown to me, and I heard the officers that had them say that they 
intended to send them home as specimens of the Unionism of New Orleans. General Baird 
may yet have some of these letters in his possession. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2400. Upon the 30th of July, during the disturbance, were there any police officers w T ho 
appeared disposed to preserve the peace and perforin their duty? 

I know of but one, aud this one saved my life. I mean Sergeant Le Clare. 

2401 . Were not the lives of some, of the members of the convention saved by the police? 
Not to my knowledge. 

2402. Did not Mr. Fish attribute the saving of his life to the exertions of the police? 
Not to my knowledge. 

2403. If a sergeant and file of soldiers had made their appearance upon the ground at any 
time could not the whole disturbance have beeu readily put an end to? 

When the tiring commenced a file of soldiers could then have stopped it ; but after it was 
fairly commenced I believe it would have taken at least a regiment to have stopped it. I judge 
from the mass of people that I saw armed and firing from different directions. 

2404. If the available military force of this city bad been made use of might not the riot 
at any point of time have been quelled ? 

If the military force of this city had been used it might. 

240"). Are there not many of those who have served in the confederate army who might now 
be relied upon as friends of the government in good faith ? 
I know of a few cases. 

2406. Do you not believe that there are a great many cases ? 

Not very many, sir. I believe that the intelligent class, by the manner they came home 
when the war ended, were prepared to submit to almost anything. 

2407. Was Mr. R. King Cutler a member of the convention ? 
Yes, sir. 

2 108. Was he not active in calling the convention on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

2409. Did he not raise a confederate company at his own expense ? 
I have no idea that he did 

2410. Have you taken an active part in politics here? 

No, sir ; I have always been a Union man, but I am no politician. 

2411. But you were in favor of what is called the ultra-Union cause 7 
I favor justice, sir ; nothing more. 

2412. Did you favor negro suffrage? 

I favor justice ; if negro suffrage is justice, I favor that. 

11 N. O. 



1G2 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

2413. That is not an answer to my question. 

I do favor negro suffrage. 

24.14. Do you favor the disfranchisement of those who participated in the rebellion ? 

To a certain extent, I do. 

2415. Have you publicly expressed yourself in this community upon these points? 

Whenever the occasion arose. I cannot say that I have publicly expressed myself upon 
these points. I spoke to friends, but never had an opportunity of expressing myself pub- 
licly. 

241C. I mean have yon, whenever the occasion seemed to call for it, freely expressed your 
opinion on these points among your associates and acquaintances? 

I indorse entirely what Congress has done, from the commencement to the end of it. 

2417. I have not asked you what your sentiments are just now, but. whether you have ex- 
pressed your sentiments freely in this community? 

No, sir; I have not spoken generally about these things. 

2418. Have you occupied any official position here? 
Only as United States detective, as I stated. 

241'.'. Are you a United States detective now ? 

No, sir; I was employed by the military commission, and am employed in special cases 
where the commanding general requires my services. I have been oft" and on pretty con- 
stantly employed by t lie government. 

2420. Have you taken any particular pains to conceal your opinions? 

Previous to the massacre of the 30th of July I used not to, in conversation with my friends 
who had returned from the confederate army ; but since the 30th of July I have taken the 
back-ground. I have found myself obliged to say I was an Andy Johnson man; that was 
my policy. At the time it would not have been safe for nie-to have said otherwise. 

2421. Do the majority of the people here approve of the restoration policy of President 
Johnson ? 

The majority of the people of New Orleans disapprove of it. 

2422. Then why do you strive to make yourself popular by avowing yourself in favor of 
it? 

The majority of the people of New Orleans do not favor the policy of Mr. Johnson. 

24^3. Do a majority of the white people of Louisiana, in your opinion, favor the policy 
of Mr. Johnson? 

Yes, sir. 

ti4v!4. If the restoration policy of Mr. Johnson were to prevail, would it not allay the bit- 
terness which you seem to think exists in this community > 

It would allay it in this way, that every man who had aided and abetted the United States 
government would have to go to some northern city to live; then they would have it en- 
tirely in their own hands here, and probably things would go on smoothly. There are thir- 
teen thousand or fourteen thousand who are registered enemies of the United States, and 
there are, perhaps, five thousand who would have to leave if the policy of Mr. Johnson was 
to prevail in the city i f New Orleaus. 

2425. That is your opinion .' 

Yes, sir ; 1 have known it and felt it since the riot. 

2421). From what you'last stated, I infer that that is your opinion, based upon what you 
saw that day. 

Based, sir,^ipon what I saw on the 30th of July, and on what I have since heard and 
seen; based upon what I have heard and seen in the courts, where a counsel, pleading for 
his client, could not find any stronger recommendation to present to the jury than that he 
was a "hero of Sumter ;" that he had " fought tour years for the noble cause-;" and where 
a man who had been guilty of murder would be honorably acquitted. 

2427. Do not lawyers, when they plead a cause, generally endeavor to glorify their clients ? 
Not in the language of treason ; at least, 1 never befoie heard such language used before a 

jurv, especially when it indicated their approval of an attempt to overthrow' the government. 

2428. Did you hear that yourself? 
I did, sir. 

By Mr. Shkllabargicu : 

2429. 1 wish you to state to the committee, fully, ail that you saw in New Orleans on the 
morning of the 30th, indicating preparation for the slaughter, or of the operations of the po- 
lice either in the massing of the police, or in the collection of the firemen, or anything else 
that you may be able to call to mind. 

On the morning of the 30th, I will state what I saw. I lived close to one of the police- 
stations tit that time ; I was in the habit ot going every morning to market, and in going 
through the market I had to pa*s in front of one of the police-stations. I used to know 
many of the police officers, and that morning as 1 passed, between seven and eight o'clock, 
I noticed the whole of the forces belonging to the Tieme station were there. Some of them 
were fixing their belts around them, with large navy revolvers in them. I said, " What are 
you o-oing to do with these things .'" They said, "Never you mind." I never dreamed that 
they had any intention to show hostility. One of the sergeants of the police asked me if I 



TESTIMONY OF GEORGE W. NEW. 1 63 

had a pistol at my house. His name was Sergeant Le Clare. I said, "I had one, but my 
father-in law had taken it away." iint I would not have loaned it to him if I had had it. I 
stopped there for about half an hour. There were some thirty or more of them. They were 
armed ; and I a ticed that the most trifling characters among the police Lad two revolvers. 
About ten or eleven o'clock I stalled to go towards the convention, in company with Captain 
Stae". I met a person near Congo square, and tasked him where he was from. lit; said, 
"Just from the corner of Canal street." I asked him if there were many people around there. 
He said there were, and that they were going towards the Mechanics' Institute. Me said, 
"The soldiers are all about," and he said, "The soldiers will not let them use their pistols." 
I said. • Where did you see any soldiers?" He said, "Close by Canal street." This put me 
still more off my guard, for it was entirely false. I thought as there was a regiment of sol- 
diers (here' would be no difficulty, I stayed there some time, thinking that the military 
would be along, for I was misled by the lie that was told me ; but it shows the bitterness 
that existed among the police force. I was in the daily habit of going to the station, almost 
eve~y morning ; it is just two blocks from my house ; and the next day after the riot I sat 
there on an inquest on a dead body that was supposed to have been killed. I was pretty 
well received. Immediately after the commission was convened by General Mower, and it was 
found, that I was one of the officers of that military commission, and as I was passing by the 
station I said as usual, "How do you do?" and having a cigarette in my hand I asked 
them to give me a light. Said he, " I have received orders from the officers in charge here 
not to allow you to come here." Some two or three of the police, among them Mr. Le 
Clare, said that, they had been taken off their beats on Sunday night. 

2431). Di> yon know anything of the operations of the firemen ! 

I know nothing of the firemen. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

2431. Besides having been an officer in the employ of the military commission which lately 
sat in this city to investigate this same riot, you are now in the employ of this committee of 
investigation, are you not? 

Not as an officer, but merely as a messenger. 

2432. Do you go round the city, in the performance of your duty, by day and by night ? 
Yes, sir. 

2433. Do you carry messages to various parts of the city ? 
Yes, sir; all over the city. 

2434. You serve processes, also, do you not? 

Yes, sir ; I serve the subpoenas of the committee, but I did not do it at the time of the mili- 
tary commission at night. There would not have been money enough in the public treasury 
to have paid me for doing it. I can do it now; but at that time I should have been mo- 
lested. 



New Orleans, La., Deccmher 2G, 1866. 
GEORGE W. NEW sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRMAN: 
2435. What is your age ? 

1 am forty-seven. 

2 136. Where do you reside 1 

I have resided in New Orleans for the past two years. 

24o7. What is your occupation? 

I am by profession a pin sician and surgeon. 

2438. Were you in New Orleans on the 3Uth of July last? 

I was. 

•24:>9. Were you a member of the convention ? 

I was not. 

2440. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute on that day? 
I was in the afternoon. 

2441. About what time did you go there? 
About the time the military went there. 

•> 1 12. Where had you been during the day before that ? 

In the morning I was at my room, where I heard of the riot. 

2443. State what occurrences you saw, and what facts came under your observation. 

It would be a little difficult to tell all I saw. I was at my room, 127 Carondelet, and very 
soon after the disturbance at Dryades street I had notice of it. I went to the door and saw 
a policeman taking wounded men towards the first district police-station, at the corner of La- 
fayette and Charles streets. I immediately went down Carondelet, then to Baronne street, 
till I got to Common, and there turned to the left in front of the University building. I there 
saw, in Baronne street, a few persons, some on Dryades, and some on Common street, most of 
whom appeared to be lookers on, like myself. A number of policemen, judging by their 



164 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

dnss, and others who were not dressed as policemen, in University square, on Dryades 
Btreet, and in Baronne street, who seemed to be busy firing with pistols upon, as I thought, 
every person about that building, or that was in the streets that were near. I remained but 
a short time and went back to my room. While there I saw them shoot both black and 
white. The people that were shot at were anxious to get out of the way; they were gener- 
ally running- when they were shot at. I remained at my room till the military appeared. I 
occupied either the steps in front of the door or the pavement for some hours, perhaps, 
and saw the policemen taking a number of persons who were wounded, and some, perhaps, 
who were net wounded, towards the first district station, close to the City Hall. Many per- 
sons seemed to be seriously, some mortally, wounded ; ethers not seriously. They seemed to 
be taking- them generally in a hurry, pressing them along rapidly and striking them with 
sticks or mares. 1 saw, at least in one instance, a man stick a knife into a negro as he was 
walking, on :he left side ; he had a knife in his hand and stuck it in his hip or thigh. It was 
a policeman. Another negro, who seemed to have been shot through the thigh, limped 
as he walked, and did not go as fast as the man wanted him to, and thepolicemarj struck him 
on the face with his pistol, aud another stroke below the eye, which inflicted a wound. I 
saw one man strike a negro with a cotton-hook about the shoulder, and in striking him inflicted 
a wound. The man who struck with a cotton-hook had, I believe, the badge of a policeman, 
and i he man who struck the negro in the face with the pistol was dressed in a black frock 
coat, black pants and hat, and I think, perhaps, but I would not say certainly, that he had 
the badge of a policeman with a plate on his breast; but I am not sure about that. The po- 
licemen were generally armed with one or more pistols and their maces. 

'2-144. How were their pistols worn? 

In their pockets, or in their belts outside. I saw them striking men that were mortally 
wounded ; some shot through the lungs — others through the bowels ; and I am confident that 
I saw them striking men that were in a dying condition. There were some men walking who 
were nearly unconscious, with the aid of policemen, one on either side. Theie was one man 
shot through the lungs ; lie was moaning, and as a policeman passed him he exclaimed, 
"That's right, God damn you; you did not crow that way yesterday." That was said by 
one of the policemen. The police and citizens, men and boys in their teens, seemed to be en- 
gaged in these proceedings. I did not by any means recognize all of them as policemen. 
The policemen, however, seemed to recognize these persons as belonging to their party, to 
give them aid, and they seemed to be acting in concert. I saw mere boys with pistols. 
I could not tell how many persons I saw taken to prison — probably two hundred. I would 
not say certainly ; more than one hundred I would say anyhow. Mr. Horton walked by me 
bareheaded, whom I afterwards found to have a fractured skull. He was talking to the po- 
liceman, and asked to be allowed to go home, but the policeman said he mu.st go to the sta- 
tion. The weather was very warm ; the thermometer indicated that it was about as warm 
as on any day during the past summer. As I approached the prison, when within a square 
of it, it seemed to be crowded, and the people, the policemen and citizens, who were taking 
the persons to prison, seemed to be excited, aud pleased, I thought. Some of them, 1 thought, 
were making it rather a matter of frolic, and some of them, I think, were in a state of partial 
intoxication. They were moving with their prisoners very rapidly, frequently returning on 
the run. I saw them going into drinking saloons. I saw them hauliug away some dead 
persons, mostly negroes, from the station. Policemen and citizens were shouting aud making 
noises as they were riding upon the bodies in the wagons out to Lafayette street. Several 
other persons were with me or near me during this time, among whom were Dr. Daniel Tay- 
lor and his wife, then of this city, but now in Missouri, I believe; Dr. John White and his 
daughter; Mrs. Julia A. Smith; Captain Dennis E. Haynes, now of Texas, who had been a 
captain oi Louisiana scouts in the federal service ; and my wife was present also. This was 
at 127 Carondelel street, and these persons were there most of the time with me. When the 
military came in sight I went down to the Mechanics' Institute. There was blood in the 
street in front of the building, on the stairway, and about the doors, and the furniture seemed 
to have been broken to pieces, and there were evidences of violence about the building. 

2445. What time in the day was this ' 
It was about three or four o'clock. 

2446. What time in the morning was it when you weut out from your office first ? 
It was as late as twelve o'clock — probably from twelve to one. 

2447. Did you observe in the streets, among those persons who had uot the usual police 
"lUniform, badges of different kinds.' 

Some of them had badges, and a great many had not. 

2448. Of what description were the badges? 
The only badges were the metallic plates. 

2449. Did you see any with handkerchiefs about the neck ? 

I do not know but what 1 did, but it was not uniform ; they were dressed iu every style 
that ordinary people wear. The day was very warm, and some of them had their handker- 
chiefs hanging about their necks, but I do not know that that was a badge. 

2450. Did you see Dr. Dostie that day? 

No, sir. 1 saw Mr. Halm, Mr. Cutler, Mr. Hire, Mr. Fish, Elmore Shaw, Mr. Horton, 
and a good many others 1 knew nothing of, black and white, but mostly blacks. 



TESTIMONY OF GEORGE W. NEW. 165 

2451. Were those men on their way to the prison? 

They were all afoot except Governor Halm; lie was taken up in a carriage. I should 
think there were not less than a hundred men following, crying, " Kill him." 

2452. Were they carts or spring wagons that were carrying the dead into the prison ? 
They were carried in carts. 

2451!. 1 low many of those did you see? 
Five or six. 

2454. How were they filled ? 

The men were just laid down inside of these conveyances; there were several in each 

2455. 1 low were they stowed ? 

On the top of each other and by the side of each other; and I saw the policemen sitting 
on the bodies when they were in the wagons. 

2456. Were you near enough to see whether they were dead or not ? 
I was within ten feet of some of them. 

2457. Did you see any acts of violence upon the persons that were in any of those carts? 
I am not sure that I did, except their sitting upon them. The violence that I saw during 

the day was upon persons on the street, mostly. 

2458. Were you at any time further from the Institute than your office when you saw any 
acts of violence ? 

Only when I went towards the prison. 

2459. Did you witness any acts of violence when you went from the Institute ? 
Yes, sir; all the way to the prison they were striking them. 

2460. Do you, or not, remember auy attacks made upon negroes or others who did not 
appear to be coming from the Institute ? 

I saw them shooting at persons who were not near the Institute, and who seemed to he 
going further away. 

2461. Can you form a judgment as to how many times you saw men shot at that day 1 
Give us an estimate accoidiug to the best of your judgment. 

There were a great many shots fired ; I don't think I saw one hundred ; perhaps forty or 

fifty-, 

2462. From whom did those shots come? 

From persons dressed iu the style of policemen at that time, and from citizens in ordinary " 
dress. 

2463. Do you know of any persons that were killed or wounded except members of the 
convention or persons friendly to it ? 

I could not tell. They were shooting at persons whose feelings and disposition towards 
the convention I have no knowledge of; they said frequently during the day, "Let's kill all 
the damned niggers," and "Let's kill all these damned Yankees." 

2464. Did you see any acts of violence committed by parties whom you know to be friendly 
to the convention ? 

I did not see any person that I knew to be friendly to the convention behave immoderately 
or do any violence during the day ; they seemed that day to be subdued and overpowered, 
they seemed to feel that their lives were in danger. 

246.">. So far as you could judge, were those persons members or friends of the convention 
armed for attack? 

I did not see any of them armed; neither a white man nOr a negro did I see armed. 

2466. Where did you come from when you came to New Orleans ? 

I came from Indianapolis as a military agent, under the appointment of Governor Morton ; 
I was a surgeon in the federal army. 

2467. During your residence here have you had opportunities of seeing and judging of the 
feeling of the citizens of New Orleans towards Union men ? 

I have had some opportunities, and have mixed some little in the society of these people. 

2468. State if you have had opportunities of forming n judgment as to the state of mind 
and feeling existing here. If so, describe it. 

I do not think that the people of this city, or those with whom I have had any acquaint- 
ance, or by whom I have heard any sentiments expressed, entertain kind feelings towards 
those whom they call "Yankees;" I mean by that, loyal Union men ; their feeling towards 
them I think is hostile. 

24611. What kind of acts have you observed? What has been under your eye to lead 
you to that judgment ? 

They talk to them disrespectfully; they exclude them more or less from their society ; they 
discourage them in business, and say to them, as I have frequently been told myself, that 
when the federal army is removed the Yankees will not be allowed to remain here. I have 
been told so at table and I have beeu told so on the street. I have not been disposed to 
talk politics to these people ; I never was a politician. 

247U. What is the social feeling here ? 

I think it is generally not very kind or cordial. I do not think that those whom they here 
call Yankees are received into their social circles very willingly, and I think that this is 
the case both in the churches and in their parties. 

2471. What is the state of feeling in respect to freedom of speech? 



It) 6 NEW ORLEA.NS EIOTS. 

I have been in the habit of talking as I thought, but I have thought it prudent not to 
speak my feelings in certain places and on certain occasions. 

•J47"J. What kind of places and what sort of occasions ' 

AY hen I was in the company of those that I knew had belonged to the confederate army, 
though some of them have, treated me very respectfully. 

'247:5. Do yon recollect to have heard, from persons holding official position, any statement 
in regard to northern men — men that you call Union men ! 

From no person that holds any position of consequence, as far as I recollect. 

By Mr. Sheixabarger : 

2474. You spoke about your seeing wounded men, men mortally wounded and men appa 
rently dying, stricken by those fellows when they took them along? 

I did, sir. 

247f>. What seemed to be the cause of that abuse? Was it because they were resisting 
the officers, or what / 

The cause expressed was that they did not get along to prison fast enough ; I saw no 
resistance to the policemen at all. 

'J17(>. As well as you could judge, did the wounded men seem to do as well as they could ? 

They seemed to be doing as well as they could the will of those in authority over them. 

2477. Did you say you saw the Rev. Mr. Horton going along without a hat and wounded ? 
Yes, sir; most of them were without hats. 

2478. You said one of his wounds was a fracture of the skull, did you not? 
Yes, sir: 1 visited him at the hospital. 

2479. Was he conscious of the fact that he was probably mortally wounded ! 

He seemed to be conscious ; he was rational when he was talking to the policemen ; when 
I afterwards saw him he was unconscious. 

2480. Did you hear him make any declaration as to how he got his wounds ? 
When I saw him at the hospital he was unconscious. 

248). Could you tell from his wound how it was probably given ? 

He had several wounds about his head ; the one that fractured his skull was not a bullet 
wound — it was done by violence. 

2482. It was given from behind from the position of it? 
It was received from the back evidently. 

2483. How many white men did you see there, wounded or dead ? 
I could not tell. 

2484. About how many? 

Black and white, I saw more than one hundred, probably two huudred, but the propor- 
tion I could not tell. I am speaking of the wounded men, not of the dead ; I think of the 
dead men I saw twenty or more. 

24^5. You said they seemed to be making a frolic of it ; you have also given some of the 
symptoms of frolic, such as their running in to drink and their shouting ami hallooing. I 
wish you to add to that description anything else that you saw, showing that the people 
were jubilant. 

If 1 understand the term I used, I mean unreasonable and inhuman merriment. 

2486. How was it exhibited >. 

In laughter, merriment, and imposing wounds upon those men when unexpected. 

2487. Was that participated in alone by the police, or did the citizens join ? 

Tin re win- a number of citizens as well as policemen, and some of them were boys, and 
a number of the boys were armed. 

2488. I 'id you hear any shouts for the confederacy or for Jeff. Davis .' 

I do not think 1 heard any for Jeff. Davis or the confederacy, but I think I heard shouts 
for Andy Johnson. 

2489. Who from? 
The mob, as 1 call it. 

2490. How long did that slaughter continue? 
I should think not far from three hours. 

2491. Can a man of well-known loyalty, and who sympathized with our government 
during the war, procure justice here by appeal to the juries and courts if his opponent is a 
confederate or ex-confederate ? 

I am not able to answer that question definitely. 3 will say, from my experience here, 
that if anything political could enter into a question ot litigation, the confederate would 
have decidedly the advantage before an ordinary jury. 

2492. Can a man be successfully prosecuted in the courts of this city before the juries for 
killing or wounding, or committing other crimes against well-known loyalists, or against 
negroes, according to your observation of the condition of things here ? 

I think those who were rebels or confederates, the native population here generally, are 
strongly biased against loyal northern men and the negroes. 

249:1 Have any of the perpetrators of those acts of violence been prosecuted criminally 
in the courts of this city? and if not, why not / 



TESTIMONY OF GEORGE W. NEW. 167 

I do not know that they have; bat why not, I can only give an opinion from ordinary 
observation and from conversation with others. 

2494. Is it your opinion, from what you know of the state of mind of the jurors!, or of the 
men who are eligible to sit upon the juries, that the men who committed this violence could 

be prosecuted in those courts successfully? 

I think it would he very difficult, ordinarily, for justice to he administered by the courts 
and juries; the judges. I think, would be more impartial than the ordinary people; they are 
men of more character, and have more character and dignity to support. 

2495. Do you think those lately engaged in the rebellion are now well-disposed towards 
the perpetuity of our government ? 

I do not think they are very well-disposed towards the present condition of things politi- 
cally. 

2496. Am I to understand by that that they do not like the success of the radicals 1 
I mean that, for one thing, certainly. 

2497. My question is, whether these people are well-disposed towards the perpetuity of our 
government, and desire its permanence and its success? 

Some of them would be willing, and would be satisfied with the perpetuity of the govern- 
ment, but others would not. 

'2408. How is it with the masses? Are they now sufficiently attached to the government 
of the United States to take the control of the government here in this State ; and would 
they, with that control in their hands, protect the men that were loyal during the war ? 

I do not believe, from my observation, that the masses of the people are in favor of our 
present form of national government. As to equity and justice in anything of a political 
character, or that related to the rebellion or slavery, I think their feelings would be in favor 
of southern people. 

24W9. If the loyal men — and by loyal men I mean those that remained loyal to -the gov- 
ernment during its recent trials — are to be protected in this State, and not driven out, what, 
in your judgment, must be done? 

With some persons who have been in the rebel army I believe the feeling is mild and 
kindly. I believe I would beat liberty to speak freely my political sentiments to them; 
with others it is not so. 

2500. My question is, assuming that it is the duty of the government of the United States 
to protect those who were its friends during the war, and not permit them to be overrun or 
driven oft'— if this is to be done, I inquire of you, what policy or course the government of 
the Un'ted States ought to adopt 1 

I do not believe that the northern loyal Union people, that have been in the army would be 
entirely safe in all the relations of life or business without the protection of the military. I 
do not believe that the government, in the hands of these people, would be impartially ad- 
ministered ; with some, pi rhaps, among the respectable men, but not the majority, there 
would be a willingness to treat us with friendship. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2501. During the progress of the disturbance on the 30th of July, did you observe some of 
the police officers endeavoring to do their duty ? 

They all seemed, as far as I noticed, engaged in much the same thing, if that was their 
duty: I did not take it to be their duty, after men were completely within their power, to 
treat them in any other way than mercifully, and they certainly did not treat them mercifully. 

2502. Did you observe that some of them, whilst they had charge of prisoners, treated them 
humanely ? 

Yes, sir ; I saw nothing improper on the part of some of them towards their prisoners ; 
they walked along with them quietly, without any disposition to hurt them further. 

2503. Did you "observe that some of them endeavored to shield their prisoners from the at 
tacks of the mob ? 

I believe I did, sir, with regard to a few persons. 

2504. What is the ordinary uniform of the police in this city? 

At that time most of them wore white Panama hats with dark ribbon, stamped with letters 
and figures round, a blue blouse and pants, similar to the blouses worn by the officers of the 
federal army in color, with a light-colored metallic button. . 

2505. Then the man in black coat and pants, whom you describe as having struck a pris- 
oner in the face with a pistol, was not in the uniform of the police? 

Yes, sir, that is what I meant to say. 

2506. I understood you to say that he had on a policeman's badge, you thought, but were 
not positive. 

That is true. 

2507. What do you mean in that connection by policeman's badge ? 

I only mean the circular metallic plate they wore on the breast of their coat or vest. 

2508. You were not certain whether he had it on or not ? 
No, sir. 

2509. When you spoke of men mortally wounded being struck, do you mean to say they 
were struck by policemen ? 



168 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

Yes, sir ; by policemen and otbers — those acting with the policemen ; but they were not 
dressed as policemen, and that is the only distinction I know. 

2510. What proportion did the number of policemen bear to the general assemblage on that 
day ? 

Aside from the boys, the policemen woe the most numerous ; but what the proportion 
would be, taking the whole mass, I could not answer. 

2511. Did you observe the crowd when it was immediately in front of the Mechanics' In- 
stitute during the height of the riot? 

No, sir : I was not there at the beginning. 

2512. Do you mean to say that, of the crowd Ann saw in the street during the occurrences 
you have described, in point of numbers, the police force exceeded that of the adults compo- 
sing the crowd of citizens .' 

I should think they did ; I did not take particular notice of the numbers. 

25 K5. When you saw a policeman seated ou a body in a vehicle, was it on the body of 
a dead or wounded person '! 

They were mostly dead persons. 

2"> 14. Was there any other place for him to sit ? 

I do not know whether the seat by the driver was, in all instances, occupied or not. 

2515. Did you observe that more than once? I mean the policeman seated on a body. 

Yes, sir. 

251G. You were for some time out in the street near to the crowd, were you not? 

On Carondelet and Lafayette streets, at the crossing, as they were passing to and from the 
prison. 

2517. Were you molested ? 
Not at all. 

2518. Were there not many other citizens also present who were not molested ? 
There were, sir. 

2519. Against whom did the efforts of the crowd seem directed; against what class of 
persons ? 

Negroes and persons belonging to that convention, and their friends. 

2520. Did you not see negroes in the street who were not molested? 

At a distance from the Mechanics' Institute and University square, I did. 

2521. Did you see any of the negroes throwing brickbats ? 
No, sir ; 1 did not. 

2522. What was the height of the thermometer ou that day? 

I cannot give the degrees indicated, either in the sun or shade ; but it was a warm day for 
this climate at this season of the year. 

252:5. The white pocket handkerchiefs worn by some of the police round the neck you 
think were placed there on account of the heat? 

I think for convenient use mostly. I did not recognize it as a badge. 

2521. Do you say the number of boys in the crowd exceeded the number of police? 

Sometimes it did, sometimes it did not. 

2525. Do you think that there would have been any disturbance on that day if it had not 
been understood that the object of the convention was to amend the constitution of the State 
ami to establish negro suffrage 1 

As to the latter clause of that interrogatory I cannot say; but I think the assembling of 
the convention was the immediate cause of the disturbance. 

2520. Had not public meetings been held in the city several times within a week previously 
by Union men which were not disturbed ! 

1 re niber but one within a week of that time of a political nature, which was, perhaps, 

on the Friday evening previously. With two other physicians of the city I went to the 
Institute that evening and heard some speeches, and some speeches, or parts of speeches, 
made in the Street, in front of the house. We then went away early iu the evening, and I 
neither saw nor beard of any disturbance while I was out. 

2527. Was the speaking out of doors in the public street? 
Yes, sir. 

2528. Who were the speakers ? 

Mr. John Henderson, an elderly gentleman whose name I cannot recollect — I believe Mr. 
Horton— and I believe Dr. Dostie. Dostie was on the platform, and made some few re- 
marks; whether he made a. speech or not I do not remember. I do not think he made a 
speech, properly so called, while 1 was there. 

2520. Are there any Union men in this community who do not advocate negro suffrage? 

^ <-s, sir. 

2530. Is there a distinction made in this community between them and the more radical 
class, who advocate the question of negro equality ! What I mean is, is the sentiment here 
more strong against the one class than against the other? 

The political and social feeling is less kindly towards those who are in favor of negro suf- 
frage than towards those who are opposed to it. 

2531. Has there ever been within your knowledge any interference with that class of 
Union men who do not advocate universal suffrage? 



TESTIMONY OF PHILO HARD. 1G9 

It is a difficult matter for me to answer that question further than I have answered it. 
There are Union men here not in favor of universal suffrage. I do not know whether the 
friends of that convention were all in favor of universal suffrage or not. I am not acquainted 
with the sentiments of the convention on that subject. I am not able to answer the question 
definitely. 

2532. Yen Lave stated that you do not think that the people of this city and State are very 
kindly disposed towards the loyal Union people? 

Yes, sir. 

2533. Whom do you mean by the loyal Union people? 

I mean those who were in favor of sustaining the Union from the time of the rebellion, 
who were in favor of suppressing the rebellion, and who are opposed to the admission of 
those States into the federal Union with the rights they had before the rebellion. 

2534. Towards those, then, who are not in favor of the admission of the southern States to 
representation in the Union, with the rights they had before the rebellion, I understand you 
to say, the people of this community are not kindly disposed? 

I mean to say that. 

25;<5. Would there be any disaffection towards the general government of any account in 
this community if the restoration policy of the President were to prevail? 

I think these people generally are in favor of the restoration policy of the President, and 
probably they would be willing to accept that and go into the Union ; beyond that I can 
only conjecture. 

2536. In that case, might not the federal soldiers be removed with safety? 

I should like to answer your question affirmatively, but I cannot. With the light I have, 
I do not believe that those whom these people call "Yankees" would be safe in the more 
sparsely settled portions of the State. I believe there is more safety in New Orleans than 
there is out of it. 

2537. Might not all but those engaged in the agitation of negro equality remain with 
safety ? 

Mild Union men, who would agitate politics but little, and those opposed to negro suffrage, 
would, I think, generally be treated kindly; but towards those in favor of universal or negro 
suffrage, I think, the feeling of the people here would be hostile and unkind. 

2538. Have you not in your time seen the same ebullition of public feeling in northern 
communities provoked by the same cause ? 

I have seen people at the north bitterly arrayed in feeling against each other on the subject 
of politics in heated political campaigns. " 

2539. Have you not known of persons being persecuted at the north on account of their 
abolition sentiments? 

I have, sir. 

2540. In case this State were admitted to representation in the Union, and the State gov- 
ernment in all respects restored, would you not consider it perfectly safe for you to remain in 
this community? 

If the State government, and the offices, and the authority under the government were 
given to those who were in the rebellion, I should feel it necessary to success in business, or 
to personal comfort and happiness, to be very mild on the subject of politics. 

2541. Upon those subjects you mean that particularly agitate the community? 
Yes, sir. 

2542. If the feeling of dissatisfaction is greater in this community than it was imme- 
diately after the suppression of the rebellion, is it not to be attributed to the fears which here 
prevail with relation to the policy of the radical party in Congress? 

I believe I can answer that affirmatively. They have an expectancy of more kindness 
from the conservatives than they have from the radicals. They do not speak of the radicals 
with that respect, either personally or politically, that they do of those who are conservative. 



New Orleans, La., December 27, 1866. 
PHILO HARD sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2543. State your age and residence. 

I am 32 ; I reside in Ottawa, Illinois, when I am at home. 

2544. How long have you been in New Orleans 1 
Since the 20th of February last. 

2545. Were you here on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

254G. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute ? 

No, sir ; not on that day at all. 

2547. State in your own way what you saw that day in connection with the riot. 

I was confined at the custom-house from half-past eight till half-past three that day, and 



170 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

saw nothing in the streets. When I came out at half-past three the military had possession 
of the city. There was great excitement in the streets. I walked up to my room in Camp 
street. Seeing a large crowd in front of the City Hall, on St Charles street, 1 walked over to 
see what was going on. While there I saw common carts tilled with wounded and dead 
negroes, which they were unloading in the street. 

2548. How were they placed in the cans > 

They were jus! laid one on top of the other; some who were not so badly wounded were 
pulling themselves out from the others. There was a very large crowd looking on. I just 
looked over for a moment to see what it was, and passed on. The military were trying to 
keep the people at home, and I went home and remained there until sunset. I then went 
down to the river; everything was pretty quiet, and the military was in possession of the 
city. They were riding round, took charge of the ferry-boats, and were putting their patrols 
on the streets. I saw nothing of the riot, therefore, after I got out of the custom-house, 
except the excitement on the street. 

2549. Give i s an idea of what was said; what kind of excitement? 

I do not remember exactly. I heard a good deal in different places. The general subject 
of conversation, and the general idea among almost everybody I heard speak in regard to 
the killing, was that it served them right. That was the general remark, coupled very often 
with a taunt, and with the observation, perhaps, that they had no business to have gone 
there, or something in that way. 

2550. Hid you see any attack made upon any parties? 
No, I did not. 

2551. Did you see any shots fired? 

I did not. I saw several persons armed with revolvers, but no violence committed. 
2552: Were the persons you saw armed in police uniform or citizens? 
1 did not notice the police; I saw citizens who were armed. 

2553. Is there any other fact connected with that day that is in your mind ? 

I remember a conversation that I heard under my window that afternoon after I got to 
my room. A couple of gentlemen were standing right under my window; one of them had 
a revolver in his belt, the other had not. One asked the other with a revolver what he had 
been doing. He said he had been killing niggers. The other asked how it was about the 
military. He replied "We are in with the military to-day ; we have got them all right." They 
laughed, made some further remarks, aud then passed on. That was about all the conversa- 
tion I heard in relation to the matter that amouuted.tb anything. Of course everybody was 
excited and talking. 

2554. You say the expression he used was "We are in with the military?" 

Yes ; the exact expression in the first place was, " How about the Yanks ?" and then the 
other answered, "We are all right with the military to-day." 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2555. What sort of a person was it who said that? 
A pretty large man with whiskers on his chin. 

2556. What class of men did he seem to belong to ? 

He was rather poorly dressed ; I should not think he was a laborer or a wealthy man. I 
did not notice him very particularly at the time. The other man was a small man and better 
dressed. 

2557. What are you doing in this city ? 
I am a clerk in the custom-house. 

2558. Did you come here for the purpose of taking office in the custom-house? 
Yes, sir. 

2559. You heard a good deal of talk, I suppose, in the streets on the day of the riot, and 
the next day ? 

Not very much in the streets ; the next day I was not in the streets much. 

2560. Was there a general condemnation of the course of proceeding on the part of those 
who got the convention together .' 

That seemed to be what I heard. 

2561. They seemed to be considered in the wrong in assembling the convention? 
That was the tenor of the conversation. 

2562. I suppose you beard that day some sympathy expressed for the victims of the hour? 
I do not believe I heard that from any one. 

2563. Did not you express any yourself? 

No, sir; I had no conversation with any one about the matter that day at all. 

2564. How often do you suppose you heard during the day any expression of sentiment 
upon the subject? 

While I was out of the custom-house after three o'clock, before I went to my room, I 
stopped in two or three places, and heard people talking about it. I stopped in front of the 
City Hall and heard the crowd talking. Then I went out again just before sunset, and heard 
them talking. Just about dark I went to my room. I did not hear a great deal. 

2565. When you heard conversation going on did you stop to listen ? 



TESTIMONY OF S. R. SNAER. 171 

Not for that purpose. I stopped in at a soda saloon down by the river, and I stopped oc- 
casionally to < 1 off, and I heard these conversations. 

2566. How often did you hear anybody say "It served them right.'" 
I should think three or tour times. 

2567. What kind of persons were they who stated it, did you observe i 

Different persons. I did not notice them very particularly. The first place I went into 
was a soda fountain at the corner of St. Charles and Union streets ; I heard talking, but did 
not notice the persons very particularly. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 
S. R. SNAER sworn and? examined. 

By the Chairman: 

2568. State your age and where you reside. 

I am twenty-two years old; reside in New Orleans; was born and raised here. I keep a 
commission store in partnership with my brother. 

2569. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July? 
I was. 

2570. Were you in the Mechanics' Institute that day ? 
I was. 

2571. For how long? 

I came there several times in the morning before the convention met. At about 10- o'clock 
I saw a large crowd of white and colored people there. I staid there for an hour perhaps, 
and saw the police who had congregated there, one hundred or more of them I suppose. I 
saw Chaplain Horton speaking to the crowd outside and telling them to go quietly home; 
as soon as he did so he went away, and the crowd dispersed. 1 went away again, and when 
I came back there was a still larger crowd there. I went up into the hall and found all very 
quiet there; when I came down I heard that a police officer had just shot a colored man on 
Canal street. We had a good deal of talking there in the street. There came along two or 
three boys, eighteen or nineteen years old, cursing the negroes and wanting to fight them. 
The negroes were retreating, and these boys following and wanting to draw weapons on 
them. Some one said " Let them go." Directly the crowd commenced firing brickbats at 
the negroes. As soon as two or three bricks had fallen the police officers, standing in a line 
across Dryades street, besrau to fire. I retreated to the corner of Canal street. Negroes were 
trying to escape and would be killed in the attempt. I saw as many as six or ten negroes 
shot while trying to escane ; they were running as fast as they could. I saw one wounded ; 
he fell right on the banquette ; ten or fifteen police officers got at him after he was down and 
knocked his brains out, Directly afterwards I saw another man who was wounded, the 
blood running from his face. As he was running a police officer shot him : he fell right 
down on the banquette, and there came along another lot of policemen who knocked him on 
the bead, knocking his brains out, right there on the banquette. There was great cheering. 
I staid until three o'clock. Every one who went out from the Institute was shot and killed. 
When the soldiers came and dispersed the crowd I went home. That is all I know of the riot. 

2572. Do you know the names of any of the policemen who fired ? 
No, sir; there were so many there I could hardly recognize them. 

2573. Were the policemen all armed? 

Thev were all armed. There was a crowd of negroes standing on the corner of Basin and 
Common streets. Two or three police officers passed ; one was wounded in the leg ; he was 
in a buggy. There were about ten negroes standing on this corner looking at the officer as 
he passed. The officer never said a word, but drew his revolver and fired at them. They 
dispersed and ran as fast as they could. 

2574. Did you see any other negroes attacked on your way home ? 

I saw some beaten in Burgundy street. A negro could not pass in the street that the white 
men did not follow him. On my way home I heard some noise; I turned and saw that some 
police bad just fired at a black man on the corner of Claiborne and St. Philip streets. 

2575. Can you give any idea of the number of negroes you saw wounded and killed? 
I saw about forty or fifty killed or wounded. 

2576. Did you see any firemen there ? 

Yes, sir ; I saw an engine too. They rang the bells, and an engine came. I several times 
saw firemen with bricks. 

2577. Did you see more than one engine ? 
No, sir, only one. 

2578. Were you near enough to see whether there was anything in it? 
Yes, sir, I was near enough, but I did not pay any attention to it. 

2579. Did you see anything of any distribution of cartridges or arms ? 

No, sir. I saw almost everywhere the police officers have revolvers, with bright, new 
barrels ; some of them had two revolvers. 



172 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

2580. Did you hear the alarm of twelve taps on the bell? 
I never counted them ; I heard the alarm. 

2581. Did you see the firemen come immediately after that? 
I saw one engine and some firemen. 

2582. Did you see what the policemen did after the alarm ? 
They were there all the time, firing until the military came. 

2583. Did you hear any shouts for Jeff. Davis? 

No, sir; I was too far off; I heard some cheering, but I could not distinguish that. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2584. You say you were born in New Orleans. What is your descent? 
French and German. 

2585. What took you to the scene of the riot on the 30th of July? 
I went there to see the convention assemble. 

2586. Did you sympathize with the objects of the convention? 
Yes, sir. 

2587. Did you belong to that party which was represented by the convention ? 
I belong to the republican party. 

2588. Are you in favor of negro suffrage ? 
Yes, sir. 

2589. Are you in favor of keeping those who were engaged in the rebellion from voting ? 
Yes, sir, 

2590. You say you were in the hall of the convention that day. Did you escape without 
being hurt .' 

Yes, sir. I had a little scratch on my face ; I suppose it was done while I was running 
and trying to retreat. 
259J . Were you arrested ? 
No, sir. 

2592. Did you pass close by police officers ? 
Yes, sir. 

2593. Did they interfere with you in any way ? 
No, sir. 

2594. Might they have done so if they had chosen ? 
Yes ; they did not know me, I suppose. 



New Orleans, December 57, 1366. 
WM. PFEIFFER sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2595. State your age and residence. 

I live in New Orleans ; have lived here about seven years ; I am thirty two years old. 

2596. What is your business? 

I am a tailor ; my store is No. 7 Carondelet street. 

2597. Were you in the city on the 30th of July ? 
Fes, sir. 

2598. Were you in the Mechanics' Institute? 
No, sir. 

2599. Did you see anything of the riots ? 

I saw the commencement before 12 o'clock. While I was on my way to dinner I met a 
man who said, "There will be something to-day." I said, "What is the matter/"' He 
said, "Never mind; we will show you to-day." I told him he had better keep away; he 
had no business in any difficulty. He said, "That is no difference; we have served in the 
confederacy . and \\ e will fight for it." I only said, "Aint you ashamed ? " He said, "We 
will show you." I started to go away, and he said, " You will find out after a while what 
you get for this convention." When I came to Canal street I saw a whole crowd of police- 
men opposite Dryades street, and I saw three shots fired. 1 ran over to Carondelet street, 
and was asked what was the matter. I said, "They had commenced shooting." They said, 
" You had better shut up your store," and 1 went in and shut up the store. I heard a person 
passing by say, " Yes, we Lave killed about thirty of them." We heard tiring on the street. 
I went round to the front of the store and saw a colored man followed by half a dozen persons, 
who were all firing at that one man. They were not more than a yard and a half off from 
him, when we pushed the others aside and told the man to go to No. 10 Carondelet street. 
One policeman rau after him, and he turned back. The policeman then ran across the street 
after some colored boys belonging at Nos. 5 and 7 Carondelet street. There were three of 
them after these boys, but the boys ran in. I saw them attack a carriage in which there was 
a wounded man. A man in the carriage said he would not allow it; that the man was 
already dying, and told the driver to drive on. One of them asked who he was. He said 
Michael Hahn. This was a little above, on Carondelet street near Gravier. I saw the crowd 



TESTIMONY OF MRS. SUSAN ANN CRANE. 173 

when they stopped him. The young man in the carriage said the man was dying, and ho 
would not allmv him to be further interfered with; and he swung his pistol, as much as to 
say that if anybody touched him he would fire it. 

2600. How many do yon suppose were shot, killed, and wounded in all I 

I only saw a lew men. Carondelet street was not the street on which the riot took place. 

2601. You diil not go to the Institute ' 

No. sir ; 1 would not have pone for $50 where the riot was. 

2602. How many men were together talking when you heard them say they were confed- 
erates, and had fought in the rebel army? 

There were only two men together ; there were a good many strangers around, though. 
The w hole city was in an uproar at the time. I saw two confederate soldiers passing down 
Canal streel ; one of them had a pistol in his hand; he said to the other, "!Show me one of 
the Yankees, and I will shoot him." 

2603. i'iil the policemen all have arms? 

Yes j they all had what I think are called navy revolvers — heavy revolvers. They did not 
make any use of their clubs. 

2<>i'4. Did any bodies of policemen go by your store armed? 

They were in the street driving off colored men. There was a detective calling after them, 
" Boys, boys, that will not do," and he stopped them. 

2605. What did he mean? 

They were going across the street to kill somebody else, I suppose. It was a defenceless 
man they were after. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2606. Nobody molested you on that day 1 
No, sir. 

2607. You are not afraid of being troubled, are you? 
No ; I am not afraid of anybody. 

2608. Von served in the Union army ? 
Y'es sir ; in a cavalry regiment. 

2609. For how long? 
For three years. 

2610. You move about by day and by night, as you please ? 
O, certaitdy. 

2b' 1 1. Are you known in the city as having been in the Union army ? 
O, certainly ; there are a good many who know me. My regiment was composed mostly 
of New Orleans men. 

2612. Are there many of those who served in the same regiment living in the city? 
Yes. 

2613. Do they pursue their business as usual, in safety ? 
O, yes. 

2614. What gave the mob such a feeling of enmity against that convention? 

I do not know much about it except what I have said; I laughed about it at the time ; I 
did not think it meant anything. 

2615. Do you know those people you heard talk in the streets ? 
Y'es ; I know one when I see him ; I do not know his aame. 

2616. How long before the riots did you hear of this convention? 

Only two or three days. What I stated just now, I heard immediately before the conven- 
tion. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 
Mrs. SUSAN' ANN CRANE, wife of W. R. Crane, sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

2617. Where do you live ? 

At 474 Magazine street, New Orleans. 

2618. Were you living here, on the 30th of July? 

I was then residing on the corner of Market and Annunciation streets. 

2011). State whether any information or warning was given to you, by any one, in refer 
ence to the convention that was going to assemble here, in regard to your husband ' 

I knew nothing of what was expected on the day of the convention ; it was only what 
they expected to do that night. During the day, I only knew that some colored men 
were being murdered. About two o'clock that day a colored man passed m\ gate who used 
to belong to my father. I asked him what was the matter. He told me they were murder- 
ing colored people and Union men down at the Mechanics' Institute. I was so overcome, 
knowing that my husband was at the convention, and not knowing but that they might mur- 
der him, I scarcely knew what I did. 



174 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

2(V20. Stale what notice you received. 

About six o'clock, as near as I can remember, in the evening, my husband and another 
gentleman were standing mi the corner of Market and Annunciation streets, when a little boy 
came up and told me ayoung lady wanted to speak to me on the next square. When 1 got there, 
I found a friend of mine, although she is a rebel. She was in a carriage ace impanied by 
another lady, whom, from her manner of speaking, 1 presume was a Creole. She beggedme 
to get my husband to leave the city, I'm' they were going to murder him that night. I said, 
"Are you sure?" She said, " Yes, I am ; go back and tell your husband to leave." She 
said Mr. Durant had already gone. 1 told her I thought not ; that we had seen him that 
day. She said no ; he had pun', She said they intended to murder my husband, Mr. Du- 
raiit, Doctor Newman, and 1 think there; were two others mentioned — I do not remember 
their names— that night. I came back and told aiy husband, and begged him to leave. He 
said he could not leave; that it was then near dark, and he could not safely go our on the 
streets. I told him all that she had told me, and got him out in the back yard. 1 then went out 
on Magazine street, in front, and went to Mrs. Taylor's, but could not bud out anything, 
only she told me it was not safe for Union people that night. I then came back home, but 
woid' 1 occasionally go out of my front gate, and then out of my back gate, to see if I could 
see any one. li was not quite twelve o'clock, I presume about half past eleven, that I went 
out of the gate on Market street, and although it was quite dark, there were five or six men 
standing on the banquette. One was a policeman, and the others citizens. I went up to all 
of them. 1 was very much frightened, believing that my husband was going to be murdered. 
I did not know that I could do anything to save him, but thought I would try. I said, 
" Gentlemen, is there any disturbance down town ?" Thej r said, '' Yes, they are killing nig- 
gers down in the Third district." This man had his hat pulled down in a slouched condition 
over his face. II" cleared his throat two or three times, and they seemed to undersfan I him. 
I said, " I feel very much frightened ; my husband is out, and I feel very much frightened." 
He then remarked to me, "When did he go out? I said, " At the time he got his dinner." 
"What time did he get his dinner V the man said. I replied, " About four o'clock ; that as 
the mayor had called on all good citizens to come out and protect the city, I suppose, per- 
haps, he is there." I told a story; my husband was in the house all the time. They said, 
" May be so," and then walked on. I stood there still, audoueof them said, " You had better 
go in." I said, " Yes, probably I had." This was about half past eleven. I told my hus- 
band what had taken place. He did not believe that Mr. Durant had gone, but he did go 
that afternoon at four o'clock, as this lady stated. I walked up and down for some time. 
The mo on was very bright, and I could see two policemen at the corner grocery opposite my 
house. 1 supposed they were policemen by the striking of the beat ; they were dressed, too, 
in police style, with straw hats. They sat in the shade for some time, and I went in and sat 
down. 1 had the house all lighted up that night. I kept watch of these two policemen to 
see what they were going to do. They crossed over and came to my gate. I did uot see 
them put their hands on it, but the gate shook. It was locked. I jumped up and opened 
the window I thought that would throw them off their guard. They said something, aud 
went on. They then went down to the corner and stood there for some time, then crossed 
over and went the same direction in which they had come, down Market street towards the 
river. In a lew minutes afterwards they commenced hallooing extras on the street. I went 
out and got one, and found that martial law had been proclaimed. 

2621. Did you know any of the men who came there at all? 
1 did not, oiiiv that they were policemen. 

2622. Did you not know any of them at all .' 

Not at all ; they were so much disguised that I would not have recognized them anyhow. 

262K There was no description given to you, by the lady who told you what was going 
to happen, of the men who were coming to attack your house? 

She s 'id there was a committee who were going to hang my husband, Durant, Waples, 
and others thdt she mentioned. She said this was to be done on Canal street ; that they 

WOUld be taken to Canal street, ami hung there. 

2624. Is this lady a citizen of New Orleans .' 
Yes, sir. 

2625. Have you any objection to stating her name? 

I have ; I could not state her name. She is a rebel, her husband is a rebel, and her. father 
is a. rebel; they were all in the rebel army. When she told me I promised I would never 
give her name, and I will never give it. 

2626. She was a lady who, from your knowledge of her, you had reason to believe? 
Yes, sir: she was a truthful lady; of that 1 am confident. 

By Mr. Boyek : 
2f)'J7. Were either of these people you have named hung? 
No. 

■: 128. Was there any attempt made to hang either of them that you know? 
Nol that I know of. 

26^9. What do you suppose was the reason of any such design against your husband? 
I only know what this lady told me. 



TESTIMONY OF MRS SUSAN ANN CRANE 175 

2630. But from wliat cause do you suppose the enmity sprang ' 

On account of his Union sentiments, I presume; I do not know what else it could be. He 
was president then of the Union executive committee, and of course they had considerable 
spile against him. 

2631. Was your husband hurt? 
No, sir ; lie was not. 

2(>:!2. 'Was he ever attacked with violence? 
Nol to my knowledge. 

2633. lias he been in the city ever since? 

No. sir; he left tor Washington about two weeks afterwards. 

2634. Is he in. New Orleans now .' 
Yes, sir. 

2635. When did he return 1 

About iwu months ago ; 1 do not remember exactly the day. 

2636. Hew long was he away altogether? 
About three weeks. 

2637. What is his occupation 1 
He is a lawyer. 

2t>.;>!. Then does he move about attending to his business daily? 
Yes. sir 

2639. Do you know of anybody attempting to waylay him or to molest him in any way 
since that time ? 

Only one night; that was the second night after the riot. There was a man entered our 
yard ; I will not be positive whether he was a policeman or not, and whether he wanted my 
husband or not I do not know. 

2640. How long did he stay in your yard ? 

I do not know how long he had been in our yard ; he left immediately when I went up to 
him. I went out to fasten the back gate ; this man was in the back yard. When I spoke to 
him he jumped at me, and told me to go into the house. 

2641. At what time in the night was this T 
About eleven o'clock. 

2642. You did not see him afterwards ? 
No, I did not. 

264:]. Is your husband in the habit of going out of the house every night ? 
Yes, sir ; he goes out every evening; he has business out. 

2644. Did you see the man you saw in your yard that night afterwards? 
I would not have known him if I had ; it was dark. 

2645. What sort of a looking man was he ? 

I suppose he was about your size ; how he looked I do not know. 

2646. Do you remember how he was dressed ' 
On\y as to his hat. 

2647. How far away was he when he jumped at you? 

About as far as I am from this gentleman, four or rive feet perhaps. 

264c. Then in one good jump he might have reached you? 

There is a difference in people jumping; some jump further than others. 

2649. Then he could not jump very far? 

I do not know about his activity ; there is a difference in the way of jumping. I approached 
hiin not knowing what it was. He was standing under a fig tree. Said I, " Who is that? " 
and attempted to put my hand on him; I was frightened. When I am frightened I always 
try to put my hand on what frightens me. He jumped and said "Go in the house." 

2650. He did not jump at you then until you made a motion as though you were going to 
put your hands on him ? 

No, sir. 

2651. Did you go into the house? 

1 did immediately, and told my husband there was a man in the yard. 

2652. And the man immediately went off? 

No, sir; not immediately. My husband got up; we had no weapon in the house except 
a pistol that belonged to me. I would have used it at the time if I had had it with me. 
There was a man stopping with us up stairs ; I called upon him to come down, which he 
did, very much frightened. Everybody was frightened. 

2653. When your husband came down was the man gone? 

My husband was already down stairs. 1 suppose the man left within five or ten minutes, 
not exceeding ten minutes. 

26:>4. He did nothing more than to make a jump at you ? 

No; and he did not make much of a jump ; what he was after I do not know ; my hus- 
band always thought his object was stealing, or something of that kind. I do not think he 
would come alone to murder any one. 

m 2655. Does your husband beicng to those Union men who were supporters of the conven- 
ti in that met on July 30 ? 

He was in favor of the convention. 



176 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



2656. You said that lie was the president of the Union executive committee ; what Union ex- 
ecutive committee was that ? 

I believe there were two ; one of them was called the Wells and Hahn committee ; this was 
the central executive committee, of which Mr. Durant was president, before my husband was 
elected. 

2ti57. Do you know any of the members of the committee 1 

O, yes. 

2658. Name one or two. 

Mr. Woodruff is one ; I believe Judge Warmouth is one. If you wish me to mention the 
colored people, I can state the names of some of them. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 



Dr. ALBERT HARTSUFF sworn and examined. 



By the Chairman: 
2650. Do you reside in New Orleans? 
Nol within the limits of New Orleans ; I reside in Greenville, Louisiana. 

2660. What is your profession, and how are you now engaged? 

I am an assistant surgeon in the army, in charge of the Sedgwick general hospital, Green- 
ville, Louisiana. 

2661. I >id yon take any measures after the riot of the 30th of July to ascertain the killed 
and wounded? 

1 did. 

2662. State what you did, and the result of your examination. 

I was ordered by General Baird to obtain the names of all who were killed and wounded 
during the riot of the 3Uth of July. Acting upon that order, I visited the chief of police and 
obtained from him a list of all the names he could furnish me of the policemen killed at that 
time. I visited, with one of my assistants, all the houses of the parties named. We also 
visited the lesidences of all the policemen represented by the chief of police to have been 
wounded dining the riot. I did this for the purpose of ascertaining accurately who were 
killed and who were wounded. 

26(33. In what way did you make your report? 

I made a report giving the names to General Baird. 

2664. Have you that list with you ? 

I have not; I did not tetain a copy. • 

2665. < Ian you give to the committee the number of killed and wounded ? 
I cannot. 

2666. Look at this printed statement incorporated into General Baird's report, and say 
whether from your recollection it is correct. 

I believe it is an exact cony of my report to General Baird. 
The paper referred to is as follows : 

Names, nut tire of wounds, SfC, obtained. 







S 
> 

CO 


53 


CO 

p 
o 

co 

s 


•Si 

a 

o 

OJ 

CO 

a 


p 
.S 

"co 

S 

P 

o 
O 


3 
© 




1 

2 
34 


4 

4 
40 

48 


4 

5 
79 


4 

3 

44 

51 

7 


1 

2 
30 


3 

4 

45 

52 

2 


q 


While citizens attending convention 


11 


Colored citizens attending convent ion 


153 






Total 


37 


83 
10 


33 

1 


173 




10 




1 




1 








58 










38 
10 
48 


48 
20 


98 


34 


54 


184 


Suppos ,n addition to above colored citizens attending 


30 








34 






Total 


68 


98 


58 


54 


214 





Positive evidence coi ceruing these could not be obtained. 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM HAWKSWORTH. 177 

2G67. You stated that you and your assistant went to the residences of the different police- 
men reported to have been killed and wounded ; what was the result of your visits? 

The result was, that out of the large number the chief of police mentioned to me, I found 
a very small number had been injured. 

2668. How many, if any, did you find had been killed ? 

Not one. The chief of police informed me that one had died from over-fatigue, but I could 
not find whether he had died from over-fatigue from the riot or not, and so I did not report 
him as having been killed. 

2669. Did you see other parties who had been killed ? 

I understood that a great many colored people had been sent to the marine hospital ; I 
went there and saw most of the wounded, and some few who had died. 

2670. How did they seem to have been wounded ? 
"With clubs, pistols, knives, &c. 

2671. What appearance did their bodies present ? 

Many of them had received several wounds, and several of them were frightfully beaten 
over the head. Several died from injuries received in the head, quite a large number ; 
some of them had received pistol-shots through the lungs, quite a large number ; others had 
received shots in various places, and several stabs. Some of them did not die of any wound 
in particular, but were pounded to pieces, pounded almost to a jelly. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

2672. Where is General Baird now ? 

I saw by a recent number of the Army and Navy Journal that he is assistant inspector of 
the department of the lakes, under General Hooker. 
1673. He is not in the city ? 
Not to my knowledge. 

2674. When did he leave New Orleans ? 

I could not tell the date; it was two or three months ago. 

2675. Please inform the committee as well as you can what instrumentalities or means 
there are in this city for ascertaining why the military did not interfere for protecting the peo- 
ple of the city here sooner than they did. 

I suppose, perhaps, Colonel Lee, as General Sheridan is not here. 

2676. Can you give any opinion from your own knowledge as to why the military were 
not brought to the scene of the riot sooner ? 

I cannot ; I was out of town the day the riot occurred. I did not anticipate such a thing 
and did not know anything about it till the whole thing was over. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1S66. 
WILLIAM HAWKSWOETH sworn and examined. 

By the C hair man: 

2677. State your age, occupation, and residence. 

1 am twenty-nine ; I am a civil engineer ; I live in New Orleans. 

2678. How long have you been engaged in civil engineering ? 
Since 1852. 

2679. When did you first come to New Orleans ? 

I came to New Orleans on General Banks's staff, as assistant topographical engineer. 

2680. What were your duties? 

My duties, as I understood when I left Washington, were to make surveys in Texas with 
General Banks. 

2681. How r were you employed here ? 

I was employed at my business for some time after I came here. Afterwards I went out of 
the service, and have since been doing business for myself in various ways. At the present 
time I am engaged on a railroad from Brownsville to Point Isabel. 

2682. Were you in the city on the 3Uth of July last 1 
Yes, sir ; I was then employed in the custom-house. 

2683. Were you in the Institute that day? 

I was at the corner of Dryades and Canal streets for a time. 

2684. Did you see any disturbance on that day ? 
Yes, sir. 

2685. If you saw any acts of violence committed by any persons, please state briefly what 
you saw. 

I was coming tip Canal street and saw a colored man on the street being beaten by two 
policemen and killed. A policeman struck him a very heavy blow with a club on his side, 
and it seemed to me his kidneys were protruding. I then went up to where the disturb- 
ance was going on and stood at the corner of Dryades and Canal streets. I saw a crowd 
about the Institute dragging something with them. I did not know what it was. I was 

12 x. o. 



178 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

told it was Dr. Dostie. The crowd were hurrahing and shouting. I could not see whether 
the police were dragging or carrying him. I saw a cart brought down and something 
thrown into it. I was told it was Dr. Dostie ; I do not know. I saw boys not more than ten 
or twelve years old running around Canal street with revolvers cocked in their hands and 
raising a row. The crowd was shouting. I thought I would get into a car. The cars going 
up canal street had, several of them, stopped, and were trying to get through the crowd. I 
pot into (me lit' them; and as I got in a negro rushed inside with two police after him with 
their clubs. He passed through to the front platform and they after him. They dragged him 
hack through the car, and I saw them striking him witli their clubs. I turned my face away : 
I could not look at them. The car went on and turned the corner of Rampart street. There 
I saw two policemen rush up to a negro standing on the corner of Rampart and Custom-house 
streets and grab him by the collar. I saw the negro fall down, and seemed to be begging 
for his life. The car turned so that I could see nothing further. 

2686. How far was that from the Institute 1 

It was two or three blocks. Afterwards I went to my home on Rocheblanc street. I saw 
several negroes pass by my house. The whole city was very much excited. About an hour 
after I pot home these colored people passed by. One of them had a revolver in his hand. 
They went up Kocheblanc street towards Pierre Soule's house. I saw a man come from the 
corner with a gun— a fowling-piece or musket — in his hand. I saw him lean his gun on a 
cart, tin' across the street, and shoot one of these colored men dead. The body lay there all 
night until morning, and was taken away some time during the day 

2687. Was it a policeman who fired the musket ? 

No, it was a man who lives up on Rocheblanc street, about six hundred yards above Pierre 
Soule's house. 

2688-. Do you know his name ? 

Lebaire, or something of that sort. 

268!). What is his occupation? 

His brother is one of the police ; he has no occupation at all but roaming about the city. 

2690. Can you describe his appearance? 

I could not describe his appearance ; he was some two blocks away. I went down to Gen- 
eral Baird and reported the circumstance to him as I saw it. At the time of the assassination 
of Lincoln there were parties here who were authorized by the military authorities to make 
arrests. I was one of these, and I thought it my duty to report these things when I saw 
them. I afterwards saw Dr. Dostie twice before he died, and had a conversation with him. 

2691. Where was he when you last saw him ? 
In the Hotel Dieu. 

•,'i >92. Did he give you any account of his injury? 

Yes; he told me the police murdered him; that he was dragged down and cut in the 
neck twice ; that after he got up he was knocked down agaiu and beaten. He said he 
forgave them all ; that he had no feeling against them. 

2693. How long after you came in this city did you remain in the employ of the govern- 
ment \ 

Two or three months. There was no employment for engineers here, and I left the service. 

2694. What is the condition of feeling here towards northern men? 

It is such that I do not like to speak of it for fear of being assaulted or assassinated. 

2695. Do you mean to say that if you give to the committee your knowledge on the sub- 
ject of the feeling of the people here towards northern men that you would not be safe .' 

I would, however, give my opinion without fear of that, but I do uot think I would be 
very safe if they knew 1 was telling what I thought or knew about it. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

2690. You said they were hurrahing and shouting when they were dragging Dr. Dostie, as 
you Understood, before they put him into the cart. What were they shouting? were they 
shouting tor anj body ! 

I do not know ; the street was full. 

26U7. Did you hear any shouting for Jell;. Davis? " 

Yes ; I heard several shouting' lor him. I heard them shouting for him even up in Roche- 
blanc street in the night. They were shouting all night. I heard that they were headed by 
Judge Abell, but I do not know that. 

Mr. BOYER. You need not state what yon do not know. 

2698. Do 1 understand you to say that during the riot von heard them shouting for Jeff. 
Davis ? 

Not when they were dragging Dr. Dostie. 

2699. Did you hear the tire-alarm at the time the convention met? 

I heard bells, but did not notice them particularly. The city was in a state of great excite- 
ment the day the convention met, and crowds were marching through the city. 

'27(iii. Di,j you Bee firemen collected before twelve o'clock ? 

1 saw them in the crowd some part of the day. I did not see them collected, that I recol- 
lect, before the riot commenced. 

270] . Did you see the police massing before the convention met ? 



TESTIMONY OF JACOB FREDERIC FISHER. 179 

I saw six or seven of the police going down St. Charles street. 

2702. Did you hear any threats expressed by anybody? 

No, everybody appeared to be very careful aboutwhat they said. At the St. Charles Hotel 
I heard one or two expressing threats that they would take the negroes, put them ou the 
poiuts of bayouets, and throw them into the Mississippi. I do not know who he was. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2703. How long have you been in New Orleans? 

I landed here from the "North Star," December 1G, 1862. I was here before that time, as 
a topographical surveyor, in 1856. 

2704. Are you in the military service now? 
No. 

2705. Were you in the military service when you landed in 1862? 

I was attached to General Banks's staff as civil engineer. I held no commission. I had 
the pay of a topographical engineer. 
270(5. Have you been in the city ever since 1862? 
Except going up the Mississippi once or twice, I have been pretty constantly in the city. 

2707. Are you a permanent resident of New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir. 

2708. Have you taken any part in politics here ? 

I have attended some meetings when General Canby spoke, but not as a general thing. I 
do not belong to any political body here. 

2709. Did you attend a meeting held by Dr. Dostie and others, just previous to the 30th 
of July ? 

No, sir. 

27J0. Have you had any opportunity to observe the sentiments of the community in this 
place ? 

Yes, sir. 

2711. Can you name any person of any respectability and standing who has expressed, ir, 
your hearing, any hostility to the government of the United States, or to those who adhere to it ? 

My opinion is that do man has any respectability or standing who does so express himself. 

27J2. Am I to understand you assaying that no man who does so express himself has now 
any standing or respectability in this community? 

Not in my estimation ; in this community perhaps he has. 

2713. Then I repeat my question : is there any one you can name of standing or respecta- 
bility in this community, you have heard so express himself? 

I have heard several gentlemen give opinions inimical to the government. I do not like 
to give names particularly, because, it being in private conversation, I do not think I would 
be authorized to give names. 

27J4. Do not you think as a loyal man you would be justified in revealing the names of 
public enemies ? 

If I thought there was any danger of action, yes; if I thought there was not, I do not 
think I would. 

2715. Is it because of your confidential relations with these gentlemen that you do not 
desire to reveal their names 1 

I spoke to them in gentlemanly conversation, and I do not think it is proper to give the 
names. 

2716. Then you decline to give any names? 
In that way, yes, sir. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 
JACOB FREDERIC FISHER sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2717. State your age and residence. 

I am forty years old ; have resided in New Orleans these fourteen years past. 

2718. Were you in the Institute on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

27 J 9. When did you go to the hall that day ? 
At a bout eleven o'clock in the morning. 

2720. What is your occupation? 
I am a tailor. 

2721. How long did you remain in the hall ? 

Until a few minutes after twelve, when they took a recess of an hour. I then went out 
with a friend with the intention of coming back again when the convention met. When we 
came back again, not having been gone more than ten minutes, I saw some boys, eighteen or 
twenty years old, taking some bricks from a pile near by, and throwing them into a crowd 



180 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

of negroes. One negro thought he was in so much danger that he ran off. As soon as he 
ran off, one of the policemen shot after him. I heard shooting then everywhere. We then 
went away and stood on the corner of Common and Baronne streets, by the Medical Insti- 
tute. We saw the policemen running and chasing: the negroes everywhere. Firemen and 
private people too were shooting at the negroes. I saw one negro falling down ; they shot 
as many as ten shots after him, without touching him. Then he made a mis-step and fell 
and one of the policemen came and shot him after he had fallen down. 

2722. How many people were firing? 

Every policeman that I saw had a revolver, and was firing at the negroes wherever I saw 
them. They went into a house, and took a negro out and shot him. 

2723. Was the shooting of negroes confined to the negroes' who went to the Institute, or 
did it extend to the negroes about town ? 

I only saw them from this corner, except at first, and then they were in front of the Insti- 
tute. I went one square away from the Institute. 

2724. Where was it that you saw them take negroes out of houses? 

That was at the corner of Common and Baronne streets, where we were standing. 

2725. Were they negroes who Had been in the Institute or not? 

It was some negroes who I saw running from the Institute over a fence into a yard, and 
the policemen followed them. 

2725-J How many did you see shot in this way? 

I only saw one shot ; some of the negroes were lucky in getting away without being hit. 

2726. Did you see him lying on the ground after he was shot ? 

Yes; and 1 saw many dead negroes lying on the ground who had been shot, but I did not 
see them sin it. I saw policemen with members of the convention, taking them along like 
robbers, with their pistols drawn. 

2727. Where did you go from that place 7 

I went to the City Hall to see what was going on there. While on my way I saw Lucien 
Adams coming down with a police force, double-quick, from the fourth district, going on in 
the direction of the Mechanics' Institute. They had their pistols in their hands. 

2728. Did you hear the fire-alarm of twelve taps ? 
I heard the fire-alarm. 

•2729. Was that before you saw Lucien Adams with the police? 
It was before. 

2730. "W hat happened when the alarm was sounded ? 

I understood it was a sign for the firemen ; the same as was sounded when the federals 
took possession of New Orleans. 

2731. Did the firemen come out? 
Yes, sir ; I saw some. 

2732. Did the engines come out ? 
I saw one. 

2733. What did the firemen do ? 

I do not know what the firemen did. 

2734. What did you see? 

I only saw them in the street with their revolvers. 

2735. 'Was there any steam up in the engine? 

I saw a hand-engine ; I did not see any steam-engine. 

273C>. Do you know what was in the box of the engine ? 

I do not. 

"Zl'il. Did you see any cartridges given out ? 

I did not. 

2738. Did you see any policemen get arms ? 

No ; I only saw that they had their arms. 

2739 How many policemen did Lucien Adams have with him when he c/ime up ? 

About twenty-five or thirty. 

2740. Did they go by where you were standing? 
They passed in front of me. 

2741. Where did they go. 

Through Lafayette square, in the direction of the Institute. 

2742. Did you see any firing after that ? 

I heard firing the whole day. Boys eighteen and twenty years old had their revolvers 
and were shooting. Every one was in danger. 

2743. Did you see any badges of blue ribbons or otherwise on any of the citizens ? 
I did not observe it. 

2744. At what time was it that you went away ; was it after the military came ? 
Yes ; I was looking for the military, and when they came I went away. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

2745. After you heard the fire-alarm, state whether the firemen came from only one place 
or from different districts. 

That is more than 1 know. I was only at one place, and I can only say what I saw at 



TESTIMONY OF DR. ALBERT HARTSUFF. 181 

that place. Afterwards I saw firemen from different districts. I did not see whole compa- 
nies, but I saw some members of companies from every district. 

2746. Did that alarm bring the police from their different districts or not ? 

I think it did. 



New Orleans, January 3, 1867. 
Dr. ALBERT HARTSUFF recalled and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2747. Please state to the committee whether you can furnish a list of the killed and 
wounded as obtained by you and furnished in your report to General Baird. 

I have no retained copy, and no means of obtaining the names. 

2748. Who ought, under military regulations, to be io possession of the paper furnished 
by you to General Baird ? 

All papers relating to the department should have been turned over to General Sheridan 
as succeeding in command of the department ; the State of Louisiana then constituting a 
department, having, under General Sheridan, been included, with Texas and Florida, as the 
department of the Gulf. I do not know whether the department papers were turned over to 
General Sheridan or not. 

2749. Would it be practicable for the committee now to ascertain originally from their own 
investigations the names of the killed and wounded ? 

In my judgment it would be impracticable. I only obtained them immediately after the 
riot by going from house to house and making personal inquiries. 

2750. If you can obtain a copy you will please furnish it to the committee. 
I will do so. 

The witness subsequently furnished to the committee the document referred to, as follows : 

Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

Neic Orleans, Louisiana, August 14, 1866. 
Sir : The commanding general desires a little explanation of the difference existing in the 
report of the number of police wounded on the 30th ultimo, as given in your report (ten) and 
as stated by the chief of police (about twenty-two.) He desires to be informed what circum- 
stances have come to your knowledge tending so greatly to diminish the number given by 
the city authorities. 

Please answer by bearer. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



Asst. Surgeon A. Hartsuff, U. S. A., 

Sedgwick Hospital. 
Official copy : 



L. V. CAZIARE, 

Brevet Captain, A. D. C. 



GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 



Sedgwick General Hospital, 

Greenville, Louisiana, August 14, J 866. 
Respectfully returned. I called on the chief of police and obtained a list of the names of 
wounded policemen, which I believe was twenty-two. I then visited the several policemen 
wounded at their residences, and some of the twenty-two I found were not injured, and 
others were on duty. The day following the riot, I found only ten injured. ■ 

A. HARTSUFF, 

Assistant Surgeon U. S. A. 
Official copy : 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 



182 



NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 



New Orleans, La., August 13, 1866. 
General : I have the honor to furnish the following summary of killed and wounded in 
the riot July 30, 1866: 







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Believed by me killed and wounded, of whom I could not get absolute facts — killed, (col- 
ored,) 10 ; wounded, (colored,) 20. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

A. HARTSUFF, 

Assistant Surgeon U. S. A. 

Official copy : 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 

CORONER'S report. 

July 31, 1866.— Charles Johnson, (colored,) 30 years, a pistol ball penetrating theperitoni- 
teum of the small intestine; James Nelson, (colored,) 28 years, a pistol ball penetrating the 
right lung, at the basis thereof; Collins Page, (colored,) 28 years, a pistol ball in the brain 
and two in the body ; Constant Soup, (white,) 36 years, stabbed with a dirk or knife, caus- 
ing a wound three inches in length, cutting the intestine of the liver ; E. H. Cenas, (white,) 
22 years, a pistol ball which cut the carotid artery on the right side. 

August 1, 1866.— Wilson Johnson, (colored,) 40 years, a pistol ball in the right lung, and 
several wounds inflicted on the head with a blunt instrument. 

The foregoing is a list of the bodies on which I have made a separate inquest, while en- 
gaged at that duty. Notice was left at about 10 o'clock a. m. at my office, requiring me to 
proceed at once to the workhouse to make inquest on the bodies of twenty-two (22) negroes 
who were killed in the riot of July 30, last. My deputy, Mr. S. Barthe, without delay, com- 
plied, and found the 22 bodies enclosed in coffins, around which a hot fire had been lit for 
protection against the arising stench and purification of the air. Not a solitary person -was 
found on the spot to identify the bodies; and, as it was of the utmost urgency to have the 
bodies removed, (as the workhouse contained a population of 450 persons,) my deputy was 
constrained to make a general inquest in the presence of a jury, who found that the 22 per- 
sons in question had come to death by pistol-shots and stabbiugs, done during the riot of 
July 30, 1866. 

Your most obedient servant, 

C. DELERY, Coroner. 

Official copy : 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 

1. John Mass, Marino Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of head. 

2. Fuller Louloug, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

'■'. George Cooper, .Marine Hospital, New Oilcans, Louisiana, contusions of body. 

4. Ann Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

5. James Sumersville, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face. 

6. Alexander Taylor, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head. 

7. Adam White, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

8. Aehill Smith, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

9. William Griffin, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of neck and 

groin. Died July 31, L866. 

10. Stephen Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

gunshot wound of head, severe. 

11. Reuben Hobbs, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of right thigh, se- 

vere. 



TESTIMONY OF DR. ALBERT HARTSUFF. 183 

12. Warren Washington, Murine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

13. Henry Nichols, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of neck. 

11. John Chester, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of abdomen, severe. 

15. Stephen Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

16. William Bloom, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of occipital bone, 

severe. 

17. William Harris, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of left 

lung. Lied August 2, 1866. 

18. Jim Moss, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe 

19. Elijah Smith, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of leg. 

20. John Domingo, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound * scalp, 

severe. 

21. Bill Williams, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left thigh. 

22. John Rollards, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

23. Peter Crocker, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head. 

24. Alfred Meyo, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of neck and 

head, severe. 

25. Dick Hobert, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of leg. 

26. Gill Pecko, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

27. Frank Edwards, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of right fore- 

arm, hack, and head. Died August 1, 1866. 

28. Unknown. Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. Died Au- 

gust I, 1866. 

29. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head, severe. 

30. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left lung, severe. 

31. Thomas Base, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

32. Nat. Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of neck. 

33. Osborn Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of back, 

severe. 

34. George Lisle, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiaua, contusions of fore- arm. 

35. Henry Robinson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of fore arm. 

36. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of knee, head, and 

frontal bone. Died August 4, 1866. 

37. Unknown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of left kuee and side. 

38. Charles Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of head and 

fracture of condyles of left knee, severe. 

39. Gilbert Reynolds, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

severe. 

40. Henry Murray, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

41. Gerel Scott, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of left lung. 

42. Leon Johnson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, sprain of left knee. 

43. Charles Wallace, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of right fore- 

arm. 

44. John Sparrin, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wounds of fore-arm 

and head. 

45. Elias Young, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

46. George Fitzkugh, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head, 

severe. 

47. George Burke, [Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of right 

thigh, severe. 

48. Aaron Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

49. John Gibson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of left thigh, severe. 

50. Frank Smith, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of right knee. 

51. James Roffin, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face, severe. 

52. Lewis Campbell, Marine Hospital, .New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of leg, se- 

vere. 

53. Edward Francis, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right thigh. 

54. Saul Coleman, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left knee. 

55. William Dangerfield, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

56. Peter Green, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right lung, severe. 

57. Nat. Frazier, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, stab of left lung, severe. 

58. Mark Thompson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

59. Battice Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, 

severe. 

60. James H. Taylor, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound. 

61. Hypolin Varrett, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

62. Isaac Crop, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right thigh. 

63. James Lewis, Marine 1 Eospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of back, severe. 

64. Peter Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of leg. 



184 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

65. James Washington, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of abdomen 

Died August 6, 186(5. 

66. Robert Ballard, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of spinal col- 

umn, severe. 

67. Cbarles Farrar, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left lung, se- 

vere. 

68. Sylvester Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of right 

fore-arm. 

69. William Woden, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of left thigh, 

severe. 

70. Marshall Simon, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face. 

71. Ludain Nora, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of left thigh. 

72. Anthony Nash, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of left fore-arm. 

73. Jeremiah Blackstone, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, injury of legs. 

74. Oscar Bellevere, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face. 

75. Eugene Foster, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion. 

76. John Harrison, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of abdomen, se- 

vere. 

77. Emanuel Thompson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head and 

face. 

78. Samuel Butler, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, se- 

vere. 

79. Eugene Gorden, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of right arm. 

80. Charles Hughes, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

81. Gabriel Toroby, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of leg, se- 

vere. 

82. Jacob Milton, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of neck. 

83. Charles Jordan, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, stab over region of left 

clavicle, severe. 
8-4. William G. Guiellotte, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of thigh. 

85. Joseph Claiborne, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of thigh. 

86. Thomas Valson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, sword-cane wound of left 

lung, severe. 

87. Jule Peters, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

88. Robert Easly, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp and 

injury to feet, severe. 

89. Albert Green, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head and face. 

90. Benjamin Palbot, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incision of feet and con- 

tusion of head. 

91. John Sidney, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, injury of head. 

92. John Bush, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, injury of feet and head. 

93. Bill Sparks, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

94. George Wells, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of face. 

95. Adolph Albaria, Marine Hospital, New Orleans. Louisiana, incised wound of scalp, se- 

vere. 

96. John Jackson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of leg, severe. 

97. Samuel Jones, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of face and legs. 
98 Philip Brown, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, sword-cane wound. 

99. Hayden Stewart, Marine Hospital. New Orleans, Louisiana, gun-shot wound of left 
thigh, severe. 

100. John Babtish, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

101. Peter Sanville, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, cut of scalp. 

102. James Axon, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of face. 

103. Charles Fisher, Marine Hospital, Now Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of left thigh. 

104. Autoine Raymond, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of cheek. 

105. Antoine Johnston, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of scalp. 

106. Victor Laboraux, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of head and 

abdomen. 

107. Daniel Bidwell, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, complicated dislocation of 

left arm joint, with protrusion of bones, severe. 

108. John Patrick, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture of right tenure, upper 

third, severe. 

109. Stephen Johnston, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head. 

Died July 30, 1866. 

110. Alfred Mayo, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head and 

neck, severe. 

111. Victor Laboraux, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head. 

112. Brazille Remp, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head, 

severe. 



TESTIMONY OF DR. ALBERT HARTSUFF. 185 

113. Benjamin Hoyt, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of arm. 

114. Sam Jones, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of fore-arm. 

115. Frank Haskins, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of neck. 
111!. Thornton James, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, bruises of head. 

117. Thomas Corner, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, bruise of band and arm. 

118. John Henderson, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of thorax, 

severe. 

119. Rev. Mr. Horton, Marine Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound right arm 

and hand, contusion left side, and fracture of head by club. Died August 5, 1866. 

120. Owen Reams, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, fracture, severe. 

121. Michael Hickey, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of ankle, 

severe. 

122. Lyman Money, Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot 1 wound of thigh, 

severe. 

123. M. Sokalski, No. 190 Basin street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of groin ; police- 

man. 

124. J. W. Henessy, 268 Common street, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion of head ; police- 

man. 

125. Owen Keenan, 390 Layfayette street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot wound of 

head ; policeman. 

126. Hiram Hewry, Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, shot in the foot ; policeman. 

127. M. Smith, 329 New Levee, New Orleans, Louisiana, shot in the right thigh ; policeman. 

128. Dan Harrigan, 81 Front Levee street, New Orleans, Louisiana, struck on the leg ; 

policeman. 

129. Michael Hahn, Sedgwick Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head. 

130. Alfred Shaw, Sedgwick Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of back and 

bruise. • 

131. A. P. Dostie, Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of spine, and sword 

thrust of stomach. Dead. 

132. S. S. Fish, Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of head and back, 

severe. 

133. Rev. Mr. Jackson, Calliope street, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot penetrating wounds 

both lungs. 

134. George Howes, , New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions of body. 

135. C. W. Stauffer, No. 97 Magazine street, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusion. 

136. M. Waples, with Judge Waples, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

137. M. Duffey, Hotel Dieu, New Orleans, Louisiana, contusions. 

138. C. B. H. Duplessis, No. 252 Johnson street, between barracks and hospital, New Orleans, 

Louisiana, gunshot wound of face and neck. 

139. Eugene Sties, 236 St. Philip street, New Orleans, Louisiana, ankle broken, severe. 

140. George Ross, 46 Montegut street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of right arm ; 

policeman. 

141. William Lambias, 133 Magazine street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left leg ; 

policeman. 

142. James Brooks, 99 Spain street, New Orleans, Louisiana, stabbed in the right hand ; 

policeman. 

143. William Heard, , New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of left hand; police- 

man. 

144. H. Hurst, Old Magazine street, New Orleans, Louisiana, gunshot wound of left shoulder, 

left fore-arm and right side. 

145. Dr. Hire, corner Poyfarre and Magazine streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol 

wound of hand and contused wound of side, severe. 

146. Lieutenant Smith, , New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol wound of right arm. 

147. J. M. Leclere, 147 Dauphin street, New Orleans, Louisiana, deep cut over left eye; 

general contusions of body. 

148. Charles Azeretto, corner of Ursuline and Old Levee streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, 

incised wound of scalp, severe. 
149 L. J. P. Capla, corner Barracks and St. Cloud streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised 
wound over left eye. 

150. Alfred Capla, corner Barracks and St. Cloud streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol- 

shot destroying left eye ; extensive contusions of head. 

151. Manuel Camps, 245 Dumaiue street, New Orleans, Louisiana, incised wound of head; 

punctured wound of back: extensive contusions of head and face. 

152. Jules Lavater, corner Claiborne and St. Ann streets, New Orleans, Louisiana, exten- 

sive contusions of head ; pistol wound of right thigh ; pistol-shot of left knee ; incised 
wound of left shoulder. 

153. Martin Self, 250 St. Philip street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot in breast, ball 

remaining ; pistol-shot in right hip, ball remaining, and pistol-shot of back. 



186 NEW ORLEANS EIOT. 

154. S. Rock, 189 St. Cloud street, New Orleans, Louisiana, pistol-shot of bead; extensive 

contusions. 

155. Captain C. Loup, , New Orleans, Louisiana, stabbed in the abdomen. 

Killed. 

Official copy: 

GEORGE LEE, A. A. A. G. 



New Orleans, La., December 27, 1866. 
A. VICTOR WARD sworn and examined. 

By Mr. ShellabargeR: 

2751 . State your residence and occupation. 

I reside in New Orleans. I Lave been in the United States service since May, 1862, as 
United States special officer. 

2752. Are you now on duty with General Mower? 
I am. 

2753. Were you here on the 30th of July last? 
I was. 

2754. Did you see anything of the riot? If so, state what you saw. 

I did. I saw the first part of the procession coming up Burgundy street towards Canal 
street. I noticed that there seemed t'o be some confusion in the crowd. I then saw a special 
officer of the police pulling out a colored man. There was then a pistol-shot fired right down 
towards the crowd. I heard a man shouting something in French; I do not knew what he 
said. A citizen, as I supposed, came up, who proved to be a supernumerary policeman, took 
hold of this man by the collar and led him out. I followed to Bourbon street and met a 
squad of policemen. The man in charge of this colored man hallooed something to them and 
they all made a rush towards the Institute. They took tins man on up St. Charles street and 
I went to the Institute. About that time there appeared to be indications of a general row. 
I saw negroes under arrest in charge of policemen. I saw the policemen rush over and fire 
a volley at the crowd of negroes in front of the Institute. Being known as an officer of the 
government, I changed my position to the corner of Philippi and Common streets. A large 
crowd had gathered on Common street. I saw there a man by the name of Scully, a super- 
numerary then, now a regular policeman, who had a prisoner in charge. He walked down 
through Philippi street from Common to Gravier, when he stepped back, drew his pistol, and 
shot the man through the neck. The man lay there some time, and I afterwards saw him, 
still alive, put upon a cart and taken off. I then moved down to the corner of Baronne and 
Common streets, where I saw a negro man, who had been shot down before I got there, lying 
down in the gutter. He had dragged himself under the planking over the walk and his head 
was visible from the gutter. A policeman took a club and beat his brains out. The man 
appeared to have been wounded before that in the back. He was taken up about twenty 
minutes afterwards dead. I then walked away and thought I would go home and get my 
pistol. On my way I discovered a colored man whom I knew, standing on Common street ; 
I told him lie had better not be there. His reply was that he did not intend to go any nearer. 
Directly afterwards 1 saw him running away, with four or five policemen and about as many 
citizens following him. They were constantly firing at him. I jumped into a doorway to 
give the crowd a chance to pass. The colored man ran until about opposite 87 Circus street, 
where he was met by a man named Andrews, a Jew, who took a large piece of a dry goods 
box aud stood in a position to strike him. He did strike him, but the negro kept on until 
he reached Taylor's stable. He ran through the stable, when the two Ta\ lor brothers struck 
him, knocked him down, and held him until the police arrived. I found him some time af- 
terwards badly wounded. 1 then went across the street to where I live, got my pistol, went 
back to Taylor's stable and proceeded to Gravier and Philippi streets. I there saw a com- 
mon prostitute, who was going along, got down on her knees by the side of a wounded negro, 
draw a knife, and slash him across the face and breast. He had been lying there for some 
time. These two Taylors were about, and the thing seemed to amuse and suit them very 
much. Their names are Nelson and Clinton 'Fay lor, two brothers in partnership in the livery 
stable business. This negro had been previously wounded by the police. I saw a great 
many colored men running, and the citizens and policemen were running after them and 
firing at them. Some dropped near where I live, and sunn 1 dropped near this livery stable. 

2755. State, as nearly as you observed, what proportion of those who participated or were 
engaged in the riot were citizens. 

Most of the citizens whom I recognized were firemen. I saw several that day with badges 
designating the Washington artillery. I saw a greal many of those badges, which had not 
been seen for many months before, publicly exposed — so exposed that the persons wearing 
them could'be recognized. I saw badges of oilier rebel organizations. It was the common 
talk, and seemed to be the general understanding, that they were not to be molested. 

2756. Do you know the fact that the badges, which you saw worn, were worn to designate 
different bodies in the rebel army ? 



TESTIMONY OP A. VICTOR WARD. 187 

Yes, sir ; and I also noticed a good many citizens with a bluo ribbon tied to their button 
hole. 

2757. What was that understood to indicate? 

I understood it to be a sign that they were sworn in as special police officers. I noticed a 
number of policemen with the band on their hats having the word "police" and the number 
of the policeman lettered on it, turned wrong side out so that the number could not be recog- 
nized. While standing in Taylor's stable, where this colored man was abused, a policeman 
Came in and leaded his pistol, remarking that he had fired it off twice and that he believed it 
caught each time. The persons who were there seemed to regard it as a big joke. 

2758. Did you, before the riot, hear any threats made? 

Yes, sir; and I reported the fact to General Baird. I saw, I suppose, as many as fifteen 
policemen go into Goodrich's and Wolf's, on Canal street, and buy pistols; that is, I saw 
them go in unarmed and come out with pistols. I saw a number of citizens as well as police 
go down to Folsom's near the custom-house. I also saw persons getting arms at A. B. Gris- 
wold & Co., on the corner of Canal and Royal streets. They told me they had sold more 
than seventy-five pistols. I think his evidence will also show, if he is called, that Mr. Adams, 
the chief of police, authorized him to allow these pistols to go without money being paid for 
them at the time. There was also a lot of pistols sold at Dart & Watkinson's. Men and 
boys could be seen coming out of those stores with pistols in their hauds. No attempt was 
made at concealment. 

2759. What did they say they were going to do with them, if you heard any remark of 
that kind made ? 

I heard a great many parties saying they thought there was going to be a fight, and they 
wanted to get in and take a hand in it. On the day of the riot there was not a policeman on 
his beat. They were all massed at the respective station-houses. Early in the morning I 
went up to see General Baird. Passing by one of those station-houses and seeing the police 
massed, I said "Boys, what are you doing here ?" They replied that they were going to clean 
the negroes out that day. I said that would be a pretty hard thing to do ; that there were 
a good many soldiers in the vicinity. They said there would be no soldiers there that day. 
I said I thought there would, and that I did not think there would be any fuss ; that I thought 
the convention would not meet. Two policemen told me on the morning of the riot, at the 
station-house, on St. Charles street, that they were going to clean the convention out. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2760. What are the names of those policemen? 
I do not know their names. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 
■ 2761. Did you hear any other threats or see any other indications of preparation ? 

Nothing direct ; I heard a good deal of indirect threats. A fireman, by the name of Earhart, 
told me that they were ordered to remain in ; and that they were to turn out on the alarm of 
twelve taps of the bell being given, and to go down to help the police. 

2762. What did they say they were to go down for? 

For the purpose of aiding the police. There was no particular manner indicated, He did 
not appear to like it very much. I think he was a Union man. 

2763. You stated that you communicated to General Baird what you had been informed. 
What did you communicate to him 1 

I told him that every man in the town appeared to be providing himself with a pistol, and 
that I believed there would be trouble. I said: "Are you going to let the soldiers come into 
town? " Some officers came along just then and he walked off with them, and I got no an- 
swer. This was near 12 o'clock on Monday morning. 

2764. Where were the soldiers ? 

They were stationed at the barracks, some four miles distant. 

2764-J. Was there any means of bringing them to the city -sooner than by marching them 
on foot ? 

If the steamboat had steam up, and was at the barracks at the right time, they could come 
up in ten minutes. 

2765. General Baird gave you no answer and no reason why he did not send troops? 

He gave me no answer for the reason that some officers seemed to have urgent business 
with him, and he walked off with them. I supposed the troops would be there. I have no 
doubt that twenty soldiers could have stopped the riot. 

2766. Do you know how many persons were killed and wounded altogether? 

I counted twenty -seven bodies taken away on their way to the workhouse. All the dead 
were taken to the workhouse. 

2767. Is the workhouse an almshouse or a prison? 

A prison. It was the general talk among the police the morning of the riot that they were 
to clean out the convention. I heard that said by twenty men that morning. 



188 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2768. When did you first apprehend there would be a riot? 

I apprehended it about 10 o'clock on Monday morning. At 10 o'clock I stood at the cus- 
tom-house and saw the people going into Folsom's for arms. I said then there would be trouble ; 
that there had been too many pistols sold not to have some use for them. I saw a man shot 
in front of the New Orleans express office, 58 Baronne street. He was shot while in custody 
of two policemen. They carried him as far as Eliot street, and then had him put in a wagon. 

2769. Did you see persons wounded or maltreated at any other place ? 

I saw a wounded man, who had been shot, thrown into a wagon, and two dead men 
thrown on top of him ; I thought that was maltreating him ; I saw that on Philippi street. 

2770. Can you tell whether any of those men, whom you saw killed or wounded, were 
among the twenty-seven who were taken to the workhouse ? 

They were the same ones. At least I think so ; for all the dead were taken to the work- 
house, while the wounded were taken to the calaboose and afterwards to the hospital, or 
were taken away by their friends. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 
CHARLES JAMES sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger : 
2771. Where do you reside? 

I reside in New Orleans, Louisiana, and have lived here since 1847. 
277^. Were you here on the 30th of July last ? 
I was here. 

2773. Did you see the first shot fired, according to your understanding, that day ? 
I did. 

2774. Where was it fired, and by whom? 

It was fired about the middle of Canal street. There is a circle there, intended, I presume, 
for a statue, the same as that of Henry Clay. It was fired on this side of that circle by a 
young man who was now employed as special officer, to the best of my knowledge and belief. 

2775. What is his name ? 

Antony Elmore. Whether his name is Antony or not I am not sure. That is my re- 
collection. He is a young man who stands about five feet and a half, with black hair and 
black mustache. 

2776. At what time in the day was it fired ? 

It was between the hours of 12 and 1 o'clock. A procession of colored men came marching 
up Burgundy street. I was standing on the opposite side of Canal street when they entered. 
I remarked to the gentleman with me, "It is rather dry standing here ; let us cross and take a 
glass of soda." We crossed, and I stood on the banquette just beyond the curbing. As I 
got there a car boy shoved one of the negroes in the procession, and said " Go away, you black 
son of a bitch." As he shoved him the colored man fell; he got up and struck this carman. 
As he did so the carman fired at him. Then another shot came from over the other side. 
Who it was fired by I do not know. I know it was fired over my back, and I got out of the 
way very quick. 

2777. Did it come from the procession? 

No ; it came from the other side, and was fired at the procession. At that moment I saw 
Lieutenant Crevaux start to arrest a colored man, who they said fired the shot. I do not 
know whether it was he or not. I know who fired the first. On the morning of the 30th of 
July, about nine o'clock, I visited King Cutler's office. On my way bark I met Lieu- 
tenant Lyman, and asked him if he was going to the convention. He said he was going 
r/ghtup. I told him, so was I, but that in case of a riot I intended to <ret out of the way. 
I had heard a conversation near my house that morning about two o'clock, to the effect that 
they intended to iix that convention ; that they would murder every man in it. The conver- 
sation was between two parties near my house. I do not know their names. A lady next 
door heard the same thing. When I got up to the hall I remained but a few minutes, and 
started out down Common street. About two blocks from there I met the police coming 
down Baronne and Gravier streets. They had not gone more than a block from there before 
they opened a murderous fire, and they continued firing all the way up. 

2778. On whom did they fire ? 

On the colored men. They fired at every colored man in sight. I saw a lady standing 
there with a bullet-hole through her dress. I started around to come up St. Charles street, 
and look in on Doctor Cooper. While on my way 1 saw a policeman, Billy Tier, jump into 
a car and shoot a boy I should judge to be about 14 years old, and an old man. I then saw 
the police pull them both out of the car and beat them. I hallooed at this policeman to stop 
his bloody work, but he paid no attention. It was not long before I had a shot pretty close 
to me, and I left then and went to Doctor Cooper's office, corner of Rampart and Canal 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES JAMES. 189 

streets. I stopped there a few moments, but found the riot had followed me, and I went up 
to Claiborne street. I had not been gone ten minutes before I found them after me there. 

1 got home at last, and they watched my house for four days and nights, intending, as I 
understood, to murder me. I learned that these men said that they had the power of the 
President on their side, and they would murder me because I had been a Yankee officer. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2779. To whom did they say this ? 

They said it to a lady ; I can give her name. This was a strange lady, and she came 
to my wife crying about it. I went to my gate the night of the riot and saw four policemen 
there. The next night I went and saw four policemen ; I cannot, of course, say, of my own 
personal knowledge, that they intended to murder me ; but I have every reason to believe 
they did. 

2780. Can that lady be obtained as a witness? 

Yes sir ; her name is Pettit. She lives on Burgundy street. 

2781. Did she tell you that these men told her that they were going there to kill you ? 
Yes, sir. Before I saw any policeman about the house, she came to my house and said 

she had been told they were going to kill the Yankee officers ; that they had the power of the 
President on their side, and that they would put me out of the way ; that if they did not do 
it the negroes would get worse than they already were. That night, between niue and ten 
o'clock, I went to the gate and saw four policemen; the next night I did not see them, but 
the next night after that I saw them again. 

2782. What were they doing? 

They were standing right before my door. 

2783. Was that anything unusual? 
It was very unusual. 

2784. Did you never see them collect there before ? 

No, sir; I did not. I have served in the police myself, and I know that such a thing is 
not usual. 

2785. Why did they not come in and kill you? 

I do not know. I had sent an orderly to General Baird requesting protection from him, and 
after that I kept myself pretty close. I sent a request by an orderly. 

2786. Did General Baird give you protection ? , 

No, sir; he did not. I saw the general afterwards and spoke to him about it. He said 
he had so many calls of that sort he could not pay any attention to them. That is all I know 
in reference to the riot. 

2787. How do you know the shot you have described was the first shot? 

Because I was all the morning around the Mechanics' Institute, and I know positively there 
was no other shot fired until then. 

2788. Where was it you heard this remark you have spoken of as having been made about 

2 o'clock in the morning? 

It was made on Burgundy street, near St. Philip. 

2789. Where were you? 

I was out at my gate waiting for my little colored girl to get on her clothes and come with 
a basket with me to market. 

2790. Did these men see you at the time they were making these remarks? 
That I cannot say. I heard them distinctly. 

2791. Repeat again carefully what you heard them say. 

I heard them make the remark that "We must hurry up; we are going to have a good 
time at the Mechanics' Institute." One of them called over some names that I could not hear, 
aud said: "I will be damned if we don't put those fellows at the convention to their long 
homes." I told my wife what I had heard, and she urged me to stay away from the conven- 
tion. 

2792. Were they colored people or white people who made these remarks? 
White people — well-dressed gentlemen. 

2793. In police or citizens' clothes? 

In citizens' clothes. One of them said, among other things, that he had two notices to 
serve, and that he must hurry up or he should be late. 

v!794. What, did he say the notices were about? 

He did not say that. He said if they held that convention he intended to put them to their 
long homes. 

2795. Did you see anybody shot that day? 
Yes, sir; I saw two. 

2796. Now state distinctly, in each case, what took place. 

It was as I have stated, at this circle, on Canal street, in a railroad street car. I have 
known tins policeman, Billy Tier, for years, and would know him almost in the darkest night. 
He walked into the car and shot the colored boy and an old man. 

2797. Did he kill the boy? 
The shot did not kill him. 

2798. Where did the bullet take effect? 



190 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

That is more than I can say. The boy tried to hide, and I saw the policeman afterwards 
pull him out, kick him, and throw him down on the pavement. 

2799. What was done with the old man? 

He fired into him ; brought him out of the car; he then made use of some French expression ; 
I do not know what it was: he brought the old man out and just stood and cursed him. 

2800. What became of these negroes 1 
They laid there the last I saw of them. . 

2801. What is your employment now ? 

I am a ship carpenter, and work at caulking and sail-making. 

2802. What position did you hold in the Union army? 
Spy and detective. 

2803. Have you pursued your occupation ever since you left the army? 

I have been. ship carpentering and caulking all the time whenever I could get a job. 

2804. Did any police officer ever tell you they intended to murder you ? 

No, but I have been repeatedly told by them that I had better get out of this town; that 
it would be a pretty damned hot place for me to live in after a while. 

2805. Have you ever been troubled or molested by theni? 
I have not. 

2806. You have gone out by night as well as by day ? 

Yes. Since four or five days alter the riot I have gone out by night and by day. 

2807. And yet you have never been assailed ? 
No. 

2807-J. Do you know the policemen who were congregated in front of your door at the time 
you allude to ? 

No, sir. To tell you the truth, I was so scared that I did not wait to see anything more 
than that they were policemen. 

2808. If their intention had been to kill you, do not you think they could have found some 
opportunity to do so / 

No, I do not think they could very handily. I was watching for them. 

2809. Could they not have done so afterwards? 

That I could not say. I may have met them fifty times. I do not know. 

2810. Was there anything in their movements at the time you saw them in front of your 
house that indicated any intention to commit violence? 

No ; I will not say that. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 
Dr. E. H. HARRIS sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

2811. Please state your age and occupation. 

I am thirty-eight years old. I am a physician, employed at this time in the Freed men's 
Bureau in the capacity of contract surgeon, in charge of the Freedfnen's Bureau hospital in 
this city. My borne is Grinnell, Iowa. 

2812. Wire those who were wounded on the 30th of July, or any portion of them, carried 
to your hospital ! If so, how many 1 

On the 30th of July one hundred and two persons were received there, and on the 31st 
six, I think, other colored persons, all of whom were said to have been wounded in the riot. 

2813. Were these all colored persons? 
They were. 

2814. Were there any others carried there? 

Rev. Mr. Horton was received there ou the 30th, and about a week afterwards Mr. Hen- 
derson. 

2*l.">. How many of these one hundred and eight died .' 

1 believe our register shows fourteen to have died in the hospital within two or three days 
after the riot. Quite a Dumber were taken away by their friends, they having come to the 
hospital and given evidence that they had good places to take them to, and had family phy- 
sicians. These 1 am unable to give any further history of. 1 have heard one died. I think, 
probably, that about fourteen died within two or three days or within a week. 

2816. Are you aide to state how many persons were wounded who were taken directly to 
their homes and did not come to your hospital.' 

I am not. 

2817. Will you state in what manner these wounded persons were taken to the hospital? 
They were brought there in various conveyances ; many of them in cabs; others, I think, 

iu carls, wagons, or drays. 

2818. How were they placed in the drays; how many in a dray? 

They were brought there in various ways. 1 am not sure whether any were brought on a 
dray or not. 1 think some were brought in a heavy waguu with springs. They were laid 



TESTIMONY OF DR. E. H. HARRIS. 191 

in the bottom. One wagon, in which was Rev. Mr. Horton, had eight or ten in it. They 
were piled in promiscuously. 

2819. Was Mr. Horton taken to the hospital on Monday, the day of tho riot? 
He was. 

2820. 1 >o von recollect at what time in the day? 

I should think between the hours of three and four o'clock in the afternoon. 

2821. Do you know whether he had a wife in the city, or whether she was at the hospital? 
I was not acquainted with Mrs. Horton until I met her the day after at the hospital. She 

was introduced to me as Mrs. Horton about eleven o'clock, I think, on the next day. 

2822. 1 lad she seen her husband after he was wounded before then .' 

She said she had not seen him since the morning before, when he left to attend the con- 
vention. 

2823. Had she tried to find him? 

She said she had. r 

2>24. Did she remain with him until he died? • 

She did. 

2825. At whose expense or cha-ge were these wounded persons attended or cared for? 
At the expense of the Freedmen's Bureau. 

2826. How does it happen that they were carried to the hospital or to the bureau? 

I do not know. The first intimation I had of the riot at all was the reception of wounded 
at the hospital. It is our custom to receive all wounded or sick freedmen brought there. 

2827. Do you know by whose orders the Rev. Mr. Horton and Mr. Henderson were taken 

their ' 

I do not know by whose orders Mr. Horton was taken there. He was in a similar condi- 
tion, hadly wounded, and came with others in a wagon. He was taken in without any 
inquiries being made in regard to how he came there. Mr. Henderson, I believe, was re- 
ceived there about a week afterwards by permission of the superintendent of the hospital. 
He was not received into the hospital proper, but given a room in the building. 

2828. State whether or not the wounds of these men had been dressed or cared for appa- 
rently before they were taken to the hospital. 

I think they had not. If any had, it was a very small number. I cannot call to mind 
any that had received attention. 

28-29. What description of wounds did they have? 

Many of them bore marks of three different characters of wounds — pistol wounds, incise 
or penetrating wounds, and contused wounds. 

By Mr. Sheli.abarger : 

2830. Did Mr. Horton die at the hospital ? 
He did. 

2831. Did Mr. Henderson die there? 

He did not ; he was removed from there a few days before his death. He was there in 
bed from three to four weeks, sick. 

2832. What was the nature of Mr. Horton's mortal wound ? 

A fracture of the skull. His arm or his right baud was contused, and one of his fingers 
broken. There was also a pistol shot in the arm — I think in the right arm. I think he was 
also wounded on the body; I do not recollect very distinctly about that. Dr. Avery at- 
tended him after the first day. There was no other physician at the hospital except myself 
and my assistant, and all our time and strength were taken up with the colored men. 

2833. Do you know \thether any trepanning or other methods were adopted to try to save 
his life? 

He was trepanned. 

2834. Do you think the wound in his skull was the cause of his death? 
I think so. 

2835. How was that wound jjiven ? 

It" was given by some heavy club, I should think; it may have been a brick; it was 
certainly dune by some heavy weapon ; it was done by some weapon sufficiently heavy to 
break his skull. 

2836. Did he make any statement to you how he. came there? 

The morning before Mr. Horton died he commenced to give me a history of the conven- 
tion. I allowed him to proceed a very few minutes, and then, feeling that it was injuring 
him, stopped him. He did not proceed far enough to state anything regarding himself; he 
was simply giving a statement of the manner in which the riot had commenced. 

2837. Can you remember his statement? 

I did not take it down. He spoke of the place where he was standing ; that he had opened 
the convention with prayer ; that they had adjourned for a brief period for some reason, I 
do not now remember what, probably for want of a sufficient number of members to do busi- 
ness ; that while waiting he heard firing out in the street. I do not recollect the statement 
definitely. I felt some anxiety about him, and did not wish him to talk. 

2838. How was it with Mr. Henderson ? What wound killed him ? 
I think it was a wound received in the left side. 



192 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

•2839. What was it inflicted by? 

It was a bullet wound, inflicted by some small arm. He had other wounds also. 

2840. Did the pistol wound touch his lungs or liver? 
Probably it did touch his lungs, and perhaps his liver. 

2841. Did you learn from him how he got his mortal wound ? 
I think I did not. 

2842. State whether or not the authorities of the city, in any way, to your knowledge, 
made application for leave to have these parties carried to the hospital, or whether, after 
they were there, they took any steps to administer to their wants or for the paymeut of ex- 
penses incurred. 

They did not to my knowledge. 

28415. May they have done so without your knowing it ? 

They may have done so without my knowing it. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 

Dr. E. GRISWOLD sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

2844. State your official position. 

I am surgeon-in-chief of the Freedmen's Bureau for this city. 

2845. Were you stationed in New Orleans on the 30th of July, or thereabout ? 

I was. My official duties were those of surgeon-in-chief of the Freedmen's Bureau for this 
city. I have charge of the medical department of the bureau, examine the hospitals, and 
exercise a general supervision the same as that of a medical director of the army. I have 
no special charge of any hospital, but a general charge of the department. At the time the 
riot was about to occur, or at the time it had commenced, I was on my way to visit the Ma- 
rine Hospital as the medical chief the bureau. I visited the hospital in discharge of my 
duties. While on Carondelet street I met General Baird, who had just received information 
of the disturbance going on, and he requested me to remain at his headquarters — the head- 
quarters of the district. ' I remained there during the time of the riot. I saw a few persons 
pass on Carondelet street seemingly to be slightly wouuded. I examined a few colored 
people who were wounded ; and that is the extent of my knowledge of what occurred that 
day. 

2846. Then your information would be that received by you officially, and would corre- 
spond with that the committee have already received from Dr. Harris ? 

I presume it would be the same. Dr. Harris reports to me every morning the number of 
patients received, on baud, discharged, &c. My records would therefore correspond with 
bis. 

2847. If any application for leave to take these wounded persons, black or white, to the 
hospital had been made, would it have been to Dr. Harris or to you ? 

Dr. Harris has authority to receive all freed people at the hospital who apply and are sick 
or wounded. That authority was given in consequence sometimes of the inconvenience of 
giving a special order in each case. In regard to other persons, two white men were re- 
ceived — I think one, during the day of the riot, without any authority of mine ; the other, 
Mr. Henderson, was taken some days after the riot with permission by me. 

2848. Have you any knowledge of any application made for leave to take persons to the 
hospital during the day of the riot? 

No, sir ; and such an application woidd not have been necessary. 

284 ( J. If there is any fact, within your knowledge connected with the disturbances of the 
day other than you have stated, you will please give it to the committee. 

I do not remember any, except such as came to me through official reports. I think of 
nothing within my personal observation. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

2850. You speak of having been at General Baird's headquarters during the day of the 
riot; do you know, of your own personal knowledge, any reasons why the military was not 
on the ground sooner to suppress the riot on that day ? 

I cannot say that I do from my own personal knowledge. Of course, I know these things 
only from what I heard at the time. 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM A. BALESTIER. 193 

New Orleans, December 27, I860. 
WILLIAM A. BALESTIER sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2851. State your age, residence, and occupation. 

I am about twenty -five years old. I live in New Orleans ; was born and raised here. My 
occupation is that of a clerk, now employed in the St. Charles theatre. 

2852. Where were you employed on the 30th of July ? 
At the Price Current office of Bright & Young. 

2853. Did you act as special policeman on that day ? 

No, sir ; not exactly. I was out that day on business connected with the paper. I was 
on Camp street at the time I heard the first pistol-shot. I then passed through an all. y 
into St. Charles street. I there saw a large crowd and policemen haviug a negro in charge. 
I followed the crowd up to the station adjoining the City Hall. I asked what was the mat- 
ter ; they told me that a negro who had shot a white boy, had been arrested and brought 
up there. The police station was very much crowded. They were swearing in and giving 
badges to special police officers. Mr. Adams, chief of police, called out that they were all 
full ; that all his special officers were already appointed; that if any more were needed, 
they would be appointed that evening at six o'clock. I then went down St. Charles street 
as far as Common, where I met a company of policemen. I got into the crowd and fol- 
lowed it up as far as Baronne street. On Baronne and Common streets there were a couple 
of shots fired and one ne^ro killed, to my certain knowledge. I then went down Baronne 
street to Canal, and as I was in front of the alley leading to the Mechanics' Institute I 
saw several persons in the act of jumping from the windows of the Institute, and as they 
jumped they were fired upon by police officers. I saw several negroes killed in that way. 
I saw one come out from there on to Canal street, where he was shot by no less than seven 
police. I saw him fall. I saw a man there who was not a policeman — a citizen — with a 
revolver in his hand, who very coolly put his pistol to the side of a man's head, who was 
lying there in a dying condition, with the intention of blowing his brains out, but he was 
stopped by Mr. Adams, chief of police. I then started down towards Philippi street, 
where the Mechanics' Institute is situated. I saw a ciowd coming along with some mem- 
ber of the convention — I think, Mr. Fish. There were various cries as he went along of 
" Hang him," " Hang him," " Tie him up to the lamp-post " At this time Mr. Adams 
had him under his charge, endeavoring to protect him. He took him into some store 
there, and that was the last I saw of him. I started on back to Canal, and as I was about 
turning the corner I saw them dragging Doctor Dostie at the corner to Canal and Philippi. 
I saw them raise him and put him into a cart and drive him off. While I was there I also 
saw Mr. Hahn taken into a carriage and driven towards the City Hall. I kept along with 
the crowd to Dauphin street, and when I was right by Christ's church I recollect seeing 
Doctor Dostie again, still in the cart There were the driver and a couple of policemen in 
the cart. I turned back, and on my way some one (who it was I cannot say) handed me a 
pistol. I examined it, and found that it was not loaded. I kept it in my possession, and after a 
little while some one in the crowd handed me a round of cartridges ; I then started back. The 
crowd had become very much excited; were going up and down, shooting at and murderii g 
colored people. I then started towards Dauphin street, and as I got to the corner of Dauphin 
and Canal, a couple of negroes passed by. Some parties, who they were I cannot say, drew 
a pistol and shot one of them. The other party was also fired at, but he immediately 
turned and ran down Canal street towards the levee. The ball just grazed his face. After 
he had gone as far as St. Charles street I 6aw no more of him ; he went out of ray sight as 
I turned down towards the Mechanics' Institute. In the excitement I followed the crowd 
backwards and forwards all the time. I went around on Baronne street, and found the same 
condition of things there. I met Mr. Lucien Adams, a sergeant of police, who asked me 
where I was going, and asked me if I had succeeded in killing anybody to-day. I told him 
I had not tried to kill anybody ; that I had not fired a shot out of the pistol. I showed 
him the cartridges and caps that had been given me. I started with him and went up to 
Carondelet and Poydras streets. He told me if I was going through that I had better come 
with him, that I could not get through the crowd ; I told him I was not afraid of them. I 
took the cars and went home to my dinner. I remained at home about one hour, and 
then walked down town again. As I passed by the City Hall there was a crowd there, and I 
heard some one say that any one who wished could be sworn in and supplied with a badge 
as special police officer. I went to the side entrance, where there was a large crowd, and 
some one came to the head of the stairs, I think from the mayor's office, and said that the 
one hundred and sixty specials who were wanted had all been sworn in ; that the mayor 
had filled his quota ; and advising the crowd to go home. I immediately took the cars and 
went home, and as I ask to be forgiven of Heaven I believe that is a true statement. 

13 N. ex. 



194 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

2854. When you first met Lucien Adams, you say he asked you if you had killed any- 
body. As near as you can recollect, what was his precise language? 

He said "Have you shot anybody to-day." I said "No," I had not. 

2855. Did you keep the pistol you had, or leave it with him? 

No ; the pistol I had was given away. I gave it to some of the crowd, and I do not know 
what became of it. 

2856. Do you know who it was that^ave you the cartridges? 

They were handed to me by a gentleman with a white beard ; I do not know who it was; 
and the pistol was given to me by some one, I am not sure whether by a police officer or 
not. I remember he had a blue coat on. It was at the corner of Baronne and Common 
streets. I remember that he had a blue coat and brass buttons, but what they were, under 
the excitement of the moment, I did not notice. 

2857. The police had on blue uniforms, did they not? 

They all had on blue uniforms ; but whether the man who handed me this pistol was a 
police officer, or an officer of the army, I do not know. 

2858. What did he say when he gave the pistol to you ? 

He only said, "Take this." That is the ouly remark he made. 

2859. What did he give you the pistol for ? 

I do not know. I was with the crowd at the time, and he handed me the pistol. He 
had at the same time, I think, a couple of others in his hand. The party who gave me the 
cartridges was an elderly gentleman, _#nd, as I said, had a white beard. 

2860. How many cartridges did he seem to have ? 

A pocketful. He pulled out some, and handed me six. He had them in a package as if 
he had come from a store. 

2861. Did you see pistols given to any other parties? 

Yes ; I saw pistols given to the crowd by several different parties on the day of the riot. 

2862. Was it policemen or citizens who distributed the pistols ? 
Citizens, with the exception of this one who gave me mine. 

2863. Did you have an opportunity to see where the pistols came from ? 

I did not. They were all new ; and if I am not mistaken, were marked thirty-six-inch 
calibre. 

2864. How many do you think you saw given away? 
I should judge I saw twelve or eighteen. 

2865. Did you see many cartridges distributed? 

I saw them given to three parties. They were given to a couple of young men who were 
right alongside of me. 

2866. Were they dressed in citizens' clothes ? 
They were 

2867. Had they any badges upon them? 
None whatever that I saw. 

2868. Is there any other fact that you recollect that you have not already stated, con- 
nected with the riot? 

None that I recollect, except that they had special officers on patrol all that night. 

2869. The existence of martial law. had then been proclaimed, had it not ? 

Yes, sir ; it was proclaimed about six o'clock. I then saw the artillery take possession 
of the square, and I left. 

2870. You have spoken of seeing the police coming down town. Did they come in 
squads ? 

Yes, in regular platoons ; thirty or forty in a platoon. 

2S71. Do you know whether the police were at their regular beats on Saturday night ? 

I do not know. 

2872. Do you know anything about their being massed at the station-houses early Mon- 
day morning? 

No, sir ; I do not. 

2873. Did you see what effect the ringing of the alarm bells had ? 
Yes, sir ; it drew the police out. 

2874. Did you see the police coming down in bodies after that? 

I did ; in bodies of seventy-five or a hundred men, from the different station-houses, led 
by their superior officers. 

2875. Did they seem to be armed? 

They all seemed to be armed with breech-loading cartridge pistols. 
2876 Did you see the mayor out that day I 
I saw him in his office. 

2877. At what time in the day ? , 

I should judge at about three quarters of an hour before the riot broke put. I was there 
on business myself. 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM A. BALESTIER. 195 

SS7S. Bid you go there to make application to be sworn in as a special officer ? 
Not at all. 

2879. Did you have any conversation with him ? 

None whatever. I went there upon business connected with the Price Current office. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2880. Did you see many of those dressed in citizens' clothes firing on that day ? 

I did ; but the majority of those who were firing about the Mechanics' Institute were 
police. 

28S1. In point of numbers which were the most numerous, those dressed in citizens' 
clothes or the police ? 

Those dressed in citizens' clothes were the most numerous ; but more firing was done by 
the police, because they were all armed. As far as mere numbers went the citizens were 
the most numerous. 

2882. Did you see many boys? 

I saw large numbers of boys there, from the size of school children up. 

2883. Were there as many boys as grown-up citizens? 

No, sir ; not a quarter as many. I suppose I saw from one hundred and fifty to 
two hundred boys, and I probably saw seven or eight hundred citizens. 

2884. How many policemen did you see? 

I judge the whole force of the city of New Orleans was out. I do not know what it is, 
but I suppose six or seven hundred. 

2885. In estimating the number of citizens you saw, do you include those who went to the 
convention as well as others ? , 

No, sir ; I refer only to those outside of the convention ; those who were drawn there by 
the sound of the alarm bell. 

2886. Were they all participants in the disturbance and in acts of violence ? or did they 
appear, many of them, to have been attracted by curiosity only? 

The great majority of them seemed to be attracted by curiosity, and some in the excite- 
ment participated in firing and other acts of violence ; but the majority seemed to be there 
more from curiosity than anything else. 

By the Chairman : 

2887. Did you see persons in citizens' clothes having any badges, such as handkerchiefs, 
blue ribbons, &c. ? 

Yes, sir ; I saw them with blue ribbons. 

2888. How many? 

I .should say one hundred and fifty or two hundred. 

2889. Did you notice any with white handkerchiefs tied around their necks? 
No, sir. 

2890. Did you notice any with medals or crescents on their coats? 

No, sir. To tell the truth, I was very much excited, and I did not notice such things. 
The blue ribbons were so prominent that I could not help noticing them. 

2891. Are you a member of the fire department? 
Yes, sir. 

2892. When the alarm was given was the effect to bring the firemen out that day ? 
I could not say. I saw nothing to that effect. 

2893. Did you see any eDgines out ? 

I saw one engine out. The alarm struck twenty taps, and that was the general alarm of 
the fire department. After the alarm of the twenty taps had been rung, one company (I 
think number 21) came up there just as they would if it had been a fire. They came up 
right in front of the Mechanics' Institute, and then, finding what was going on, got out of 
the way as soon as possible. 

2894. Were you near the engine ? 
I was pretty near. 

2895. Did you notice anything in the engine boxes? 1 
I did not see anything but the ordinary hose. 

2896. Do you remember seeing any persons connected with the fire department doing acts 
of violeuce that day ? 

I do not think I saw them, except that once, and as sqon as they saw what was the trou- 
ble they took off their equipments immediately. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2897. Other witnesses who have testified state that twelve taps only were struck on the 
bells. I wish you to recollect and be positive as to the number you heard. 



19G NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

I remember distinctly counting twenty taps, and I was right by Christ's church, where 
one of the bells was, at the time. Twelve taps may have been struck at other times. 

2898. Were they struck more than once? 
I could not say. 

2899. At about what time in the day was it ? 
About quarter to twelve o'clock. 

2900. You say that an alarm of twenty taps requires all the fire companies to assemble 
at one point ? 

Yes, sir ; that is the general signal of the fire department. It brings the whole fire de- 
partment of the city in lull force. 

2901. What does an alarm of twelve taps mean? 

I do not know. There is no ahum of twelve taps in the fire department. 



New Orleans, La., December 27, 1866. 
HENRY FRA.NCIS EVANS sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2902. What is your age? 
About forty-four. 

2903. Do you live in New Orleans? 
Yes, sir. 

2904. How long have you lived here ? 
Since 1849. 

2905. What is your business ? 

I am a special detective officer in the department of the Gulf. 

2906. What is your present occupation ? 
I am doing nothing at present. 

2907. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? ' 
Yes, sir. 

2908. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute ? 
I was, sir. 

2909. Were you in the hall? 
Yes, sir. 

2910. How long were you there ? 

I did not remain above ten minutes. 

2911. Where were you after that? 
In the street. 

2912. What did you see? 

When I left the hall I came down stairs, and from the Mechanics' Institute I walked 
towards the corner of Canal and Dryades streets, about half a block. There I met Mr. Mc- 
Clellan, who is under Mr. Monroe. I heard some drums coming up Burgundy street, and 
when they came to Canal street I heard a shot fired ; I don't know who fired it ; but I saw 
a police officer and a special officer attack a colored man, and they took him along the rail- 
road track ; then the policemen from the second district came up in a body and commenced 
firing, and shot every colored man they met. I saw them beat colored men, and I saw that 
the colored men had no pistols with them. I saw the policemen shoot them and kick them 
in the face after they were down ; and I saw a dray taking five or six of those who were 
wounded away. I heard a drayman say, " Where will I take them to ?" And a policeman 
said, "Throw them in the river." 

2913. Do you know tint drayman's name? 
His name, I believe, is Frank Moon, or Moan. 

2914. Who is this Frank Moon? 

I do not know ; he was on the police force some time ago. 

2915. Do you know where that dray load of wounded was Carried? 
I do not. 

2916. What else did you see ? 

I saw the policemen shooting till the military came up ; I saw them firing up at the win* 
dows of the hall, and the citizens gave three cheers for the city police, and supplied them 
with ammunition. 

2917. Did you see any citizens shoot? 

I saw a man shooting named Thayer, or Tayer ; I don't know his name exactly ; he is 
•on the police force now. I saw him shoot two or three colored men, and I saw citizens 
supply him with ammunition and load his revolver for hiiu. I heard him say, "I've stood 



TESTIMONY OF IIENRY FRANCIS EVANS. 197 

fire before, and I can stand it again." He said, "I'll shoot down every damned son-of- 
a-bitch. We'll go and tear down the Institute, and we'll get a cannon." They shot 
up at the windows, and from the Medical College there was some shooting through the 
windows at the Institute. I saw some colored men who were wounded, down on the steps, 
and they were shot while they were sitting down. 

2918. Where was that? 

Right opposite the Mechanics' Institute ; they were sitting on the steps of the door. 

2919. How came they to be there? 

I do not know. Next I saw them lying down on the banquette ; then I saw one of them 
run up an alley-way, and a police officer shot at him three times. As far as I could see, 
they shot at every one. I made the remark to Mr. McClellan, " Isn't it a shame that these 
policemen are shooting in this way. This is not the way to get the Union back again." He 
replied something in French which I did not understand. I showed these things to Mr. 
McClellan ; he is one of the special officers. He went over to assist the other two police- 
men who took the man up the track. That was the time I heard a shot from the other 
side of Canal street when I and McClellan were on the other side of the street. It was at 
the corner of Burgundy and Canal streets that the colored men had the flag flying. 

2920. Did all the police officers seem to be armed ? 
Yes, sir ; some of them had two revolvers with them. 

2921. What appeared to be the object of the police ? 

It appeared to be killing all those people — shooting them down. 

2922. Were those negroes rioters? Were they using arms themselves? 
No. sir; I did not see one shot fired by them. 

2923. Was there any firing going on when you were up in the hall ? 

No, sir; none at all ; they were then waiting for the assembling of the convention. 

2924. Where did you go after this ? 

I came to the corner of Canal and talked with Mr. McClellan, and there I remained till 
the military came ; then I went home. 

2925. Have you told us of all the cases of cruelty you saw? 

That is all, except the drayman. He had some colored men that he was putting on his 
dray, and when he got hold of one of their heads he would suddenly let it drop and say, 
*\ Ugh ! nigger." 

2926. Was the negro dead ? 
I suppose 60. 

2927. How many had he on that load ? 
Four or five. 

2928. Where was that load taken up ? 

On the street, by the side of Canal and Common, near the Institute.' 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

2929. Did you hear that fire alarm ? 
No, sir ; I did not particularly notice it. 

2930. Did you see the police coming up there in crowds, so as to surround the Institute 
and prevent any escape? 

The police came there from two directions ; the first district police from Common street, 
and the second district police from Canal street. 

2931. Did they meet at the Institute at the same time? 

Yes, sir; they came from opposite directions, and arrived there at the same time. 
29.32. Where was it that these citizens hurrahed for the city police ? 
On Canal street, by the side of the Mechanics' Institute. 
2933. What were the city policemen doing when this hurrahing was given ? 
They were shooting the people down. 

2934-. Where did the police go and get their ammunition ? 

They loaded on the street. I saw citizens take some out of their pockets and give it to 
the police ; and I saw them sometimes kneel down on the banquette and load their pistols. 

2935. How many citizens united in the shouting for the police ? 
Therp were four or five voices. 

2936. Do you know the chief of police ? 
Yes, sir. 

. 2937. What is his name ? 
Adams. 

2938. Was he there? 
I did not see him. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2939. What are you engaged in now ? 



198 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

I am doing nothing at present. I made application to get into the custom-house, and 
got recommendations veil signed. 

2940. What were you engaged in formerly ? 

I was special detective for the Gulf department. 

2941. What nation are you from? 
I am an Irishman. 

2942. About what proportion did the citizens in the mob on the 30th of July bear to the 
police in point of numbers ? Which were most numerous, the police or those in citizens' 
dress ? 

I believe the police. 

2943. What class of citizens were there ? Were there many boys among them ? 
I did not see auy boys there ; they were men — young men. 

2944. How near to the Institute were you? 

I stood at the corner of Dryades and Canal street, but I left there when I saw Mr. Fish 
come down with two police officers having hold of him. I spoke to officer Rockwell not to 
allow any one to shoot that man. " He i.s in your charge," I said. 

2945. Is that point the nearest you were to the Institute that day ? 
I was up there, but I did not remain long. 

294G. Was there any firing going On at the Iustitute when you were there ? 
No, sir, there was no firing at all. 

2947. Then, when the firing commenced, you were not close to the ground'immediately 
in front of the Iustitute ? 

I was standing at the corner of Canal and Dryades. 

2948. Did you approach any nearer afterwards ? 
As the police advanced I got up after them. 

2949. When they entered the Mechanics' Institute, where were you ? 
I was outside on the other side of the banquette. 

2950. Immediately opposite ? 

Yes, sir ; and they were throwing stones and firing up at the windows. 

2951. At that particular time, which was the most numerous, those in police uniform or 
those in citizens' dress ? 

The police were there at that time ; they were the most numerous ; there was a great 
crowd of police officers there. 

2952. How many police officers did you estimate to have been there at that time ? 
I do not know ; there was a great crowd of them. 

2953. Were there as many as two hundred ? 

I do not think there were as many as that, but there was a great crowd of them. 

2954. Were there as many as one hundred ? 

Yes, sir ; I cannot say exactly. There was a great crowd of them there, for they came 
from both sides, lioth the first district and second district police. 

2955. How long altogether were you near enough to see what was going on during the 
riot? 

I was there from half past eleven, and I staid till it was all over — till the military 
came. 

2956. That lasted how long? 

About a couple of hours ; 1 was there quite that time. 

2957. How many citizens did you sic supplying police officers with ammunition ? 
I saw two men giving ammunition to the police. 



New Orleans, La., December 27. 1866. 
MOSES FOX SMWn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2958. What is your age ? 

I shall he sixty- sewn next month. 

2959. Where do you live ? 

I have lived in this city since 1837. 

2960. What is your occupation ? 
I am a carpenter and joiner. 

2961. Were you in this city on the 30th of July last ? 
I was. 

2962. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute ? 
I was. 



TESTIMONY OF MOSES FOX. 199 

29 G3. How long were you there ? 

I was there from about 9 o'clock iu the morning till, I suppose, near 2 o'clock ; perhaps 
a little after. 

2964. Did you know Captain Loup ? 
Yes, sir. 

29(!5. Was he at the convention ? 
Yes, sir. 

2966. Did you sec anything happen to him? if so, state what. 

I did, sir ; I saw him come out of the Mechanics' Institute on to Dryades street ; I was 
nearly opposite on Dryades street, standing: at the door, two and a half feet above the 
banquette ; Captain Loup came out and turned to his left, towards Common street, and a gen- 
tleman, who saved my own life, came down after Captain Loup, who, as near as I could judge, 
had got from fifteen to twenty feet from the door of the Mechanics' Institute building ; he 
had been up in the vestibule, motioning and hallooing for the police to come up into the 
hall ; then he came down and ran after Captain Loup, with a big knife in his hand, and 
said, "Here goes a God damned Yankee sou of a bitch — kill him." He overtook Captain 
Loup between the Mechanics' Institute and the Medical College, going towards Common 
street, and plunged the knife into his back, jerked it out, turned round, walked back, and 
went into the Institute ; and the next I saw of him he was in the vestibule. Afterwards 
the police set upon Captain Loup with clubs and brickbats. I could see them, but I do 
not know whether they shot him. I saw them beat and pound him there, and after they 
were satisfied with beating and pounding him, they raised a great yell, and shouted, " We 
have fought for four years these God damned Yankees and sons of bitches in the field, and 
now we will fight them in the city." 

2967. Who was Captain Loup ? 

I suppose he was a German in the federal army. 

2968. Who was that gentleman you referred to ? 
His name is Mr. Earhart. 

2969. Do you know his first name ? 
I do not. 

2970. Where does he live ? 
I do not know. 

2971. What is his business ? 

I think his business is mostly drinking liquor and loafing around. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

2972. Did you say that the man who stabbed Captain Loup was motioning when the 
police were to come up stairs ? 

He would motion from the windo ( w when the police were to come up into the hall, and 
I could hear him halloo. 

2973. What did he say ? 

" Police, come up now ; God damn you, come up !" 

2974. Did you see Mr. Henderson in the Institute ? 

I saw him come out. After I got out, Mr. Henderson was the first man I knew ; they 
were beating him when he came out on Dryades street. I ran towards Canal street. Mr. 
Henderson fell, and the policemen beat him after he fell flit on his face on the banquette 
until they supposed he had had enough or was dead. I reported Mr. Henderson dead myself. 
Mr. Henderson was the first man that came out ; Mr. Hahn was the next that came out 
that I knew. When he came out of the building the policemen had him by each arm, one 
on each side ; as soon as he got on the banquette he was surrounded by policemen, and 
they slowly walked him to the edge of the banquette. Governor Hahn set his crutch 
down on the street,- and just about the time he stepped with his foot on the street there 
was firing of pistols ; whether they hit him or not I do not know, but as the pistols fired 
he turned round towards the police ; with that they were firing again. I saw the clubs 
and brickbats take him on the head, and he fell. Whether the bullets hit him I do not 
know, but the clubs and brickbats I did see. 

2975. Did you see him when he was taken away ? 
No, sir. 

2976. Did you see them strike him ? 

I did ; I could give the names of two who beat Governor Hahn and Mr. Henderson. 

2976J. Give them. 

There was special officer Thomas Dryden, and the other Sergeant Le Clerc, at the Trem 
station, second district. I could point out a number of others, but I do not know their 
names. I have had to arrest many of them during my time in the city here. 

2977. How did you escape? 

I remained in the hall. I could not be positive whether I started to leave after the fifth 



200 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

volley fired into the hall ; it might have been the sixth or seventh, hut being excited, I 
could not tell. Just as I was at the door, or within a step or two of it, I saw the police- 
men come and fire agaiu. I immediately stepped aside to the wall, an! they ran their 
pistols in through the door, a pistol in each hand, and fired a volley into the room, and 
retired. I slipped along, anxious to get out, and started right out. After I got between 
the door and the head of the stairs I was taken hold of by this same young man that 
saved my life — the same young man that ran the knife into Captain Loup ; and he asked 
me if I was a member of the convention. I said, " No, I am no member of the conven- 
tion." I told him I was merely a spectator. They all knew me; I was deputy sheriff of 
the first district court ; so they concluded to let me go. They went down the stairway to 
the left, and I think I went to the left. I think there was no one on the stairs as I went 
down, but the doorway was pretty near filled. I worked in with the crowd and got out. 
I walked immediately across the street, and remained there till after Loup was killed. Some 
gentleman — I do not know him, but he is an elderly man — came out and tried to run across 
the street, and the bullets came so rapidly that I did not know but that I should be hit. 
He went a little further, and then I noticed he fell. I then thought it was best for me to 
get away, and I walked to the corner of Common and Dryades streets I knew there was 
an alley near, but I found that was filled. When I got to Rampart and Common the 
firing was still after me. I crossed on beyond Rampart and Common, and by this time the 
firing had ceased. I looked tack and saw a man lying in the street, but whether white or 
black I do not know. Some of my friends were there and I staid a little, but I thought 
it was best for me to get home, so I went from Rampart to Canal, and looking this way I 
saw the street still filled, and the shooting going on, and I returned home. Soon after I 
came back, when the military were in possession. 

2978. Who were doing the shooting ? 
The police. 

2979. Did you see any firemen there ? 
Plenty of them. 

2980. Were they armed? 

They were, with clubs and the like. 

2981. Did you hear the alarm sounded ? 
Not to my knowledge. 

2982. Were the negroes armed, as far as you could see? 

The negroes, as is usual with them on Sundays or holidays, had sticks in their hands, 
but as far as arms are concerned I saw none in the hall, save one pistol, aud that was after 
the police had been in ; a boy had it, but whether it really belonged to him or whether it 
belonged to some one who had been in the hall, or if it belonged to the police, I could not say. 

2983. Do you know of any threats that the convention should not meet ? 

I have been sick all the summer, having done nothing since I resigned my position in 
the custom-house ; but when I went out,. on the Sunday morning, I get some papers at 
Treme" market, expecting to remain at home all the day ; and in coming back from the 
market I fell in with a policeman who was, I remember, a grand juryman for three 
months, and I think we had him once on the petit jury. I stopped, and we had a pretty 
considerable talk, and, said he, " unless the mayor withdraws the orders that he gave to 
the police yesterday, to-morrow will be the bloodiest day they ever had in the city of New 
Orleans." That is all I could get out of him. His name is Mr. Gall away. He is on the 
police yet, at Tre'ine' station. This was on Claiborne street, near St. Louis. I went from 
there to my room, 353 Bienville street This put me to studying, that if I said nothing 
about (his, ami something should occur hereafter, I might afterwards drop it out, and 
then it might be said, why didn't you say something about getting this from the police- 
man ? 1 went home and drank a cup of coffee, and went to the sergeant-at-arms, M. De 
Coiircy, and informed him what I had learned from Gall way that morning. He said he 
did not know 1 went from there to Mr. Cutler's office, expecting not to see him at his 
office, but thinking to find Judge Hawkins, Colonel Field, W. R. Fish, and Mr. Shaw, and 
several membeis of the convention, and give them the information I got to the office, 
but nobody was there but Judge Hawkins. I told him, aud he asked me what was the 
'man's name ; but 1 had forgotten it, though I knew him. Because I could not give the 
police officer's name, Judge Hawkins told me to watch him. I thought that was very poor 
( ncouragement for me. I said nothing more, but came out of his office and took a Maga- 
zine ear and went to Judge Cutler's, thinking possibly Governor Wells might be there. I 
told him what 1 had heard, and he said, " We are going to meet to-morrow morning, at the 
custom-house, and have a caucus over it." Tiny went to the custom-house on Monday 
morning, but I was not present. I was sent to the Mechanics' Institute, aud if anything 
particular occurred 1 was to send word to the custom-house, where they were to meet. 
"W hat they agreed upon I do not know. They came to the Mechanics' Institute about 11£ 
o 12 o'clock, though some of them nvght have been sooner. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS HARRIS. 201 

2984. Did you see any other signs of preparation for that attack ? 

As I went to the Mechanics' Institute the second time there was a lot of firemen at the 
corner of St. Charles and Gravier, hut what it meant I did not know. 

2985. Did you hear the alarm ? 

No, sir ; all the night police were taken off at 12. 

2986. How do you know that ? 
They told me they were. 

2987. What for ? 

To be ready for the meeting of the convention. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

2988. JVho told you ? 

Several of the police. I only know Jake Snyder and one other, whose name I do not 
know ; hut I heard several say they had been taken off their beat on Sunday night, in or- 
der to be ready for the convention on Monday. 

2989. Did they tell you when they first received their orders to be ready for the con- 
vention ? 

I heard nothing further than what Mr. Gallaway said. 

2990. What is your occupation now ? 

I am not doing anything now. There is no possible chance for a Union man to do any- 
thing here. 

2991. You were in the custom-house, were you not? 
Yes, sir. 

2992. Have you a trade ? 

Yes, sir ; I am a carpenter and joiner. 

2993. Have you followed that trade lately ? 

No, sir ; not since General Butler came here, or a short time afterwards. 

299-i. You have been in ill health ? 

Yes, sir ; I am not able to work at my trade ; that is why I look for something else. 



New Orleans, La., December 27, 1866. 
THOMAS HARRIS (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

2995. Do you live in New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir. 

2996. How long have you lived here ? 
About eighteen years. I was born in Norfolk. 

2997. What is your business? 

I am porter at the police station at the corner of Pecanier and Tapsico ; that is in the first 
district. 

2998. What are your duties ? 

Cleaning up the cells, keeping the office clean, and going errands. 

2999. Who is the chief man there ? 
Lucien Adams ; he is sergeant. 

3000. Who was there in July, at the time of the riot? 

Lucien Adams was sergeant then; he staid about a month afterwards, and then, he 
resigned his office. 

3001. About how many policemen are there belonging to that station ? 
About fifty-four. 

3002. How many were there at the time of the riot? 
About fifty-four ; the supernumeraries were counted out. 

3003. Do you remember the day, Friday, when there was a meeting of citizens? 

Yes, sir ; Mr. Michael Hahn and other gentlemen I am well acquainted with were there. 
3004 Were you at the police station next day, Saturday ? 
Yes, sir. 

3005. Tell us whether there was any order given to the police on Saturday ? 

Yes, sir, an order came up there on Friday that there was going to be a meeting down 
at the Mechanics' Institute. The sergeant did not say anything about the men being there, 
but told them to he prepared for Monday. I heard Sergeant Adams say that ; he told them 
to be ready, and to be armed, and all who had arms were to bring them, and the men who 
hadn't any arms, he would try to find arms for them. I was in the office and heard that. 

3006. When was that order given ? / 



202 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

On Saturday evening. 

3007. Was any order given on Sunday evening ' 

Not that 1 know >>f. All that l recoiled be said on Saturday evening was, You will prc- 
pare yourselves (or Monday 

3008. Were the men on their boat on Sunday m ; 

No, sir; they had to go home to sleep to be ready for Monday, 

3009. Who told them that 
Luoien Adams 

3010 When did Adams tell them that '. 

On Sunday evening \ 

801 1. Did you hear that ' 

Ye>, sir. 

3012. Is the roll oalled every day I 

res, sir ; he I ild them that before the roll was called ; that was Sunday evening. He told 
the corporal, Mr Purdy, and Pat Gal Yin that they knew whit men were placed on beats 
last, and that those on the outside heats were to go out later. As the men came they were 
Jill lying round the yard. 

8013. How about their arms? 

They all had arms. 
SOU. Hid they bring them there? 

They brought them there ; I don't know whether they belonged to them or not. 
. 8015. How long did they stay at the police station '. 
Till the hell tap. 

3016. What sort of an alarm was it f 

It was the same they strike when there is an alarm of fire. 

3017. Had Mr. Adams said anything atout the tap? 

Yes, sir; Adams hid notified them ; he siid at the tip o( the bell they would all have 
to move right to the Mechanics' Institute, and come in double-quick time. 

3018. Were you there when the bell tapped .' 
Yes. sir, I was, and when the men started. 
3019« Who startel with them ? 

Lucien Adams was in the lead, and both corporals. 

3020. How many were there? 
Fifty-four, and they all went off together. 

3021. In which direction ! 

They came down Tapsico till they cune to Magazine street, and went on until they got 
to headquarters, and the lieutenant went to the City Hall, and finding the chief was not 
there he took another dog-trot, and went towards the Mechanic-' Institute. 
3022 How Ao you know they went that way ' 
Because the men told me BO themselves when they came back. 

Bow far did you see them go? 
\s tar as Magazine street. My wife was sitting k» the doorway when they came by our 
and that is five blocks from the station, and they were going at a dog-trot then. 

3024 Do yon know anything about pistols being in the possession of the mayor, and 
! carried from the mayor's house to the station '. 

No, sir. 

3025 What time did yon go to the station on Monday morning ? 
At half past four o'clock. 

8026. Who did yon find there ' 

The night man and those out at Tobacco Town were all there. 

8027. Was Luoien Adams there ! 

He came there about six o'clock. 

8028. Hid they call the roll in the morning? 

S - sir ; they called the roll that morning at half past seven o'clock. 
3029. Did they load their pistols there > 

Those that were not loaded they loaded there ; 1 helped some Of them to load myself. 
8030. What did they say they were going to do * 

They said they were going to shoot all the damned Yankees. Adams said he was damned 
sorry for the niggers, but, by God, he had orders to shoot, them. 

By Mr. BOTES : 

3081. Who said that > 

I heard him say it ; he said it in my presence in the office. 

By Mr. Sheixabasosr : 

Hid they tell you where they got their pistols— those that did not own them '. 
No, sir. * 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS HARRIS. 203 

3033. Did yon heat them say they were going to shoot Mr. Hahn? 

They said Michael Hahn was one they were going to kill, and Dr. Dostie was another; 
Mr. Henderson was another ; and then; was Cooke and Terry, and some others whose names 
I forget, but I know those fellows said they would shoot them if they got a chati 

3034. Can you give the names of any of the policemen that you heard say this? 

One man f know who said they ought all to he killed. He said, "Every damned son- 
of-a-bitch ought to be killed." He said they came here to get all the money they could, 
and leave the poor niggers in trouble ; and they said, Dostie ought to have been killed a 
long time ago. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3035. Who said that ? 

One of our clerks in the office said that. 

3036. What is his name? 

Connell, or McConnell, He said it was a damned pity they did not kill him ; he said he 
would himself. 

By Mr. Sheixabarger : 

3037. Do any of the officers, or others, know that you are here ? 
No, sir ; none of the officers, or any of them, know that I am here. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3038. Name all the police officers you allude to in your testimony whom you heard talk 
about killing anybody. 

Mr. McConnell said that every one ought to be killed ; he is a clerk. 
3039 What other policemen did you hear speak in that way? 

I heard none of the rest of them speak in that way. They said, " I don't like to kill 
them, but it is our orders." 

3040. Who did you hear say that? 

Every one. I beard them say they were obliged to do whatever Sergeant Adams told 
them. 

3041. And every policeman in that station, in your hearing, was separately heard by 
you to say that .' 

I could not say that I heard every man say so. Lucien Adams said, " I want you to 
make yourselves very active ; make yourselves lively ; see what you can do " That l.e 
spoke from his mouth at his desk before they came out on the banquette. Then he ordered 
them to fail in line. 

304 2. I want to know how many of the policemen you heard talk about their intention 
to kill anybody ' 

As near a- I i in - iy, the whole of the party that was up there appeared all inclined 
against the race of colored mm I could not swear positively as tj their nam-s. 

3043. Give- us the names of some. 
I don't know one-half the names. 

3044. Give us the names of any you heard make such declarations. 

There is one man by the name of Lawler, another by the name of Downie or Downing, 
and one other man that I know ; he was corporal of the day on that Monday r ; his name 
is John or Mike Lally ; he belongs to the fire department, first assistant, No. 12. 

3045. Are you sure you heard him say something of that kind ? 
I did, sir. 

304tj. Have you given me all the names you can recollect now that you heard speak 
thus '! 

Yes, sir. * 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3047. Where did Lucien Adams get his orders ? 

From the mayor. 

How do you know that ? 

He said so. 

304 9. Did you hear any one say so, or do you know that Adams got his orders to do all 
this business ? 

I understood that he had orders from the mayor, 'f he orders are in the office, and if I 
could read I could look over the orders and bring it to you myself; I 6aw the order in 
black and white. 

3050. Who brought it there ? Did you bring any written orders there from the mayor ? 
Yes. sir ; almost every day. 

3051. Did you carry any orders from the mayor to Lucien Adams on Sunday morning ? 



204 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

I carried them from the lieutenant's office and took them up to our station, and left them 
in Lucien Adams's office He read the order to the men. 

3052. How did it read? 

It was for the men to be equipped, and to he active in doing their business on Monday, 
and to be there at 7£ on Monday, ready to go down at the first tap of the bell. 

3053. When was it that you heard it read? 

I heard them read it out on Sunday evening. 

3054. What time ? 
About 7 o'clock. 

3055. Who read it ? 

The clerk in the office read it, Mr. McConnell. 

3056. And the order v/as sent from the lieutenant's office ? 

It comes to the chief's hands first ; then to the lieutenant, and then I took it up to our 
station. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3057. What do you know about what the mayor had to do with that order ? 
The mayor's handwriting, what's on it. 

3058. How do you know? 

I go by what I heard in the office. They said it was sent by the mayor to the chief and 
lieutenant. 

3059. But you say you cannot read ? 
No, sir ; but I heard them read it out. 



New Orleans, La., December 27, 1866. 
J. B. JOTJRDAIN (slightly colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

3060. What is your age ? 
I am thirty-four. 

3061. How long have you lived in New Orleans? 
I was bom here. 

3062. Were you in this city on the thirtieth of July, last? 
Yes, sir ; I was here the whole month of July. 

3063. Were you in the Mechanics' Institute on that day? 

Yes, sir ; I was there about 12 o'clock. My attention was called to something going on 
outside ; I heard a drum beating as if the military were coming, and I was much satisfied 
that it was so. As I looked up the street to where I heard the drum, I saw the United 
States flag flying, and I recognized a procession of colored persons with the flag. Then I 
went towards them, and as I got to the corner of Canal and Dryades the procession was 
coming up Dryades street from below. When the tail part of the procession, which consisted 
of boys, came up, there was a pistol fired from a man who was standing on the corner of 
the banquette ; it was fired by an officer with whom I am well acquainted ; he is employed 
by the horse-car office ; his name is Ellmore ; he was then in the police, and I think is still ; 
he was detailed by the police. He fired at the procession — at those colored boys ; when he 
shot, the boys wheeled around. There were two or three shots fired by the same person ; 
I believe it was by the same person. Then the police from the other side rushed and 
arrested oae of these boys, and jerked him and took him to the calaboose. The drum had 
kept on with the flag, and the boys all ran. I stood at the corner and did not go any fur- 
ther ; I thought I would not go back to the Mechanics' Institute, and I remained there for 
perhaps ten minutes. On the corner where I was standing I saw the police from Dauphin 
street turning up 'ana! stateet, and running with pistols in their hands. I got on the side 
of the banquette and let tnem go by. As they passed Dryades street they were firing in 
the street there, and the loafers that were there were throwing bricks at the negroes, and 
the negroes, too, were throwing bricks ; and as the police came up they commenced firing. 
They fired to scare the people, but they fired with bullets. After firing some time the 
street got a little clear, so that they could go in. I followed them. When they got to 
the Mechanics' Institute they found the door fastened and they could not get in ; then 
they backed out and fired several times through the windows. 

3064. Were the windows tip or down? 

They were shut — some of them might have been open — and as they fired they broke the 
glass. Then the fire bells began to ring and the firemen began to come. The policemen 
then succeeded in bursting open the doors and went inside. What they did inside I do not 



TESTIMONY OF J. B. JOURDAIN. 205 

know, but in about a quarter of an hour after there were a good many came out wounded, 

cut up, shot in the face and head: and there were police taking them to the calat se ; 

as they passed with them the crowd would knock them down and kill them, and some of 
the police were helping them kill them on the street. I spoke to the lieutenant of police, 
with whom I am acquainted — I am acquainted with them all soni"what — and I begged him 
" For God's sake, stop your men from killing these men so." He gave me no answer, but 
walked away to the Mechanics' Institute. After a while I spoke to him again ; said I, 
" For God's sake, stop these men from this; I could arrest them all myself." His reply 
was, " Yes, God damn them ; I'll set fire to the building and burn them all." I said no 
more, but went away. Afterwards I saw a man come out ; he was led by a man at each 
arm ; he had no hat on, and his face was all covered with blood. I was looking straight 
at him, and I said, "That's somebody I know" — I was speaking to myseTf. When he 
appeared the crowd cried out, " Kill him." " Kill the damned son of a bitch." I saw 
it was Dr. Dostie. The officers had him, and were taking him towards Canal street. The 
shots were fired while the police had hold of him, and some of the police were wounded 
by their own men. It was a volley of shots ; I saw he dropped, and he must have been 
more than half dead. I remarked, "There is one more." They then rushed back to the 
Mechanics' Institute, and every man that came out of the Institute was shot or knocked 
down with a loaded pistol, and when he was down they would shoot him. 

3065. Did you see this ? 

. Yes, gentlemen, by my God, I saw it. What I tell you is the positive truth, and if I 
were to die, it would be with my conscience clean. I staid there for about three-quarters 
of an hour, for I thought my brother was in the hall. If I had not thought that, I should 
not have remained. I was too frightened to go into the hall, but I had to stay there, for I 
thought he would be brought out dead ; but for this, I would have gone away long before. 
Many told me to go away, but I would not. 

3066. Did you see them bring out Doctor Dostie ? 

Yes, sir ; I saw the crowd, after he was shot, get hold of him by the legs and start off 
running with him. He was lying on the banquette. After he was brought out by the 
policemen and shot, he was left lying on the banquette till these men got hold of him. 
Then they commenced hurrahing. They took him by the legs and dragged him from where 
he was and dragged him right over into Canal street, in front of the cake shop, and there 
they surrounded him. They were a parcel of firemen and young men that had white hand- 
kerchiefs about their necks. 

30fi7. Was this white handkerchief about the neck a badge of the fire companies ? 

Sometimes firemen wear their handkerchiefs over their necks in that way, but they had 
that day white handkerchiefs. I suppose there were twenty or twenty-five that ran with 
Doctor Dostie, and those that had hold of him had him by the legs. When*hey got him 
on Canal street by the cake-shop, they laid him out on the banquette and commenced hur- 
rahing ; and they hurrahed for Jeff. I thought, what did they mean by hurrahing for 
Jeff.? Then they left Doctor Dostie and ran up again towards the Mechanics' Institute. 
I staid t here till half past three. I saw that they butchered every one that came out, 
old or young, yelling and crying, "Shoot him," "Knock him down," " Kill him." I 
paid five dollars to a police officer to go up to the Mechanics' Institute and see about my 
brother ; to see if he'was dead or alive, or what had become of him. When the policeman 
returned he said he was not there. That officer was well acquainted with my brother. The 
police were chasing, at this time, people everywhere. Then when I got near my home 

3068. How far do you live from the Mechanics' Institute? 

Over a mile. I found the police there, chasing and shooting people. When I got home 
I found my brother there. As I was looking up Claiborne street there was a black man 
selling water-melons. He was sitting in a door-way, with his melons on the banquette. 
As two police came running by, they stopped, and one of them said, angrily, " Get up," 
and very much frightened the man. The two then got hold of him, one on each side. One 
of them pointed his pistol at the black man, which very much frightened him, and he 
started to run, when one of the policemen fired three shots at him ; two of the shots took 
effect and one slipped on the bone. He ran in the direction of Claiborne and Dumain,and 
I think he fell ; but I did not see him any more after he fell. One of the officers that had 
hold of the man I know very well ; he is a little man, but I do not know his name. The 
other is named Barnarees. It was the little officer that shot the man. I have seen the 
colored man since ; he was not killed, but two balls went inside of hi en and, I believe he 
is suffering yet I saw, also, another colored man, a carpenter ; he was going home with a 
hatchet in his hands ; the little officer I have spoken of jumped at his hatchet and took it 
from him and told the colored man to run, at the same time striking him in the back with 
the hatchet. They passed right in fiont of my door, and I saw him strike this colored 
man wilh the hatchet. 

3069. Is that officer still in the police force? 



206 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

Yes, sir, he is. I have spoken to him once since about it, and he said it was not hiB 
fault ; it was the instructions he had received from his officers. He said a man was bound 
to obey his officers. He once belonged to the sixth Louisiana volunteers. I told him I 
was very mad against him for doing it ; but he said it was not his fault, and I told him when 
he wished to kill people I hoped he would not do it before my door. He 6peaks to me 
every day, and I to him. 

3070. Did you see any of the dead bodies carried away ? 
Yes, sir ; on drays and carts. 

3071. How many on the drays? 

Piles of them. They took them away as fast as they could. 

3072. Did you see any shot while they were on the carts or drays ? 
No, sir. 

3073. How many instances did you see of persons who were wounded and lying prostrate 
shot in that condition ? 

I saw that about six or seven times. 

3074. By whom was it done ? 

By the policemen and citizens that were there ; the low class of citizens. 

3075. From all yo.u know, I wish you to state how many were killed and wounded on 
that day, white and black. 

I think there would be over two hundred. 

3076. What proportion of these were dead, and what proportion wounded? 

I could not tell. Two hundred includes both the dead and the wounded There were 
many buried whose friends knew nothing about their being killed, or what had become of 
them. 

3077. Is it possible to find out how many were killed ? 

It is impossible, for the police carried them away and buried them without their friends 
knowing. I know some who were killed, and their families could have given them a good 
burying, but they could not be found, and they have never been found since. 

3078. What class of persons composed the' police ? 

They were what we call discharged soldiers from the rebel service, very many of them ; 
there were a few loyal men. 

3079. Were there any that you know of that were loyal? 

I do not ; if there were three or four on the old police, it is as many as there were. I 
suppose these turned over to the other side. 

3080. Do you know whether anybody could get on to that police force, except rebels or 
rebel soldiers ? 

I know most of them were rebel soldiers. 

3081. Are there any of the police that you know who were not in the rebel service ? 

. Yes, sir ; I know a few that were not in the rebel army, but they sympathized with the 
rebels. They remained at home, and were too cowardly to go to fight ; but they were just 
as bad as those who did fight. 

3082. Do you know anything about the thugs ? 
There are many of those on the police. 

3083. What gives them the name of thugs? 

That is their profession in the public mind ; it is killing the people. 

3084. Their profession then is killing? 

Yes, sir ; killing foreigners once ; now they are killing negroes and loyal men. 

3085. Was the rebel and thug character of the police a matter of notoriety ? 

Yes, sir ; it was very well known by every one. There were great murderers on that 
police force, and are now. 

3086. What time did you go to the convention ? 
About 12 o'clock. 

3087. Did you hear the alarm ? 
Yes, sir. 

3088. Was it a usual alarm ? « 
It was an unusual alarm. 

3089. What did it signify? 
To rally the firemen. 

3090. Had that alarm been given in New Orleans at any time before ? 
Yes, sir, when the fleet came up ; this was the second time. 

3091. What effect had it when the fleet was coming up ? 
It was to call the people to arms. 

3092. To defend the city against the troops? 

Yes, sir ; but at that time they threw their arms away, and went in every direction to 
get out of the way. 

3093. But at this time it brought together the police and firemen ? 



TESTIMONY OF J. B. JOURDAIN. 207 

Yes, sir. 

3094. Do you know whether the firemen collected at any of their houses that day be- 
fore the alarm was given ? 

Yes, sir. 

3095. "What time did you first see any collection of firemen ? 

They were collecting round their houses on Saturday, whispering among themselves, and 
talking awhile about the fire department ; also round the police stations. The whole police 
were got up as early as 4 o'clock in the morning. 

3096. How soon did the firemen begin to collect? 
As soon as the bell commenced ringing. 

3097. How soon did they begin to collect at their engine-houses ? 
I did not see. 

3098. When they did come together did they come in companies, as if they were coming 
from their engine-houses? 

The firemen came on there in a force of about twenty, with the pump of No. 10, and 
others came from every direction. 

3099. Was it one of the engines driven by steam ? 
No, sir ; it was a hand-pump. 

3100. Do you know if they had any arms or other weapons — any pistols or cartridge- 
boxes on the engine ? 

I did not notice that. 

3101. State if you know whether the police surrounded the Mechanics' Institute build 
ing so as to prevent any escaping from it or not. 

Yes, sir ; no one could get out from there. I saw men begging for their lives, and say- 
ing they did not come there to do any harm. 

3102. Was there any need of any bloodshed there? 
No, sir 

3103. Could that convention have been dispersed without bloodshed ? 

Yes, sir, as easily as possible ; there was nobody there to fight — there was no one there 
with the intention of fighting. 

3104. Were you in the Institute when the police ran up stairs? 
No, sir ; I would not have been here to-day if I had been there. 

3105. Was Dr. Dostie wounded when you saw him between two policemen ? 
Yes, sir ; I suppose he must have been hit on the head. 

3106. How did they manage to shoot the doctor without hitting the policemen who had 
hold of him on each side ? 

I do not know ; the volley came from behind, behind where I was standing, and he was 
on the opposite side. Those that fired at him were about ten feet away from him. He 
was going towards Canal street with those two officers when the volley was fired at him. 

3107. What would be the effect upon the safety of the Union people of Louisiana if the 
United States troops were withdrawn from your State ? 

I should think they would be in a very critical position. 

3108. Could they safely remain in the State? 

No, sir ; I would not, though I think I have some friends among them. I would not 
live here twenty-four hours if the troops were withdrawn, because of the bitter feeling 
they have towards the United States government, and towards every one who upholds the 
United States government. 

3109. What makes you think they have bitter feelings against those who uphold the 
government ? 

I have heard them say they will pay me because of the testimony I gave before the mili- 
tary commission here. Many have advised me to leave the city. I have heard them say, 
"Damn him, he gave testimony," and I have been told my life is in danger because I 
did so. 

3110. How do these men who have been in the rebel service, and in the rebel confederacy, 
talk about the government of the United States in their ordinary daily conversation ? Do 
they speak well of it ? 

Very few of them would speak to me about it. They take good care not to speak before 
any one who would report on them, but I know they are very bitter against any loyal man, 
and against any man that upholds the government of the United States ; they are well 
organized. # 

3111. What do you mean by organized ? 

I mean the fiie department. Some of them number as high as six hundred to a single 
company. 

3112. State whether that is a military organization. 

It is stronger than they used to be when they did not have more than one hundred to a 
company. 



208 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

3113. Is that a military organization under the designation of a fire company? 

I do not know what it is unless it is that ; they do not turn out in cases of fire, or only 
on extraordinary occasions. Judges and recorders here always belong to these associa- 
tions, but they do not turn out. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3114. Was it a warm day on the 30th of July when the riot took place ? 
Yes, sir. 

3115. Is it not common on warm days for firemen, in this city to put white handker- 
chiefs round their necks for convenient use? 

I should think they were free to do it if they felt like it. 

3116. Is it not customary ? 

Not that I know ; I never remarked it before. 

3117. What proportion did the police officers bear in point of numbers to the general 
crowd on that day ? 

They were superior in numbers to the crowd that was there. 

3118. Were they superior in numbers taking all the people together? 
Yes, sir. 

3119. I think you have stated that the mob of citizens who were there was composed of 
the low classes of citizens ? 

Yes, sir, of the low class and the policemen. 

3120. You saw no men of standing taking part in the mob ? 
I saw many around there. 

3121. But you were there yourself ? 
Yes, sir. 

3122. Did you see any person of standing in this community take part and act with the 
mob ? 

No, sir, except the police and the white trash ; that is all I saw. 

3123. You say the police force was composed of " thugs ;" do you mean that they were 
all " thugs ?" 

No, sir ; I did not say that ; but there were a great many among them. 

3124. Can you estimate the number ? 

Yes, sir ; from fifteen to twenty, to my knowledge. 

3125. Do you mean to say that there was that number of " thugs" in the whole police 
force, or that from fifteen to twenty made their appearance on the ground that day ? 

There are fifteen or twenty that I know in the second district. 

3126. Do you know how many " thugs " were in the police force in other districts ? 
No, sir. 

3127. Can you give us the names of those in the second district who were " thugs ?" 
Yes, sir, some of them. 

3128. They took their name from their career in the times of " Know-nothingism," did 
they not? 

Yes, sir ; and they still retain their name. 

3129. How long ago was it that they figured as " thugs " in the days of " Know-nothing- 
ism ?" 

It is many years ago. 

3130. Do you mean to say that there is any organization of " thugs " in this city at the 
pre ent day ? 

Yes, sir ; the police are organized as " thugs." They have been so since the committee 
has been here. The judges and the recorders, if you were to go round and see how they 
extend justice, you would be astonished. I go round and see them and listen. 0, they 
are very fine and gracious since a few days ago ; they are not bad-hearted against any one ; 
O, no ! They are bad and good-hearted, as they feel like it. They are very sharp. It 
requires a man to live here with them to know them. Tuey will laugh and smile at you, 
and at the same time they will put a knife into your back. They will ask you to drink 
with them ; they will eat and sleep with you; at the same time that they will murder you. 
They are loaded down with weapons, but they will not allow you to carry a weapon. If I 
were to carry a weapon when it is late I should staud a good chance of being arrested — it is 
unlawful ; but the State ordinances do not prevent them from carrying arms; they are 
overloaded with them ; but afcryal man cannot have arms, even at his own house. They 
make some excuse to go over a man's house to search for arms, and if they find any they 
make an excuse for taking them away. It was customary, even in the slavery times, for a 
man to have a gun to go out hunting with, but they are not now even allowed that. 

3131. Have you been attacked with violence by any of those men you have described ? 
Yes, sir. 

3132. Have you been injured by them ? 



TESTIMONY OF ALBERT TITMAN. 209 

Not lately, because I am home very soon at night. 
3133. What is the reason they have so much hostility against you ? 
Because T am not a rebel, and never will be. 
3131. Were you in the Union army during the war ? 

Yes, sir ; I had a commission in the United States army. I was commissioned as a lieu- 
tenant 

3135. H )\v long were you in the service ? 

My service was not, indeed, for very long. I came home under General Banks. I re- 
signed on account of an order which came from Washington, in consequence of my being 
a colored man. I resigned before I was dismissed from service. I was a volunteer officer 
and helped to raise a company. I am a colored man ; I am a citizen and do not vote, 
but my father is a white man and a gentleman. 

3136. What is your occupation ? 
None, sir, at present. 

3137. Have you taken part with any political party ? 

Yes, sir ; I belong to the Union League. I have to join some party that I may have 
some encouragement, or some of these fellows might go to murdering again, though they 
might not find it so easy again. 

3138. You were one of the friends and supporters of the convention ? 
No, sir. I was there. I went to see what was going on. 

3139. Did you advocate their doctrines ?. 

I do not know. I was waiting to hear them act. I will advocate any doctrines that are 
right. I am paying taxes, and am a property owner, and I take interest in the acts of any 
man who will give me the right of suffrage. Those gentlemen who come into office put 
all the taxes they can on us, and as little as possible on themselves. I lost over $6,000 
during the war. I had to keep close quarters not to be murdered. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger : 

3140. You have been asked what your occupation was. Are you the owner of any 
property ? 

Yes, sir. 

31 41. To what extent? 

I have property still left amounting to about $5,000. 

3112. What kind of property? 

Real estate. I had more than that, but I had to spend it to live while doing nothing. 



New Orleans, La., December 27, 18G6. 
ALBERT PITMAN (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

3143. State your name. 
Albert Fitman. 

3144. How long have you lived in New Orleans ? 
I came to New Orleans in 1853. 

3145. What is your occupation ? 

I am a porter at the district court — the recorder's court. 

3146. What do you do there? 

I clean the house up, light fires, run on errands, and wait upon the judge. 

3147. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir ; I was right there. 

3148. Did you stay there all the day ? 

No, sir ; they would not let mc. They asked me if I was going to the convention. I 
told them I wanted to go. They told me I was best off where I was ; so I staid there. 

3149. Did they bring any prisoners there? 

They brought a great many of them there ; I could not tell how many. They had six 
rooms up stairs filled, and six below, and they were all filled. 

3150. How many did they put into a room ? 

Twenty-five or thirty in a room, or more. They will hold a great many. 

3151. Did they put the wounded in there ? 

Yes, sir ; they piled them all in> there. Those that could not stand up were thrown on 
the floor, and others had to stand on them. 

3152. Were they all colored men? 

Yes, sir ; almost all. I was in the judge's room waiting on Mr. Michael Hahn and Mr. 
Henderson. I know them good. They were lying there in the judge's office. 
14 N. 0. 



210 NEW ORLEANS EIOT. 

3153. How long did they stay there in the lock-up ? 

Till the night, and some of third staid all night. Some of the generals came in the 
night and took away the crippled ones, and carrii d them to the hospital, orsoinewheie, and 
the next day, when the generals name, they had them all taken out. 

3 1 54. Did any of the colored people die while they were there.' 

The first colored man that was brought there dropped dead as he was brought there. 

3155. How did they bring them? 

In carts and drays. Three or four that they brought there they dragged aloDg, and the 
rest they brought in carts, and some of them were wounded right smart. 
1. Were there any women? 
I do not know ; there might have been, but I did not see them all. 

3157. Did you see any of the police tiring at the negroes ? 

I did not get to see any of the firing, as I was in the house all the time. I would have 
been there in the morning if I hail been allowed. They told me I was best where I was. 

3158. Who told yon this? 

Charley Stammire. He is the turnkey. He said I had better look out and stay where I 
was If I went, he s dd, I should be the first one shot. 

315it. What did he say was going to happen ? 

He said they were going to protect the damned convention. The officers were all loading 
their pistols, and I asked what they were going to do. This was up at the lock-up. They 
were standing round there waiting for orders. 

3160. What were they doing with their pistols? 
They were loading them and firing them. 

3161. Where did "they get their pistols? 
God only knows. 

3162. Did they come there with them? 
Yes. sir ; so far as I saw. 

3163. What did they say they were going to do with their pistols? 

One of them said they were going to protect the damned convention. One of them sai 1 
if the convention sit they were going to turn them all outof offije. when Charley Stammire 
said, " No, by God, they wont ; for we will take pistols and knock the damned shit out of 
them." One of the policemen said, "There would be a hell of a fuss there tint day." They 
said it would be stopped. I said, " How are they going to stop it?" They said, "The 
grand jury is going to stop it." I said, "How will the grand jury stop it?" And they 
said, •' Never mind ; you'll see." After that they all gathered up into the cap room, where 
the watchmen meet, and there they formed round on the floor and had a speech made to 
them. 

3164. Who made the speech ? 

The lieutenant and the senreant of the day. They were telling them what to do. I did 
not hear what was said, but I know that they made a speech. 

3165. At- what time did you' go there that day ? 
It wa I ire daylight. 

3166. When did the police begin to come there? 

Before daylight. Some were there when I got there and were sitting around on the 
benches ; and others came very early. 

3167. Did you ever see them assemble in that way before that morning? 
No, sir ; because at that time they were out on their beats. 

3163 Why were they not on their beats that day ' 
I suppose they were fixing to protect the convention. 
."ldU Eow many policemen met there? 

I don't know ; 1 guess two hundred met there at that station, but the other gang came 
from up town. 

317(1. Where did they go to? 

I don't know ; I heard them coming at double-quick. 

3171. When was that ' 

It was just alter twelve o'clock. 

3172. Did you hear any ringing of the alarm bell ? 
I heard the fire-alarm bell. 

3173. Did you ever hear it strike in that way before? 
No. sir. 

3171 Dili they not ring in that way when the forts below were taken ? 

Ye", sir; that was a kind of general alarm. Just after the bell rang that day Lucien 
Adams came running down through the square with his gang p.ist the City Hall, and turned 
towards Carondelet street. 

3175. What street did he tike then? 

I do not know, fur I was afraid to go out. 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN MURRAL. 211 

3176. Did the police you speak of start at the ringing of the bell ? 

I guess before. When the hell began to rim:; 1 saw Sir. Adams coming tarough the 
square and going right down Uarondelet street, hut I don't know where they went after that. 

3177. Was that on the Monday morning .' 
Yes, sir. 

317S. Were you at your office on Saturday ? 
Yes, sir. 

3179 Did you see Mayor Monroe there that day ? 
Yes, sir ; I see him nearly e very day. 

3180. Were you there on the Sunday? 
No, sir ; I was not there that day. 

3181. Do you know of any revolvers being brought there on the Saturday ? 
I heard there were. 

3182. When did you hear it ? 
On Monday morning. 

3183. What time? 

Between five and six o'clock in the morning. I heard that there had been pistols di- 
vided out in the night. 

3184. How did you hear it ? 

.%>•! heard the talk among the police. Some of them said they did not like the appearance 
of them, and somebody said, " You can get another one," and the man said, " I'll try and 
get another if I can." 

3185. Did you see where the pistols were kept ? 
No, sir. 

3186. Did they load them there ? 
0, yes. 

3187. Where did they get the cartridges ? 
God only knows. 

3188. What did they do with the pistols when they had used them ? 

I do not know. One of the pistols wa3 brought back by the policeman who was shot in 
the hip, and he gave me his pistol to put away. 

3189. What is his name? 
Soccalate ; he is a Jew. 

3190. Where does he live ? * 
I do not know. 

3191. Did they say anything about the colored men there ? 

They said they were going to kill them all ; and they said they were going to slay the 
white and the colored men and the Union ; they called them damned black republicans, 
the whole of them. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3192. Do you know of any notice being sent out round town on Sunday night or Mon- 
day morning, early, for the people to come in ? 

No, sir ; only one notice like this : There was a colored man that belonged to the so- 
ciety, by the name of Henry Clay, and I told him some little items that I heard, and he 
wrote it all down. 

3193. I said that those men were going to shoot the shit out of the convention ; he sent 
this word to the general that those men were going to do this. 

3194. Did you yourself hear anything about the watchmen not being on their beats ? 
No, sir ; they must have been ordered to be there, because they were never there before, 

and I never saw any such thing take place before. 
By Mr. Boyer : 

3195. Have you any reason to know that the message sent by Henry Clay was delivered 
to the general's headquarters ? 

Yes, sir ; he said he delivered it to some general who was in the headquarters. 

3196. Who was the general ? 

I do not know his name, but it was some one in the headquarters at the corner of Julia 
and Carondelet. 



New Orleans, December 27, 1866. 
JOHN MURRAL (colored) sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

3197. What is your name and where do you live ? 
John Murral ; 175 St. Charles street. 

3198. How long have you lived in this city ? 



212 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

For twenty-seven years. 

31'.)!). What is your business? 

My business now is at the first district police station, at the calaboose. 

3200. What do you do there ? 
I are a porter there. 

3201. What are the duties of a porter there ? 

The duty of a porter there is to cany all the notes that they want to be carried, and to 
attend to the chief office and the three main offices in the station. 

3202. What are the three main offices ? 

The chief's office, the secretary's office, and the two clerks' offices. 
32'>3. And you have to take care of all these ? 

Yes, sir ; make the fires, and clean out the offices, and carry messages wherever they 
want them carried. 

3204. Were you there in that business on the 30th of July last? 
Yes, sir. 

3205. What time in the morning of the 30th, which was Monday, did you go there? 
J went there at 4 o'clock. 

3206. That is a little after daylight ? 
Yes, sir. 

3207. What did you see when you first got there ? *4 
I saw all the police, most of them sitting round, some out on the banquette, and some 

on the gallery, and a good many in the cap room, where they call the roll ; I saw thdm 
all sitting down there, and I asked two or three of them I was intimate With what were 
they all doing there in the morning, because at 5 o'clock they are generally dismissed, 
and have gone home. Two of them said to me, " We have been here ever since 12 
o'clock last night; we were called in," they said; "we had orders." Said I, "What 
made you come in so soon ?'' He said, " We had orders to come here by the mayor ; the 
chief gave us orders to come in." I said, " What are you going to do?" One of them 
said, " I do not know what we are to do ;" and when I went in the cap room I found lots 
of them asleep, and some fixing their pistols. When I came down I said to Mr. Charter — 
he is turnkey, a white man — "What are all these policemen doing?" Charter saidhe 
" did not know exactly." I said, "There is something mighty funny." After a while 
he said, "The convention is going to meet to-day, and they expect there will be a riot." 
I said, "'What kind of a riot ?" H#said, "There may be a fuss, and the policemen have 
come in here by order of the mayor, to go down to attend the convention." I said no 
more to him, but I went to cleaning out the three offices, swept them out, and went into 
the prison, and gave them all fresh water ; then I came out and went over to the hall 
and got my ice. I met one of the colored boys that stays over at the City Hall ; he was 
cleaning out the City Hall — the mayor's office, and he said to me, " John, what are these 
men going to do ?" I said, " Mr. Charter said they were going to attend the convention." 
At about 8 o'clock, 'when everything was fixed, water in the rooms, and all cleaned up, 
then all the day police came in, (the night police were all there,) and I said, " Have you 
all come off the beat ?" and one of them said, "We will not be on the beat to-day." 
Sai 11," What have you come in for ?" They said, " We have orders to come in." About 
9 o'clock I went to Mr. Charter and said to him, " What do they intend to do to-day ? I 
heard just now," said T, " that these policemen intend to kill everybody at that conven- 
tion." Said he, "Who said so?" 1 said, "Never mind, I heard it." I said, "They 
have pistols and clubs and bowie-knives, and I never saw that so before." " Well," said 
he., "I don't know about them having them pistols." He said, "1 have not any ;" and, 
said be, "you're not going." Then one of them came to me and said, "Are yon going 
to that convention to-day .'" I said, "No ;" and one sahj, " Yon had letter stay here ; if 
you go out you will be hurt." That was a little after 9 o'clock. It was a policeman that 
was talking to me ; some of them know me, as I have been then' a long while. Said I, 
" I am not going to the convention ; I have no business there." Another said, " If you 
know what is good for you you will stay here." Then 1 went bun. 1 , and 1 said to my 
wife, " Don't you go out to-day ; you stay in here." She said, " Why?" Said I, "Those 
policemen said we must keep very close ; they have got pistols, bowie-knives, and clubs, 
and we had better keep close." 

3208. Did you see them get their pistols ? 

No, sir ; I do not know where they got them. 

3209. Can you state whether they were new pistols? 

Yes, sir, they were all new pistols ; all those 1 saw were new ; some of them had old ones, 
but they nearly all seemed to have new pistols. I left home, and cameback, and I staid at 
the station until Mr. Adams sent me with a note over to the City Hall to the secretary ; that 
was about 10 o'clock ; I supposed it was the report, as they sent it every day in a large 
envelope. After that the chief came back, took Ids cane, and went out. About 11 o'clock 
he came back, and sat down in the office ; and about five minutes after he sat down I heard 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN MURRAL. 213 

pistols, and the first man I saw them bring in was a colored man, ami he died ii hi 
there ; the next they brought in was a white man ; they said he had got a, bullet, he got 
shot on the other side of the street. They did not put him down stairs, hut took him u > 
stairs: he was put in a cab, and brought to the calaboose. In a few minutes afterwards 
they came with a double carriage and took him away. There was another white man 
shot ; he was brought in a carriage, and Mr. Adams sent me for a doctor ; I do not know 
his name ; lie was a friend of the convention, and was well known here. They sent me up 
to the doctor in a hurry, and I heard the hell commence ringing, and saw Mr. Lucien 
Adams coming down with the policemen, about one hundred and fifty. I did not go for 
the doctor, 1'ir I n;et him coming down Camp street, towards the convention. The police- 
men wire all armed with pistols, clubs, and bowie-knives. I did not see which way they 
went in ; but when I got back to the City Hall, the marshal told me that Lucien Adams 
had just passed by with one bundled and fifty men, a fresh crowd. "Yes, sir," said I, " I 
saw him." That was about 1 o'clock. They had been fighting since about 111 o'clock, 
and it was nearly 1 o'clock when I met Mr. Lucien Adams. 

3210. Did you hear any of the men with Mr. Lucien Adams say vvhat they were going 
to do? 

No, sir. 

3211. Did you see anything more of them that day ? 
No, sir. 

3212. Did you go down to where the disturbance was? 
Not until after the military came down. 

3213. Did you see anybody shot? 

No, sir ; but I saw them bring those to the station that were shot. 

3214. How many did they bring in that were killed or wounded ? 
I saw five hauled away, who died after they got in. 

3215. How many did you see wounded altogether brought there ? 

I cannot say, but nearly every one that was brought there was wounded. Their names 
were all put down on the book. Most of them that were badly wounded were taken to the 
workhouse that night. 

3216. Did you hear any of the police say that morning what they were going to do with 
their pistols? 

No, sir. I did not. 

3217. How long did they remain before they went to the Institute? 
They left the station at half past ten o'clock. 

3218. Did they leave before that alarm bell rang ? 

Yes, sir ; they left before that ; that was an alarm bell for all those fellows out of the 
engine-house to turn out with sticks and clubs. 

3219. How do you know that? 

I heard one of the engine boys say so. I heard a boy say that those firemen were going 
to knock colored men in the head. 

3220. Did you see any firemen go after the alarm was given ? 
Yes, sir ; No. 5. 

3221. Where is the headquarters of No. 5 ? 
It is right back of the station on Girard. 

3222. You say that some of No. 5 started when the bell rang? 

Yes, sir ; I saw them start at the time of the alarm, but I did not know where they were 
going. 

3223. Was that a fire alarm ? 

It rang exactly like a fire alarm . 

3224-. Did you notice the number of taps ? 

The bell struck twelve times. 

3225. Do fire alarms ever strike as many taps as that ? 
Yes, sir. 

3226. How many fire districts are there in this city ? 
I think there are ten. 

3227. Do they ever strike more taps than there are districts ? 

They strike twelve ; though they generally don't ring more than the number of districts. 

3228. How long have you been in your present position? 
Three years. 

322'J. Have you ever seen the police assembled at the station in that way ? 
No, sir. 

3230. Did you ever see them armed in that way? 
No, sir ; never. 

3231. Did you see the mayor that morning? 

Yes, sir ; he was there at nine o'clock, but I do not know whether he remains there 
after that or not. 



214 NEW ORLEANS RIOT. 

New Ob leans, La., December 28, 1866. 
WILLIAM II. II. WITHERELL, a witness whose name was presented by a committee of 
citizens, with the reqnest that he might'.be examined as to facts known to him in connec- 
tion with the riot of July 30, sworn and examined. 

By the Ciiaikman : 

3232. State your residence and occupation. 

I have lived here about twenty-eight years ; I am a merchant by profession. 

3233. State any facts within your knowledge that you may deem important to commu- 
nicate concerning the affairs of July 30. 

I was not here at the time, and I know nothing except what I saw in the papers ; I was 
in New York at the time. 
By Mr. Boyeb. : 

3234. In what particular business are you now engaged ? 
I am in a wholesale grocery and commission business. 

3235. Have you lived here continuously for twenty-eight years? 

I have not been out of the city, except last summer, for twenty years. 
3230. Where were you originally from ? 
From Vermont. 

3237. We wish you to state what, in your opinion, is the public sentiment in this com- 
munity with reference to the government of the United States— whether the people gen- 
erally stand well disposed to the government or otherwise? 

I am not very well qualified to give an opinion on that subject. I have never been in 
political matters, or had anything to do with them more than go to the polls. 

3238. Are you a Union man ? 
I am. 

3239. Were you at the time of the war ? 

I always have been a Union man, and at the breaking out of the rebellion I was very 
strongly a co-operationist. 

3240. Please define that term, "co-operationist." 

My idea was that, if the south had anything to complain of, the proper method of redress 
was to go in a body and lay her case before Congress if they had any control of the mat- 
ters regarded as grievances, and if they were not redressed, then to go out of the Union in 
a body. At the same time I claimed that the south had no reason to rebel, and I did not 
think they were justified in it. 

3241. Lid you express your sentiments in that mode as opposed to secession? 

I never expressed them any more than by going to the polls aud voting for Bell and Ev- 
erett. I was not in the habit of expressing political opinions outside of my family circle. 
As a people I believe a majority of them were well disposed toward the government. 'Iher'e 
are some who I believe are very much against it ; perhaps as much as they ever weft.-. 

3242. How is it as to the majority? 

I think the majority are Union people. 

2243. Do you mean by that a majority of the white citizens ? 

A majority of the white citizens; yes, sir. I think if they could^ fairly express their 
opinions they would be in favor of the Union. 

3244. Is there anything to prevent them from fairly expressing their opinions? 

I do not know that there is anything except the fact that there is no general election 
immediately to be held where their opinions would be tested. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 1866. 

HENRY J. YOSE, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens to make 
such statements within bis knowledge as ought to be communicated to the committee, be- 
ing duly sworn, testified as follows : 

I have been a resident of New Orleans for twenty-four years ; I am a merchant. I pre- 
sume the reason of my being summoned here is the simple fact that I happened to he, by 
accident, in the neighborhood of Mechanics' Institute at the time of the riot. I was in 
Carondelet street on some business, and hearing the shooting, went around out of curiosity 
more than anything else. I saw some arrests made. \Vhile standing at the comer of 
Baronne street I saw some members of the convention led through the streets. As far as I 
could see I thought the police did the best they could to protect their lives. I saw, par- 
ticularly, Governor Hahn led through the mob ; I saw some fellows from the mob go up to 



TESTIMONY OF HENRY J. VOSE. 215 

strike him from behind, and the police arrested them immediately. They placed him in a 
carriage, and I saw men endeavoring to shoot him while in the carriage from behind, bat 
they were prevented by the police. 

By Mr. Boykr : 

3215. What other member of the convention did you see protected by the police? 

I saw Alfred Shaw ; he was the first man I thought I noticed; T saw him carried np 
Baronue street ; I saw him fired at by some fellow of the mob while he was in the custody 
of the police. I heard the bystanders cry, "Shame, shame ; he has surrendered." I 
think I noticed Dr. Hire also led off. t 

32 16. Was he in the custody of the police ? 

Yes, sir. 

.'i'i 17. Was he while in their custody assaulted by the mob ? 

I did not see him assaulted at all. 

3218. State what else you saw, if anything, tending to throw light on the transaction. 

I saw very little ; I was not on the ground more than half an hour. When Governor 
Hahn was led off I went up Carondelet street and went home. I saw him placed in the 
carriage, and, as I told you, the police protected him faithfully. 

3249. You say you are a merchant ; in what branch of the mercantile business are you 
engaged ? 

I am a general commission merchant principally, receiving western and northern goods 
on consignment. My business is from Boston chiefly. 

3250 State, if you please, what is the pubiic feeling and sentiment of this community 
in relation to the government of the United States ; are the people generally supposed to 
sustain the government, or otherwise ? 

I think they are well-disposed towards the government now ; I think they have had 
quite enough of fighting and resistance. 

3251. If Louisiana were immediately admitted her representation in Congress would 
there, in your opinion, any mischief ensue in this community ? 

No, sir ; I think not. 

3252. Would the result of such restoration be good or evil ? 

I think it would be highly satisfactory to the people of the State generally. 

3253. Would it be likely to strengthen or weaken the loyalty of the people? 
I think it would strengthen their loyalty. 

3254 If the restoration policy of the President was to prevail, could the military forces 
of the United States be safely withdrawn from the State ? 
I think so, decidedly. 

3255. At the outbreak of the rebellion and since, what has been your status in this 
community in reference to unionism? Are you regarded as a Union man or otherwise ? 

I can speak for myself. At first I was decidedly opposed to secession ; I voted for Bell 
and Everett. After secession was accomplished I acquiesced in it, like everybody else here. 
I remained in the city the whole time, and never took any active part in the rebellion in 
any shape. 

3256. Did you not act voluntarily during the war in favor of the rebellion? 

I may have done something ; perhaps I may have contributed some small amount of 
money or something of the kind during the year the confederates occupied the city. I 
have never been a prominent citizen of any' kind; I have always been simply a private 
citizen, and have had very little influence in public matters here. 

3257. At this time, from what you know of the sentiments of the people here, may they 
be relied upon for obedience to the government in good faith ? 

Yes, sir ; I think so, decidedly. 

3258. Was the riot of July 30, in your opinion, in any degree owing to the want of 
loyalty to the government among the people here ? 

Not among the people generally. Those who participated in the riot were mostly 
young men and boys who had returned from the war. I suppose very likely they might 
have had that feeling. I believe the civil authorities did their best to suppress or put it 
down. I have no doubt a great many young men and boys thought it was good fun to 
shoot down negroes, or something of the kind. I do not think any prominent citizen, or 
any man of sober judgment, countenanced the riot at all. 

32o9. Are men in this community proscribed because of their Union sentiments, or may 
a Union man succeed in business here and be allowed to remain unmolested ? 

I certainly know of no feeling of that kind among the merchants here. People buy and 
sell where they can do the best. There were quite a number of men who came from the 
north and who I believe are just as popular merchants as anybody here. I have a man in 
my mind now who, I believe, came here as a sutler in General Butler's regiment, and I do 
not know any man more popular. His name is Witters ; he is a general merchant. He 



216 NEW ORLEANS RIOT 

was a large grocer before the war was closed. I hardly know what his particular business 
now is — a merchant and lias an office up stairs. 

3260. Is a man allowed to expn inn with freedom in this city ? 

I do not know who would molest him if he did. I have no idea there is any danger in it. 

3261. It' a foreign war should break out, on which side would the p sople of this commu- 
nity be disposed to array themselves, on the side of the government or of the enemy ? 

On the side of the government, decidedly. I no not think the people of the south have 
any good feeling toward either England or i . 

3262. Is there any other nation which, in your opinion, they would prefer to sustain 
r the United Slates? * 

No, sir ; none whatever. 

By the Chairman : 

3263. You stated that yon have taken but little part in political matters, and yet you 
hi • answered questions in regard to the feelings of the people here ; do you speak from 
any knowledge that you have? 

0, yes, sir ; 1 know a great many gentlemen from the north who are in business here. 
I came from Boston myself ; my business associations are almost altogether with Boston 
and Cincinnati. The best business friends I have are out there. 

3264. When you speak of the feeling here you refer to that class of the community, 
the mercantile class, with whom you are associated, do you not? 

0, yes, sir. 

3265. And probably confine your opinion to that class? 

Perhaps so. My associations are with that class of people generally. 

3266. If men here then are made to suffer because of their Union sentiments, and who 
were not in mercantile life, or among that class you were in the habit of associating with, 
would you be likely to hear of it? 

I should think I would ; I do not know. 

3267. Have you put yourself in any position where you would probably know anything 
about it? 

Really, I have never heard of any person suffering for his Union sentiments since the 
war closi d. I have heard of it before. 

3268. You said you might have, perhaps, contributed money yourself. Have you any 
doubt left upon that? 

0, no, sir ; I have no doubt upon that point. I contributed small amounts during the 
confederate \ ear. i think I gave a hundred dollars that year to assist in equipping a com- 
pany to go to Shiloh. Indeed, I was a member of the famous Confederate Guards called, 
by General Butler, the "boned-turkey and champagne guards." That was about all. 

3269. Did you ever register your name under General Butler's call ? 

I did, and took the oath. General Butler came here in May, and I think I took the 
oath of allegiance in the Set, tcmber following. 

By Mr. Siiellalabger : 

3270. Did you contribute to that fund which was raised to defend the city against the 
federals '. 

1 really don'i re ollect whether I did or not. My impression is I did not. 

o271. You have said that the people of the south have no good feeling toward England 
or France ; is that so ? 

That is my impression. 

•''-""-• Why do not they like England or France? 

1 supp< se because they would not interfere in their behalf when they were trying to sus- 
tain their independence. 

.':JT:; And that feeling now remains? 

To s ime extent it d 

3274. And you gave as a reason why they should not fight for a foreign war because 
that feeling still remains '. 

Perhaps so. 

3275. You think them to be loyal, notwithstanding they still retain all the regrets and 
resentments which they felt toward England ami fiance for not helping them in the re- 
bellion ! 

I suppose it takes some time for that bitter feeling to wear away, for the people of the 
south have Buffi red greatly. 

3276. And that yon give as a reason why the people are loyal ? 

To a certain extent I do. I said that hostility existed on the part of a few towards Eng- 
land and France. 



TESTIMONY OF HENRY J. YOSE. 217 

3277. Then do you take back the remark that it exists among all the people of the 
south generally ? 

1 disclaim saying that it exists as a general feeling. I say it may, and perhaps it does, 
exist in the minds of some. 

3278. Then what you say is that perhaps this feeling remains in the minds of some? 
Yes, sir. 

3279. Then this feeling would not operate to prevent the people generally from taking 
the part of England and France, in the event of a foreign war ? 

I do not think the people of the south would do it in any case. 

3280. And if they would not, is it not because of their resentment for the course taken 
by England and France during the late war? 

I think they would not, independently of that feeling. 

3281. You gave, a while ago, the reason why the people of the south would not take 
with England or France in a foreign war, that they had no good feeling toward Eng- 
land or France, because of their course toward them during the rebellion. Now I inquire 
whether you wish to withdraw that reason as one of the reasons why you think they would 
not light with England or France in case of a foreign war ? 

I do not wish to withdraw anything I have said. 

3282. I believe you said the President's policy was a good one, and calculated to sustain 
and strengthen the loyalty of the south ? 

Yes, sir. 

3283. The President says that, in the work of restoration, the rebels should be made to 
take a back seat. Are you in favor of that policy ? 

No, sir ; I think the best intellects of the south are the men who have taken sides in the 
rebellion. 

3284. And you .think they are the class who ought to do the work of restoration ? 
Certainly. 

3285. The President says that treason ought to be made odious. Are you in favor of 
that part of his policy ? 

No, sir. 

3286. Do you think it would strengthen the loyalty of the people to make treason re- 
spectable ? 

I do not know. 

3287. Do not you think it would strengthen the loyalty of the people, and would tend 
to discourage future rebellions, if a policy should be^adopted calculated to make treason 
odious ? 

No, sir ; I think not. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

32S8. When the inquiry was put to you just now whether you were in favor of a policy 
which would make treason odious, did you understand it to mean to make treason odious 
in the radical sense of the term ? 

I mean the sense in which the term is used by the radical majority in Congress. I un- 
derstood it in that light. The inquiry was, if I was in favor of punishing the men who had 
taken part in the rebellion. 

3289. Did you understand him to mean that as a part of that punishment all those who 
had taken part in the rebellion should be disfranchised ? 

Yes, sir ; I did understand him so. 

3290. And further, that as a part of that radical policy to make treason odious, that the 
negroes should have the right to govern the State. Did you understand that to be a part 
of it? 

No, sir ; that did not enter my mind. 

3291. When you spoke of the policy of the President did you refer to what is called his 
restoration policy ? 

Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabakger : 

3292. You have said, in substance, that you were not in favor of making treason odious 
in the sense in which the radicals are in favor of makiDg it odious. I want you to state 
what you would do toward the rebels, or any of their leaders, in the way of either punishing 
them or withholding power from them, to the end that you could make treason odious in 
your way and not in the radical sense .' 

I do not think I would do anything with them. 

3293. Then you have no policy or method by which you would make treason odious ? 
Not at all, sir. 



218 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. Boyer : 
3201. Are you in favor of allowing the laws as they exist at the time to take their course 
with reference to all classes of persons, traitors as well as others ? 
Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabakger : 

3295. Laws existing when ? 

At the time of the commencement of the war. 

3295A The laws that existed at the time of the commencement of the war prescribed 
that any man who levied war against the United States should he put to death. Are you 
in favor of executing that law against the rebels and their leaders ' 

No, sir ; I do not think the rebels ever levied war against the United States. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3296. Thaddeus Stevens says that cannot be done ; that traitors could not be punished 
under the laws as they exist. Do you agree with him ? 

Yes. sir. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3297. Is it your opinion that no treason has been committed during the rebellion against 
the government of the United States? 

That is my opinion. 



New Orleans, December 28, IS 6 6. 

JOHN T. MONROE, as mayor of the city of New Orleans, was permitted to make such 
statements to the committee of facts within his knowledge as should seem important to 
him to communicate, and, being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

On a former occasion I testified before the grand jury of this parish; I have examined 
that testimony, and I do not know that I have a single change to make in it, as far as 
it goes. I was requested by the secretary of this committee, on his arrival here, 
to furnish him with a list of the names of the police on duty at the time of the riot, and 
also of the extra police. I at first supposed that the extra police were what we call 
supernumeraries; afterwards it struck me that the " extra police'' had reference to the citi- 
zens that were sworn in as special policemen after the riot was over. With that exception, 
I can make no change in the testimony given before the grand jury after the riot was over. 

At the time of the riot the weather was very hot ; my policemen were all very much 
exhausted ; in fact one of them died, and one or two others came very near it. One of 
them fell down on the street, sun-struck. The men had been on duty from ten o'clock 
till six in the afternoon. I then called upon some of our best citizens, by means of hand- 
bill^, to come forward and relieve the police for the night. About half an hour or an hour 
afterwards, a number of our citizens came forward, for I was supposing I would receive no 
assistance from the military. When the military made their appearance and took pos 
sion of the city, it made it unnecessary for the citizens to patrol the city, though many of 
them had gone out and patrolled the city in conjunction with the police till the next uiorn- 
ing. With that exo ption, my testimony before the grand jury is all that I can possibly 
state. 

By the Chairman : 

3298. Any communication you may wish to make to this committee will be received; 
}>i\{ it does not desire to receive piinted communications made by you elsewhere. 

I desire very much that the committee will receive this, my testimony before the grand 
jury ; it will save time and trouble. With your approbation, I offer this, my testimony iu 

3299. If you have any communication to make, or information to give this committee, 
it will receive it, but the committee does not desire to receive and cannot accept printed 
communications. 

It is my wish, as I am here by your desire, to answer any questions you may be pleased 
to put. It is my desire and intention to answer every question you may he pleased to pro- 
pound. This matter occurred many months ago, and I can only remember some of the 
circumstances by referring to my testimony given before the grand jury. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

3300. From your experience in courts of law you will know that testimony cannot be re- 
ceived in the form of a printed document. 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN T. MONROE. 219 

I am willing and prepared to answer frankly any question that may be propounded to 
me in reference to this matter. When this unfortunate affair occurred if was much against 
my feelings, and, as I hope to be able to show, very much against the will of the people of 

New Orleans. ' My only object and desire, and I hope my actions will justify me in saying 
so, was to preserve order and to maintain the peace of the city. 

3301. Are there any other statements you desire to make? 

I know of no other. 

The Chairman : The committee have no questions to put to you. 

Witness : This statement which I hold in my hand [grand jury report, and the evidence 
i by them in reference to the great riot in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 30, 1866] 
was made on two former occasions, and was received as my testimony, that has been made 
both before the military commission and the grand jury. My only desire was to preserve 
the peace and good order of tbe people of New Orleans. Wherever I found persons viola- 
ting the law I had them arrested wherever possible. When it was first rumored that this 
convention of 18G4 was to reassemble I really paid but very little attention to it, I had 
heard the rumor for several months, and regarded it as idle talk. I had no idea tbat such 
a thing was seriously contemplated, and I paid no particular attention to it till the matter 
was seriously entertained by the judge of the first district court of the city, Judge Abell, 
who had been a prominent member of the convention of 1864. He called attention, in one 
of his reports or addresses to the grand jury, to the proposed reassembling of the members 
of the convention. He stated to the grand jury that the functions of that convention had 
ceased a year or two before. It was then I began to think that there was really something 
serious in their contemplated proceedings. I still paid no particular attention to it till the 
governor ordered an election to represent the non-represented parishes. After the order for 
this election was issued I went over to General Sheridan, for the first time in my life, to 
ask his opinion in reference to the assembling of this convention. He said if they really 
contemplated assembling he should ascertain the fact in a very few days, and that be 
would see me again upon the subject, either personally or by letter, as to what was to be 
done about what he understood was a defunct convention. A few days before they assem- 
bled it became a settled fact that they were going to reassemble on the following Monday, 
at twelve o'clock. I addressed a note to General Sheridan, in connection with the attorney 
general of the State, to the effect that I would be pleased to see him again with respect to 
the subject on whicb I had spoken to him previously. No answer was returned to this, and 
I was afterwards informed that General Sheridan was absent fiom the city. This was two 
or three days after my first visit. General Baird was then in command. I therefore ad- 
dressed him a note upon the subject of the assembling of this convention, and, as I under- 
stood it was the intention of the convention to attempt an overthrow of the State govern- 
ment. I would be pleased to learn from him if it assembled with the approbation of the 
military authorities. Tbe general invited me to call and see him ; I went there, but in my 
interview with him I found that we differed in our opinion in regard to the legality of this 
convention. He was under the impression that the convention had adjourned about a year 
and a half previously, with the understanding that they should reassemble at the call of 
the president of the convention, and tbat they had a perfect right to reassemble. My un- 
derstanding was that Judge Durell, the president of the convention, was opposed to the 
reassembling of the convention, and refused to call it. I also understood that Judge Du- 
rell was the only person who was legally authorized to call the-convention together. But 
some few of them assembled — some ten, fifteen, or twenty — lacking a vast number of being 
a quoium of the body, and appointed a president pro tern., and very much of a gentleman he 
is ; I have known him for many years. He called for the convention to reassemble on the 
following Monday, at twelve o'clock. I asked General Baird what course I should pursue. 
He told me that he thought the convention had a right to assemble. I told him that that 
being the case, I specially requested him that he would so tell the people of New Orleans, 
and take charge of the order and peace of the city himself. 

I was satisfied that there was a strong opposition to the assembling of that convention, 
and was sure that a large number, and some of the most prominent members of that con- 
vention themselves, were opposed to its reassembling ; for instance, Judge Durell and Judge 
Abell, and others whose names I do not remember. I told General Baird in consequence of 
this, that in a city as large as Ibis was, with such a population as we had here, the probabil- 
ity was that there would be trouble on that occasion, and I requested him, in the presence 
of Attorney General Herron and Lieutenant" Governor Voorhees, after he had determined tbat 
they should assemble, and with my knowledge of the class of people we had to do with, 
to send a small force of soldiers to the place of assembling for the purpose of preserving 
order, all of which he agreed to do. Well knowing the bad state of feeling btriweensome 
of the colored soldiers who had been disbanded here and the police officers, thMnajority of 
whom had been in active service, I would not allow the uniformed men to appear on the 
streets, and kept them all at the stations. Geperal Baird assured me that he would send a 



220 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

few white soldiers there to preserve order. From 10 to 12 o'clock I sent special officers from 
my office to the Mechanics' Institute. T have four special officers who wear no uniform, and 
no person but those personally acquainted with them knows them to be officers— I sent them 
to see how many persons were assembled. About 11 o'clock they reported to me that there 
was a commotion in the community, and that there was a probability of trouble Every 
time my mi returned I asked if the soldiers bad arrived. About half-past 12 

o'clock they reported that one or two persons had been fired at on the street, and there was 
very considerable danger of a good deal of trouble arising. I still kept my police at the 
station houses and would not allow them to go, hoping every moment that some force of 
soldiers would appear 'there, and lam satisfied that a corporal's guard would have kept 
perfect order ; indeed, I am perfectly satisfied that ten men would have kept order on that 
day. I did not interfere until it bad been reported as many as three times that citizens, 
whose business brought tbem to the neighborhood of the Mechanics' Institute, were indis- 
criminately fired upon. For the preservation of Older and for the safety of life, I told the 
chief of police to take his force and go down there and arrest all parties who were using 
pistols. I told him to allow no person to use weapons, but to arrest everybody be found 
who had fire-arms about them, and especially those who committed breaches of the peace. 
He started down and I immediately followed him, in company with two citizens, one my 
secretary and the other well known in New Orleans. I went down and found when I got 
there that the tiring was indiscriminate. The people hardly knew who they were firing at ; 
friends were tiring at friends. I went into the street and my friends dragged me back on 
to the banquette, for, they said, it was dangerous to be there. My object was to quell the 
disturbance. Shortly after my arrival I saw Mr. Alfred Shaw, sheriff a few years ago ; 
lie was running and ,-ome persons were firing at him. He ran up to me and put bis arms 
around me, and I believe, honestly, that my presence there saved bis life. He is a clever 
gentleman and has been a school-teacher here for some time, and belonged to some orders 
of which 1 was a member, and we were personal friends. 1 saved his life, and the only 
way in which I could do it was to give him in charge of some of my special officers, and 
the officers had to draw their pistols to keep the crowd off, and this saved his life. They 
took him to the lock-up, and after being there twenty minutes I had him released. When 
I found that this matter was progressing as it was, I took my secretary and went immedi- 
ately up to General Baird, and asked him why he bad not sent down his soldiers. He 
seemed very much disturbed at the time and much agitated. I told him that a serious riot 
was going on, and I said tcrhirn what, perhaps, I should not have said to a military officer, 
that I fiaved his action was the cause of it ; that he had not complied with our agreement 
— at least according to my understanding. He told me that he was under the impression 
that this convention was to assemble at 6 o'clock in the evening, instead of 12 o'clock in 
the day, and that be had a few minutes before given orders for a company of soldiers, who 
were stationed below the city, to be immediately sent for. He advised me to go myself to 
the scene of action and use my best exertions to quell the riot as soon as possible, which I 
did ; and we had all parties arrested, regardless of consequences, who were making any 
disturbance. We had some two hundred persons arrested in all ; I do not know the exact 
number ; among them some of our own citizens. I know very well of having one man 
arrested that I saw strike a negro who had been injured in the riot. I had him locked up. 
He, with others, was turned out by General Kautz when he took charge of the station- 
house. I can say for myself, and I believe the people of New Orleans will bear me out in 
what 1 have said, that all my actions were for peace, order, and quiet, and I have reason 
to believe that in your investigations you will find that such was the design of my ac- 
tions. There are several parties here who will testify that the police here saved their lives. 
Many of them came to me to express their thanks, for some of them have been personal 
friends of mine. Dr. Dostie and myself have been friendly for many years. Dr. Dostie 
was a master in the lodge to which I have belonged for many years. He was the first per- 
son who called on me on my return to New Orleans. We have always been on the best of 
terms. In behalf of the memory of Dr. Dostie, I will say that he was the only honest 
Union man we had in New Orleans when this rebellion broke out. I say this because be 
was the only man in New Orleans who left here voluntarily, in consequence of his opin- 
ions. As for others who were members of this convention — such gentlemen as Governor 
llabn, Mr. Cutler— the first secession Bpeeches 1 ever heard in my life were delivered by 
these persons. I myself was opposed to secession, lama southern man by birth and 
was always opposed to secession ; notwithstanding, I have been a believer in State rights. 
lieve that a State has some rights ; 1 do not believe in secession, and voted against it. 
Dr. Dostie was the only frank Union man we had in this city. 

3302. I tdiouhl like you to explain that. I want to know whether you really mean what 
you say — tmt Dr. Dostie was the only honest Union man of that class of Union men who 
supported the convention held here on the 30th of July last? 

I mean to say, which you will most likely, gentlemen, remember, that in the incipiency 



TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH ADOLPHUS ROZIER. 221 

of tlii: - . matter, Mr. Jefferson Davis, whom we called the president of the Confederate Stafes, 
issued;;!! order that all persons whose sympathies and feelings were not with the confed- 
erate cause were to leave the lines, giving them sixty days in which to take th h departure ; 
and yon may remember, gentlemen, that Dr. Dostie was the only man in the city i !' New 
Orleans who availed himself of Mr. Davis's proclamation. I distinctly remember his coming 
to my office to bid me good-bye. He was the only man who acted candidly and honestly 
in the matter, and who was conscientious on that subject. There was Mr. Cutler and Mr. 
Hahn and a number of others, who are now very radical, who were all in opposition to me 
when the State of Louisiana seceded. It is very seldom I say that I was not a secessionist, 
because people would not believe me. I was an opposer of secession, but, being a believer 
in State rights, I felt it my duty to go with the State when it went out. 

3303. We would prefer that you would confine yourself to the explanation which you 
desire to make in reference to the occurrences which took place at the riot. 

I believe that I have stated all that I know in reference to the matter. I have tried to 
state, as nearly as I can, the testimony I gave before the grand jury, and which they per- 
mitted me to write out. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 18 G 6. 

JOSEPH ADOLPHUS ROZIHR, called at the request of a committee of citizens to state 
any facts with which he might be acquainted concerning matters under investigation by 
the committee connected with the riotous proceedings of the 30th of July, being duly sworn, 
testified as follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : • 

3304. Please to state your name and residence. 

Joseph Adolphus Rozier ; I reside in the city of New Orleans. 

3305. What is your profession ? 

I am a Jawyer ; I have been practicing law since 1840. * 

3306. ftoceed and state all you know in relation to the riot of the 30th of July last, 
and your views with respect to its origin, &c. 

I was not here at the time of the riot ; I was in Wash.ing.ton ; I left here on the Wednes- 
day or Thursday previous to the riots. I arrived in Washington, I think, on Friday, so 
that I have no personal knowledge of the facts that occurred during my absence. I went 
to Washington at the request of members of the legislature here, also at tbe request of 
certain citizens, to see the President of the United States relative to the convention of 1864 
which was to assemble under the proclamation of Judge Howell, the self-styled president of 
the convention. Being in Washington, I cannot, of course, relate any of the transactions 
that took place while I was absent. This convention of 1864 was a body that had no 
shadow of right of meeting together ; it was all humbuggery from beginning to end, a 
mere sham ; and distinguished members of Congress so characterized it. I may say it was all 
a military humbug from beginning to end, and I deplored it as a Union man, for I des 
any duplicity such as that, in any shape or form, as an assumption on the part of these men 
to form a constitution and submit it to the people This may seem severe Language, but I 
have a right to talk ; I am one of those who have a right to talk, because my career as a 
Union man is well known here, and I did what probably many others in other States might 
not have done for the Union. This convention of 1864, in its origin, was purely a military 
contiivance of General Banks. In its origin it was a humbug ; and I was about the only 
one who had the courage, through the public prints, to denounce its proceedings. If the 
institutions of our country are to be maintained, it will have to be in a fair, open manner, 
with nolegerdemain of military contrivance, or anything of that kind. I think I was about 
the only one who expressed my feelings in the newspapers, and it was remarked to me by 
my friends that I might get into difficulty with the military authorities. Not even before 
a secesh convention, or in any other place, am I deterred from expressing my opinions as I 
believe them. That is the kind of man you see before you now, gentlemen. 

330-7. Were you a member of the secesh convention? 

Yes, sir ; and I was the first member who voted against the resolution for taking office, 
and I voted against the ordinance of secession. I voted against the Montgomery conven- 
tion. I voted against the resolution of thanks to General Twiggs for having resigned his 
command, &c. There were only five of us who voted in that way. I was the only man 
in that convention that made a Union speech ; and therefore, gentlemen, it is that I think 
I have a right to speak. 

3308. How did Mr. Koselius vote? 

Mr. Roselius voted for the resolution. 



222 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

"[Mr. Boxer. It is right to stale that Mr. Roselius says that is a mistake.] 

I or third day of the meeting of the convention that resolution was intro- 
duced ration side at that time, and I was taken very 
much prise that such a resolution as that should have come from our side. There 
was a goo I deal of talk and excitement in the convention, and Mr. Roselius, I remember, 
got up and wanted to know by what authority the governor of the State had taken upon 
himself the right to seize the forts, arsenals, and munitions of war that the resolution 
praised him for doing. Mr. Roselius, 1 remember, spoke against it ; one or two replied on 
the other side, particularly a man by the name of Moore; he said that if the governed 
had not d >ne it he would deserve to have been hung. There was a great deal of excite- 
ment in the convention, and as I had a bad seat I could not hear very well, and I stated 
I would, oa the next day, give my reasons why I voted no. They said they were in some 
difficulty In c mse the governor did not give his reasons why he bad taken that step. Some 
delay was occasioned in obtaining the governor's reasons for the seizure, which was con- 
tained in his message to the legislature. When the governor's reasons were read, Mr. 
Roselius got up and stated he was satisfied with the reasons of the governor, and then I 
understood he voted in the way lie is represented —that is, for the resolution. As for this 
convention of 1864, every man living here well knew bow the elections were carried, and 
which 1 exposed in public speeches. It was a military contrivance from beginning to end. 
It adopted a constitution and it was submitted to the people, and by the return of the 
votes wa i lopted by the executive branch here, at the time; then afterwards, at the 
close of the war, and when all the confederates came b ick tliat had been engaged in the 
confederate army, and all the citizens who bad left to go into the army returned to the 
city of New Orleans, then Governor Wells made appointments, which a portion of the 
persons who had shown their allegiance and adherence to the government of the United 
States became alarmed at, for they were losinattbeir offices. It stirred up a good deal of 
feeling between those who had come back an(fthose who remained here and who had been 
enjoying the offices under Butler, Bauks, and Hurlbut ; and a majority of them not liking 
to lose these offices, it was naturally creating a sort of rivalry, and there was consequently 
more or less misunderstanding It was a portion of the office-holders who stirred up the 
resolution of 1864, that the ares dent of the convention should convene them together, 
giving a forced construction to it; for it was understood, in case that constitution was 
adopted by the people, only in case of some great emergency could that convention be re- 
organized. Then they quite unexpectedly called this convention We know how the con- 
vention of 1864 was composed. Many of the best Union men had left the State, and it 
was considered an assumption of power f r these men to get into office, and it was pretty 
well understood that they wished to restrict the qualification of voters and give the fran- 
chise to colored men, so as to retain the offices in their own hands I should state that 
the mass of the men in this eonveuti.iu, except those th it came from other States, were 
never considered prominent Union men in Union days ; but owing to the tenuity which 
men have for office, and seeing that these confederates were returning, and seeing that 
Governor Wells was appointing many of them to office, there unfortunately broke out 
some ill feeling between the two sides. 

3309. What do you mean by the two sides? 

The persons who had been here during the time of General Butler's^ and General Banks's 
administrations, and these persons called themselves the Union men. 'There was very little 
unionism here after the first gnu was fired at Foit Sumter. Then- are very few here of 
those whom you gentlemen in the north regard as real simon-pure Union men But there 
was no unionism here in the south, except a few isolated individuals that retained their 
affection for the old government. It was not these men who wanted the convention of 
1864. At the close of the war the confederates returned to the city in large numbers. As a 
matter of course a great many had gone off during the war in consequence of the military 
orders issued at the time. 'I hi . e men came hack entirely impoverished, and therefore there 
was a great avidity on their part to hold office, and a great many of them had obtained 
officeto the exclusion of a large portion of the Union men appointed by Governor Wellsand 
Governor Hahu in the times of the Union regime. All the judiciary are what are known as 
Union men ; so it was more a rivalry between these classes of people as to who should get into 
office and into power again, than it was of any ill feeling or jarring between the confederates 
and those that were in favor of the Union. This convention of 186 1 wascalled with the ob- 
ject of retaining in power a certain class of men. Now, the course I have always pursued 
was that of reconciliation. Of course if was to be expected there would be ill feeling and jar- 
ring among men who had ben: fighting four years in the field; there is no doubt there was 
some bad feeling in tin- in ginning, But it was a matter of policy on the part of Union men 
to consult together, to conciliate, forget by-gones, and become citizens of the same country 
as we were before. Unfortunately many of those Union men did not understand these 
'Litter-day Saiuts." I do not mean the few who remained Union men after the firing on 



TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH ADOLPIIUS ROZIER. 223 

Sumter, and who were true until the Union iag again protected us ; but it was very unfor- 
tunate that these " Latter-day Saints " were determined to get into office. This wa 
origin of the convention which they attempte l.to hold on the 30th of July, which President 
Howell convened, calling himself the president. Judge Durell was the president at the 
time the convention adjourned; he refused to reassemble the convention; but a certain 
portion of the members met and nominated Judge Howell as their president pro tern ; and 
then that convention was called by Judge Howell under a proclamation of the governor. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3310. State whether the calling of this convention of the 30th of July last, in the manner 
and for the purpose for which it was assembled, did cm did not excite the public mind ; and 
if so, with what result? 

It agitated the public mind very much. It was supposed this convention would meet, as 
General Baird, who was in command here, was known to side with them, and there was 
very great apprehension that the recalling of the convention of 1864 would result in a state 
of things here similar to what existed in Missouri. That was the great apprehension ex- 
isting here at the time in the minds of the people. 

3311. Was the riot, in your opinion, in any degree the result of disloyalty of the people 
of this community? 

No, sir, it was not. It was owing to the apprehension which they had that this conven- 
tion wonld meet and make test oaths, and that it would he extremely prescriptive. 

3312. Can those in this State who took part against the government be relied upon as 
giving in their adhesion to the government in good faith? 

Yes, sir, they can. All idea of resistance to the government is extinct. 

3313. If an opportunity for a successful rebellion against the government were to arise, 
would they embrace it for the purpose of overthrowing the government ? 

You may suppose an extreme case — a case which does not exist If the people were ground 
down by tyranny — a condition of things scarcely possible here — there is no knowing what 
they might do. But I think I know the general feeling here, and I know of no contingency 
which they look to for throwing off their aHegiance to the United States government. 
I believe, sir, that the people see just as well as I do that this great country must be gov- 
erned by a government instead of by treaties ; that if we had treaties between the west, 
north, or south, we would be in danger in three or six months of haying another war, and 
that the only way to avoid it is to live together under a constitutional government. 1 believe 
the masses are impressed with these*views. 

3314. Would it be, in your opinion, safe to admit Louisiana to immediate representation 
in Congress ? 

Undoubtedly ; and the very worst course that Congress can pursue is in refusing to give 
them the privilege of representation ; it is an insult to the people. I, as a Union man, 
felt humiliated that Congress should have refused us admission. It was an exhibition of 
bad temper, and it has been followed up by other things equally to be deplored. I speak 
feelingly, ami I trust I have a right to speak. I think the course of Congress is the very 
worst that could have been adopted ; that it has tended to agitate the South and lead her 
people to believe that you are going to deprive her of all her State rights. Tney think 
you are going to force negro suffrage upon them, whether they desire it or not, and in- 
troduce proscriptive and test oaths. But there is here generally no resisting spirit. They 
say, We are in your power ; do what you will ; we canuot help it. 

3315. What effect would the restoration policy of the President have upon the public 
feeling here should it prevail ? 

The very best, if the course of Congress accorded with it. If the southern States are 
admitted to representation, as the government in its intercourse with foreign nations said 
they would be, on laying down their arms, the best possible results would follow. 

3316. If the military forces weie withdrawn from the city would the lives and property 
of Union men be safe ? 

It would be the very best thing you could do, especially in ordering the removal of the 
colored soldiers. 

3317. In that case would good order be preserved ? 
Perfectly. 

3318. Would the lives and property of Union men be safe ? 
Perfectly so. 

3319. Is there any class of citizens at the present time who cannot obtain justice in the 
courts of this State ? 

No, sir ; I practice law in this city ; I am in full practice, and I have never seen any 
wrong done in consequence of political sentiments. We have a very good supreme court, 
and as to the character of the persons filling those offices, they are all considered Union 
men. The district courts are all presided over by Union men, so that justice in this city is 
impartially administered. 



224 NEW ORLERNS RIOTS. 

3320. If the military power were removed from here would there he allowed a free ex" 
pression of public opinion upon political questions through the press and at public meetings •' 

Yes, sir ; you are all ia a great error as to the condition of things here. You have 
been led iuto error, which I beg to correct, by persons who have left this city, through 
physical timidity, or through ambitious motives or the desire to ingratiate themselves into 
the good graces of the republican party, and from other causes, and by men, too, of no 
great standing here, but who have nevertheless tried to. impress upon the good people of 
the United States that there is no safety here for Union men who express Union sentiments. 
That is entirely a mistake. I have been astounded to read some speeches made in the 
north as to the condition of things existing here ; and I am equally surprised and pained 
to find that Thomas J. Durant has 4aid such views so prominently before the country. 
That such unfounded statements should be promulgated is to me a matter of great surprise 
and humiliation. 

By the Chairman : 

3321. You say that after the firing on Fort Sumter there were no Union men here? 
Only a few isolated individuals. 

3322. Can you state who they were ? 

Thomas J. Durant, Julian Neville, Mr. Talliafero, who is an old Roman, and the "no- 
blest Roman of them all." 

3323. Were those all ? 

As I said before, there were only a few isolated individuals. 

3324. Do you include the colored population in what you sp«y? 

No, sir, I have no reference to the colored population, as they were entirely passive, 
without attending to what was going on. 

3325. So far as you know, they were loyal, were they not ?. 

They did not understand anything about it ; they did not understand what was going on. 

3326. Do you think that refers to them all ? 

From my general observation they knew nothing at all about it. 

3327. Then, putting the negro population out of the question, there was no loyalty here 
of any account? 

None, save among the few. There is no such word in this country as loyal. You may 
talk of loyalty in a dbuntry that has a king, but when a man is true to the Constitution of 
the United States he is a true and faithful citizen. There is no such thing as loyalty. 
My loyalty is to the Constitution of the United States,%nd to the treaties adopted accord- 
ing to our form of government, but as to the word loyal, which you all use, I discard the 
word. 

3328. Then there is no such thing as loyalty to the Constitution as we understand it ? 
No, sir ; I am true to the Constitution of the United States, and to the decisions of the 

Supreme Court ; but those men who violate the Constitution — that, I avow, is what I put 
my foot on, even if it comes from a President of the United States, however illustrious he 
may he. I have been educated in the school of Washington, Madison, Hamilton, and 
Jefferson ; if you want to find out my principles, read them. 

3329. Do you know of auy other reasons why you discard the word loyalty? 

. Yes, sir ; I like constitutional much better. I think the use of that word loyalty has 
done much mischief. I am now a constitutional State-rights man, because I think the 
Constitution of the United States, and the laws passed in pursuance thereof, are the 
supreme law of the land ; and whatever powers are not given to Congress are retained by 
the State. All that you need to do is just to ask a man if he is true to the Constitution 
of the United States and the treaties adopted in pursuance thereof. 

3330. What was the condition of things at the time of the surrender towards the gen- 
eral government ? 

As a matter of course the feeling was very desponding. They had failed to obtain a 
separate and independent government, and, like any other armies that had contended for 
certain principles and failed, they were mortified and despondent. 

3331. They felt as though they had been vanquished? 

They had been vanquished, of course, in a military point of view. 

3332. Did that feeling of despondency continue ? 

Yes, sir, for some time, but not for a long time. The people rallied and became in better 
spirits than any one could expect. 
. 3333. What effect did the President's policy have upon them ? 

A very good one. They looked upon the President as their fast and firm fiiend, but 
the people know, after all, that Congress is the chief power. 

3334. But the feeling that first possessed them was that they had been vanquished ? 

That was a Brazilian fever, but the liberal policy of the President pleased the people. No 
man better understands the feeling of the southern people than General Sherman. The 



TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH ADOLPHUS ROZIER. 225 

treaty that he made with Johnston shows that he understood the soul >ple. You 

all thought that the southern people would take advant ige of it. [f you had extended to 
them the liberal terms proposed by General Sherman, the people would have at once re- 
turned to their industrial pursuits; they wished to have done talking or thinking of the 
past; they desire a return of good feeling. The darkness and uncertainty that now 
vail I l consequence of their fear that you will force negro suffrage on them, and 

interfere with their domestic affairs. It is this that agitates their minds at the present 
time 

35, Do you know whether it is true that men, who are known as radical Union men, • 
feel that they are not secure in property and person? 

No, sir ; that is all humbuggery, 

3336. You think there is no need of the military here? 

No, sir 

'. \re the negroes in a g 1 position us to their security ! 

They all seem to be quiet and peaceable. I employ colored people at my house, as I 
did before the war. 

3338. If the military were taken away would the negroes he well treated here ? 

Yes, sir ; very much better than your own people treat them. The negro has much 
more affection for the southern man, because he understands Ins feelings and ideas better 
than you can possibly do at the north, and if you were only to repeal the Freedmen's- 
Bureau hill an 1 the civil rights hill which do no good, you would find there would he no 
necessity for you to legislate on these matters in Congress. The reasou of your Legislating 
on thi6 subject is because of your ignorance of the south. 

3339. General Fullerton has been here, has he not? 

Yes, sir, and a very excellent man he is. General Fullerton's presence and action pro- 
duced the most happy effect upon the people here. It was the best possible policy that 
could have been pursued here, 'idle policy of seizing from the people their houses and 
home-- was harsh and unnecessary ; there was no reasoa why the men who came back should 
have their property taken from them. General Fullerton was more liberal, and it pro- 
duced the happiest effect. When property was taken from these people the government 
derived no advantage from the confiscation. Property that has been seized and sold has. 
been saciificed. Let the coffers of the country determine whether they have derived any 
benefit from it or not. 

3340. You say you went to Washington at the request of certain parties to confer with, 
tin' President of the United States ? 

Y< s, sir. 

3311. Did you see him ? 

Yes, sir. 

3342. Did you confer with your friends here by telegram ? 
Yes, sir. 

3343. Was your object in goinj- on to see how the convention could be prevented ' 
Yes, sir ; and I can give you my reasons 

3314. Did you find the President agree with you in your views '. 

The President took sound, constitutional views of it. The President's wish, and his only 
object, seemed to be that the writs emanating from the courts should be executed ; in other- 
words, that the civil authorities should be recognized both by the military and the govern- 
ment of the United States for the regulation of all matters which were internal, and as he 
considered this was a matter purely of state affairs, he was of the opinion that the civil 
authorities, in doing whatever was legal atnl proper, should be supported and maintained ; 
he had no idea that the military were going to interfere here. 

3345. Did you think they would ? 

Yes, sir ; and I so told him. I do not know how far I am authorized in reporting my 
private conversation with the President, hut I can say that that conversation raised my 
opinion of him very much ; I may say I never found a purer man. He did not think the 
military w >uld inter ere, but allow the civil processes of the law to take their course. 

33 Hi. You say you thought otherwii 

I thought that General Baird would interfere, as he did. 

: J >:;17. 1 understood you to say that you told the President that you thought that the 
military would interfere to prevent the action of the civil authorities '. 

Yes, sir ; that they would interfere to prevent the processes of the civil courts to arrest 
these men and prevent them from setting up a State government of their own. 

Then the object of your visiting the President was to get him to prevent the mili- 
tary from interfering with the civil processes for arresting the members of the convention? 

Yes, sir. 

3349. He yielded to your ideas about this point ? 

We agreed in our opinions. My idea was to represent to him exactly the state of things. 

15 N. 0. 



226 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

here— what this convention of 1864 wag ; thai i( '■ id been injurious to the interests 

of the State and ! government; that the men who wished to reassemble this 

convention were a revolutionary body ; and I end< avored to impress upon the President my 
views that the civil authorities constituted the only I- gal body to tak this affair, 

and, after proper indictment, to arrest the members of this illegal convention, and that, 
after their arrest, in accordance with t: usual forms of civil law, our supreme court would 
decide whether that convention was a legal body or not. 

: ; I Was that civil pr< cess to ted by the ] dice? 

Nil, sir; th i the proper person to serve processes. 

3351. Did you transmit home the judgment of the President as you got it from him? 

me that I bad been we d by the Presidentof the United States, 

and that his idea was that the civil processes sb ot be interfered with. That was the 

and substance of it : that I telegraphed home on Friday the 27th. I telegraphed again 
when -news of the riot came. I did not myself receive any telegraphic despatch of the riot ; 
1 received the news from a friend. The President had received a telegram, and he was 
under the impression that the riots had ceased. Other despatches received inclined us to 
believe the riots were going on. It was then he telegraphed that the civil authorities should 
prevail; that their processes should be respected, and that the military should not in- 
terfere. 

By Mr. Dover : 
33. r >2. If the civil processes had been allowed to be served originally, what would the result 

1 was in Washington city at the time. 

335J Would the riot have taken place? 

The riot would not have taken place had it not been for that meeting on Friday, accord- 
ing to all reports. 

. 

No, sir ; it was the meeting of which Dostie was at the head. 

o.'J55. Did you hear any intemperate I: . 

No, sic ; I tvas in Washington city ; I derived my knowledge from the papers and from 
private information. 

By Mr. Siiellabaeger : 

3356. Were you employed to go to Washington? 

No, sir. 

re as a lawyer? 

No. sir. 

. Were you paid for going? 

No, sir; I went because 1 knew the reassembling of the convention of 1864 would be very 
bad for the Union cause. 

3359. 1 )id you know that, in the event of the meeting of the convention, nothing would 
•be done till the writs of September were issued? 

No, sir ; 1 thought they would meet and meet again, until they got a quorum, and then 

6w that it was a part of the plan of the convention to leave the ques- 
tion oi the legality of the proceedings of the conventi courts of last resort ; that 
ifthecon 1 . acted, they 5 nl aded not only to submit their action to tl, 

ubmit the question to the courts whether their constitution was a legal 
one or not .' 

J could know nothing of the kind, for I had n ces with these men. 

o know what theii intentions wei 
avention illegal. 1 considered it an" unconstitutional body, and 
never went round to ask any of the m hat they intended to do. I con- 

sidered that they were acting in opposition to the general government, and trying to set 
up a government in opposition to the government of the United States and to the military 
authoi 

instead of resorting to a criminal prosecution against these men, for the simple 
act . . as a method for deciding the constitutionality of the body, did 

you not, as a lawyer, know that there , ., ,e, and not in- 

vohii g criminal prosecution, to decide whether they > . d body or not ? 

The only way in which it could I wa s, in the first place, to nave them indicted, 

to issue ther that was a consti- 

tutii If they had done anythin /ay of legislation here, as a mdt- 

of course, the question could be raised in the courts whether that was a legal bodj or 
not. That would be another way of testing tl whether they were a legal body 

or not. 



TESTIMONY OF JACOB BARKER. 227 

3364. Ton preferred to prosecute the members as criminals? 

My impression was that there was suffioient authority to issue warrants for their arrest, 
and thai I believe, although I never I any opinion about it, was the opin- 

■ 

3365 Did you not try to induce the President to prevent the military from interfering? 

I wanted to prevent the military from interfering, and therefore I cautioned him that it 

was of the utmost im] that the military should be prevented from interfering before 

the courts ] At that time there was no anticipation of what took place subse- 

ly. 

66. Have you held office here? 
■ Mr. Lincoln tendered me the appointment of collector of direct taxes, and subsequently 
of United States district attorney, both of which i declined. 



New Orlkans, December 28, 186G. 

JACOB BARKER, who appeared on the part of the citizens of New Orleans, to give the 
committee information in relation to such facts within Ins knowledge as should seem to him 
important to communicate, being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

By Mr. Botek : 

3367. Have you any personal knowledge of any circumstances connected with the riot, 
or the transactions which preceded it ? 

I do not know that T have any other knowledge than grows out of my intercourse with 
the people. I have lived in New Orleans thirty-two years I have, perhaps, had more in- 
tercourse with the bulk of the people of this city, from the nature of my business, than, 
perhaps, any other man in town My place of business is very near the scene of the riot, 
but my information of it is derived from others ; not from personal knowledge. I did not 
attend any of their meetings, nor was present at any part of tire riot, and I can only give 
you such information as I have derived from such sources, if that is agreeable to the com- 
mittee. 

3368. What is your age? 

On the seventeenth of this month I was eighty-seven years of age. 
33fif>. What is your business ? 
Private hanker. 

3370. Have you held any office in this city or State? 

I do not think I have. I was once a member of a convention that nominated Mr. Van 
Buren for the presidency. I was elected a member of the present Congress, where I was 
denied a seat in the House, and hold that position now. 

3371. I desire you to state what you know in relation to the sentiments of the people of 
this city towards the general government at this time/and as to whether they could be re- 
lied upon for obedience, iu good faith, to the federal authorities, and for observance of the 
laws of the country. 

I am thoroughly convinced that the great body of the people of New Orleans with whom 
I am intimately acquainted are to be relied upon in good faith, and would be perfectly obe- 
dient to tii jovernment and to the laws that they passed ; tlrat they are anxious 
to preserve them and have them respected ; and such of them as oppose the authorities 
have become convinced of their error, and could not be again induced to resist the authorities 
of the federal government. My acqu; wit h the people of Louisiana in the interior is 
not so gem far as it extends, I believe the same sentiment pervades the whole com- 
munity, of Louisiana — the majority of the people I mean, not the leaders — I 
am well satisfied were opposed to secession. I was among the number who did oppose it. 
oust, it in public meetings, and wrote against it in publications, and otherwise, to 
prevent, it. When the election came on the majority of the members elected were in favor 
of it, but the votes cast were opposed to it. We endeavored to get the authorities to pub- 
lish ! -; that the people at the north might know we were opposed to it, and we 
never cou! the authorities to publish that canvass, and it never has bed. 
We have always asserted that it was a minority • >rs that carried gi i this 
State. When i i fc body of the people yielded to it and supported it, and 
of course wished it success. As to myself I always believed and wished that the rebellion 
could not succeed ; and if it did I kne could not get so good a government as we had 
before. I made several spi ion it at public meetings— some of which have been 
published in a book which I will leave with you, gentlemen, and thank you to peruse at 
your leisure ; it contains my whole course of conduct through the rebellion, which I believe 



228 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS 

I as h Union man. My interest, so far as wqrldly affairs are concerned, is all 
here; to look after is here. Previous to the riots there were several 

publi at which evil-di p rsons made i s,exciting 

. and which led, in part, to this riot. There had been a convention 
was considered at an end by the people here. I was among the number that con- 
d it at an i 1 d, as ha . med all its duties, and the provision mads to resusci- 

I Dot occurred. It was in contemplation, onstitution 

was [,, t ratified, the presi invention would have the power to call il 

gether ; but I know ibont ii <>J my own knowledge. 1 was not a member of it. 

Jt was supposed here- how far it is true I do not know— that an attempt was made m 
Washington to bring this convention about; that it originated with Hahn, Ranks, and 
, who had particulat n view iu bringing it about, and their course of pro- 

ceedings was general] >1 nsive to the people here ; persons of influi nee here did not 

take part in it. and i lit the civil authorities would arrest them and prevent it. 

It was this determination, 1 understood, that brought about the riot. There was some 
anxietj i eie in consequence of its h-u r>d that the military authorities here wfculd 

How them to be arrested On the day of the riot there were a number of colored per- 
formed in a pi bo were brought hue from neighboring parishes. l'hey 
bed with drum, fife, and colors flying, and 1 understood they were aimed with clubs 
and pistols, and variou to sustain this conventioi I d, as we all believed, 
which was not anticipated in this community until it actually broke out. 
med to know all about it '. 
My office is in the text ■ and as soon as I heard of it I left my office 
and ■ i Gravier, right by Common, in the same direction; all was as quiet as a 
il Sunday; ■ ■• il mys but I was afraid that my colored freed- 
men, whom I had in aighj ited, but I found them all 
quietly at work. I admonished them all to keep quiet, and not to go into the street, or to 
part in the distui oing on. and they all lemained quietly 
ik 1 knew of nothing that happened at the Mechanics' Institute, or below 
; ndei the \ hole city was entirely taken by surprise as much 
a thunder-i bouses entire. The people here were of course very 
i the convention ; they did not want H to dictate to them new laws and 
riptions. If a convention was to meet they wanted it to be prop ed. There 
had been a terrible fraud committed here when Hahn audi Wells were elected. Men were 
lit in from every direction, and ii was the most fraud er known here. 
The. people were very anxious to have nothing further to do with fraudulent and improp- 
erly appointed conventions \i we are to have conventions we want them properly author- 
ad a great deal of experience with the colored people. I believe everybody 
larker knows him to be a friend of the colored people. They 
evi n in times past, threa drive me out of town for befriending them. I have I 
charge of several young colored people to have them educated ; one 1 sent to Germany ; 
nd ; I izen to the New England States. I educated them on 
i . to th a : ever held slaves for the purpose of profit, but I have 
ionally taki two for debt. 1 have fought a terrible battle lor the negro, in 
my time, at the north. That was at a time when the North was not so much in favor of 
1 never daied tell the people here what I had done -loin 
the north. 

It represei given to the State of Louisiana, and the rnili- 

were h ithd ur opinion, from 

you know of tl he people, tha rder and obedi- 

i to the la.. tfety of Union men be maintained .' 

tly so. j qj man can say with truth that he is 

ierty. 
here who call themselves Union men, what 
iption "i i,i u a 

not think tl y of that kind. There may be personal animosity outsi le of 

do not think there is any such thing as a ho.- tile feeling against men on 
I dnciples. 
337a. Is there any hi sti it) to nun who agitate political subjects? 
I think thi I men who make adverse to the general 

t 1 think there is no f< ounting to anything more than dislike to their 

sentiment. They have a prejudice against Dr. Dostie, for instance, and againsi Governor 

Hahn, and I thii k they have Governor Wells, whom they regard as acting 

h rously I I m '; at f that there is any danger of any personal injury to him, 

1 think there is uinst him that they would not vote for him were he 

a candidate. 



TESTIMONY OF JACOB BARKER. 229 

3376. Do you consider such men as these safe in their pers m an 1 property ? 
Perfectly so. 

3377. Would they be so if the military were withdrawn ? 

Certainly they would ; they are all safe in their property and their persons. They are, 
I contend, all >.A\: in their property an I pei sons. I do not think there is a single person 
ml has too much ke the law into his own hands. 

3378. When were you elected to the ingress ? 
I think it was in October or Novemb r of 1865. 

3379. For what district? 

The sixth district, which takes in about nine-tenths of the people of New Orleans 
includes the heart of the city. 

'. Did your uniform support of the Union, and your advocacy of the United States 
government, injure your prospects at your election ? 

Not in 

3381. ('onld other Union men in this community be elected to office? 

Certainly. 

3332. Could they if the State were restored to its former practical relations to the Union ? 

I think so ; but all men have I ids, for whom they would most likely vote. 

3383. What 1 want to know is, whether the thct of a man being a Union man would of 
itself, in this Stat \ prevent a man from being elected to any office? 

Certainly ii"t, unless Ids conduct as a Union man had been particularly offensive. I 

have named Governor Wells ; n"l th it, he is a Union man ; I think he could not, b i elected 

: bu< it does nol arise from his being a Union man. I do not think that he was a 

m in before the war. 1 opp >sj d his election, as I did that of Governor Hahn ; but 

did not succeed on account of the fright here in the city. 

3384. Is the fact of a man being a Union mm in this community a hindrance to his 
advance in business ' 

I think not; men of every party and description patronize my bank. I do not think 
there is any difference. 

33s,"). If a foreign war were to break out, would the people of this city side with the 
government of the United States, or join the en imy in an attempt to overthrow the gov- 
ernment ? » 

On the contrary I think they would be the first to join your ranks, and would be found 
at the head of your columns in the battle. 

3386 Wh it effect would it have upon public sentiment if the policy of the President of 
the United States were to prevail? 

I think th- effect would be good. 

33SJ. So far as that policy ins been proclaimed, and so fir as it has been understood and 
applied, what has been its effect, good or bad.' 

Very good ; very good. 

By the Chairman : 

3388. Did you act as commissioner for the sale of confederate bonds ? 
I did not. 

3389. Did you act as a banker i:x any way in the sale of confederate bonds? 
No, sir. 

33 10. Had you no connection with the sale of those bonds ? 

I was a general dealer in buying and selliirj; bonds. These bonds were in the market, 
but I scare ly took any of them. 

3391. Did you have them at your bank? 

Not particularly : occasionally they were brought there to be deposil 

3392. Were you employed in any way in selling them ? 

No, sir ; sometimes my customers would bring them there and leave them. 

3393. The citizens of New Orleans deplore very much the riotous proceedings of the 30th 
of July, do they not ? 

Yes. sir ; almost unanimously 

3394. So far as you know did they regard the massacre as criminal ? 

We never knew precisely who committed it. aid we all thought it was very unnecessary 
and wrong 

3395. State what steps, if any, were taken to punish those who committed these deeds. 
I have no knowledge on the subject. 

339ti. Have you taken any steps yourself to bring them to ju-tice ? 
Not any. 

33'.)7. Has anybody been arrested as a, rioter to your knowli 

Not to my knowledge : there may have been, but I kept as clear of all those things as 
I could. 



230 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

3398. Is there any citizen of New Orleans older than you in active business here ? 
I do not think there 

3399. You Knew of a fact that there were persons killed and wounded that day, did you ■ 
not? 

I learned that tie re were some, hut T have learned since that there were many more 
than I heard of at the time. 

3400. What steps were taken within your knowledge by the citizens or authorities to 
care for and protect the woum 

I know nothing about it. 

3401. Whnt became of the killed and wounded ? do you know ? 

No more than from the knowledge I derived from the newspapers and what was pub- 
lished. 

3402. Your regret for the wounded did not induce you to take any personal steps to find 
out the exact state of things ? 

I did not see how I could do any good, and I was very fully occupied, too, in my business. 

3403. Do you remember whether you tried to see whether you could do any good? 

r I did not ; I u urts had taken charge of the prisoners, 

and that a grand jury was summoned to investigate the matter, and that they had many 
witnessi s before them. 

.'! 1 1.- 1 . 'thai was for the prosecution of the members of the convention, was it not ? 

Not to my knowledge ; f have no other knowledge than that I derived from the news- 
papers, and I understood at the time that the whole subject was in the hands of the grand 
jury, and that it was not expedient for individuals to meddle with it. 

3405. Do you know of any money raised in any way to support the families of the men 
who were killed ? 

I do not. 

.') !<>il. Do you remember the fact of an appropriation of $500 having been made for the 
support of the widow of a pi lice officer who died ' 

No, sir : I never heard of it, and never read of it ; hut I keep myself so clear of such 
s that I am the last nran to know anything of the kind. 

3407. You are not a politician in the ordinary sense of the word ? 

ir ; I do not drink and smoke with the rebels, which is generally the practice of 
politicians ; and when men came to me for money, offering to vote for me, I told them to 
go hoi 

3408. You mean to be understood that you did not pay any money towards that election ? 
I may have paid a trifle for printing tickets, or something of that kind, but nothing 

: nothing to he spent at random. It was for the printing of hills only, I helieve. 

3409. Have you occasion to employ professional men in your business ? 
Yes, sir. 

ol 10. Will you name any man who has been known here actively as a Union man that 
you have employed .' 

I have employed Mr. lloseiius ; I have employed Mr. Hunt, a Union man ; I have em- 
Mr. .Shannon, who is an active Union man. 

3111, Mr. Roselius was an active man in taking Louisiana out of the Union, washenot? 
I think he opposed the convention. He is the same gentleman you refer to. We have 

comp very often and have always been agri 

3112. So far as you know you entertain the same opinions Mr. Roselius did on the sub- 
ject of secession ? 

So far as I have been informed. 

3413. Have you had frequent conversations with him ? 
Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3414. Was Mr. Roselius a member of a rebel military comp 

I do not know. When General Butler came here I had some intimacy with him, and also 
with General banks and the others. When the election came on General Banks pressed 
me hard to embark in it. I told him there was no chano . and I did not wish 

to embark in it ; we could not have a fair , bad always been a democrat and I 

should be afraid to embark in his scheme, lie told me he was very amsipus fa- tin; people 
to vote. Theymighl tenth, as required by the President's pi m. J told 

him we dare not have a public meeting, becaupe the democrats, as they were called, would 

us up. He said there* would be no dang r : he would see lhat we were protet 
Wiih that view 1 embarked in it and made a publication ovei my own signature, and though 
objecting to the "iron-clad oath," required by the proclamation, that is the general 
character of it, I endeavored to explain it to my friends. 1 was not a candidate at that 
electii ; ained that there was nothing more in the oath than they had already 



TESTIMONY OF JACOB BARKER. 231 

taken Tt did not add to their security ; that sine;- they had taken the oath of allegiance, 
what more could mere Their objection was to support a paper that 

they had never read They thought it unreasonable to supp they had never read. 

We embarked and had a very fair election. Oul of the pwhere the vote 

very s. The vote was against them every where but here. 

they got Hah n. and Wellselected. 1 supported what were called federalists. I thought 
the time had come to lay aside our dissensions and have 

3415. I understood you to say that you and Mr. Roseliua agreed in your views during the 
war ! 

So far as I was informed of his opinii 

3416. He was a member of the convention that carried the State by the ordinance of 
n ml of the Onion, was he not ? 

He was a member ; but as tar as 1 know he resigned and would not act with them. I 
am not sure, but that is my impression. 

:; 1 17. I find on the Kith page of tin: proceedings of that convention the following reso- 
lution : "Resolved, That the convention receives with the most cordial approval the know- 
ledge this day received by telegraph of the electi »n of Jefferson DavU -t, and of 
Alexander II Stephens as vie -president of the provisional government of the southern re- 
public." I see by the minutes of those proceedings that this resolution was passed unani- 
mously. Do you know, sir, whether Mr Roselius voted for it or not? 

1 do not know that he even attended. 

3-tls. I find the following resolution, on the same page, is declared to have been passed 
unanimously: "Resolved, That a committee be appointed for the purpose of having an 
appropiiate salute fired in honor of the recent election of president and vice-president of 
the southern confederacy." Do you know that he did not vote for the resolution ' 

I know nothing about his vote. I believe he resigned his seat at that and some other 
convention. 

3419. I find on the 55th page of the same minutes the following resolution : "That this 
convention mute in a body with the citizens of New Oilcans to-morrow to receive our dis- 
tinguished fellow-citizen General Twiggs." and I rind that Mr. Roselius is recorded as voting 
against laying this resolution on the table. Did you know anything about tl 

I only know r that Mr. Roselius re used to act at some subsequent convention, or that he 
resigned his seat, I understood on'account of his Union principles. 

3420. Were you in New Orleans at the time that reception to General Twiggs was given ? 
I do not recollect. I did not take any part in it. I think 1 must hive been here ; but I 

knew nothing about it. My business keeps me all day. I do not allow these things to 
call me off. 

3421. You do not think you were one of the citizens who took part in that reception ? 

I know 7 I was not. I desire to add something on the subject of confederate binds, in 
relation to that question put by the chairman. The confederates seized all our Union 
property here, made a great many collections and commissi >ns, anl deposited the money 
'.■ns' Bank. When General Butler came he s *, ley, and I 

told him that it would become worthless. Ho had allowed it to pass for a month. He told 
me he should be very glad to destroy this currency, and drive it out of the federal li 
and said lie : " If I rind when I come to call for it $70,000 in gold or treasury notes, instead 
of the 8210,000, I shall be well pleased " 1 thought he felt a delicacy in ordering it to be 
sold, but I thought that I understood him, and that it might be sold. It was in my bank, 
the hank of the government. He had no money in the military chest, and I lent him 
money. When he was short he borrowed, and afterwards pud me. I had a great deal of 
intimacy with him, and I was employed by the bank to negotiate with him in relation to 
two or three millions that they ha I secreted at the time of the evacuation of the city. He 
tried to rind it, but could not. He then told me that if the bank would bring it back he 
would not sequestrate if. He said it should be perfectly safe. It might be subject to con- 
tributions, but it should be secure from confiscation. The bank brought back its gold in 
by, and put it in their vaults, and made various contributions and payments, but nothing 
on account of its being secreted. This led to my intimacy witlx General Butler. I sold 
that confederate money for about one-third of its value. The bank allowed me to sell it, 
anil give them the money, under the supposition that it was on the authority of General 
Butler, which he never disputed. General Butler never touched the money. I sold it and 
put it in the bank till General Banks came, when he withdrew it in gold from the bank, w ith- 
out letting me be examined. It was 

3422. Did you at any time subscribe money for the defence of the city against the federal 
autho: i 

I neither subscribed nor contributed a dollar. . A thousand applications were made to me, 
but I refused them all. 



232 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New Orleans, La., Decemher 28, 1866. 
EMILE COLLIS sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

3423. Where do you 
Tn the parish of Ascei 

3424. Whai is your age .' 
l'i rty years. 

Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 
Fes, sir -. 1 was ;i member of tb i tion. 

3426 How long were you at the convention? 

I went to the hall about 12 o'< lock, .-t iid there a few minutes, and came back to town ; 
returned t<> the convention about furty minutes after 1 o'clock. 

3427 Did yen see the firing that took pla< 
Certainly. 

3428. Who was it by? 

men w bo w< re dressed in blue. 

3429. Was the convention armed in any v. 
I d ever saw any who were armed. 

Were you wounded ? 

^ ... sir. 

3431. How? 

T received a ball in my leg. 

3 132 how did you escape from the hall ? 

1 over the fence and staid until they took the hall by assault, and afterwards pome 
polio n i ii came to me, and one stoppe I to fire 1 asked him not to kill a man that was 
wounded. Hue took c harge of me, ..nd I asked him to le ilpme down the steps. Every time 
I had to make a step he kicked me with his foot and rinsed me. 

3433. It there had been an attempt to arrest the m< rubers of the convention by the sheriff, 
were you prepared to make any resistance? 

No. sir; I would have m de no resistance. I had no arms with me. I never thought 
that I ! i y wouUI try to ariest or kill us at all. 

3434. \\ h ire were you taken when you were wounded ? 

To the office of Mr. Mercier ; I staid there forty-seven days ; I then returned to my home. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 18 G6. 
0. F. BB.EAUX (colored) sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 
are you? 
Twent' -6even vears. 

Where do you live .' 
In N( w < h leans 

3437 IK \\ Ion- have you lived here? 
About si ven years. 

3438. W here you in the city \ n the 30th of Jul 
Yes. sir. 

If you know anything that tends to show whether the massacre on that day was 
j. n meditat< d 1 wish you to stale it. 

• in the morning, it might have been 4 o'clock, I went out of the house into the 
garden; 1 was hut partlj dressed : 1 heard a carriage, but did not see any one at the time. 
AH< i waids 1 saw one man going down towards the railroad station. 'J hen 1 heard a con- 
versation something as follows: "Wh) '. because 1 was jusl going to see ii you wanted 
to join u , and would sign this paper; because the colored people want to asseml 
we have had to find a way to keep theii assembling fiom beii g of any account If you 
want to join us we would like to have you do so " Then the other said : "Certainly I 
will; I am always ready to" join in what my friends wish to do." Then he showed him 
the li>t to give him information. 'J hey then started round towards my house, and both 
of them got into tl and stopped on John street, going to Esplanade street. . He 

ing to show him the list, but just then the i at riage cl< Bed. Just at the moment he 
ing to show him the list I sneezed, and this was why I did not see it. 
3410. Was anything said as to what would happen il the convention met? 



TESTIMONY OF O. F. BREAUX. 233 

They said the law did not recognize as anything the spilling of l lood, but by joining 
them the convention would be of do account. 

3441. Do yon mean that if they should go to the convention, and it should be disturbed 
by bloodshed, its natural objects could uot be carried out? 

He said the city police wne going to join them, and that there were to be three men at 
each corner. 

;; 1 12. Did he say what the three men were going to do '. 

He said the three men were to stop the convention. 

3 1 13 Did you say that one man in a carri ige met another standing at his house ? You 
may explain. 

I was standing out in the yard, there was a man going towards the depot on the 
banquette About that time a carriage drove up. The driver satin the carriage He was 
dressed in gray. Then they both got into the carriage and went towards the station. 'I he 
one who was met near my house wis going towards the railroad on foot, and the other in 
a carriage. 

By Mr. Shellababger : 

3444. Did you see anything else, showing that there was going to be bloodshed', before 
the trouble occurred? 

No. sir. 

34441. To whom did you tell it? 

To many of my friends. About half past eight o'clock T went to tell it to the military 
officers. I addressed myself to a man who said he was the adjutant, and asked if General 
Band was in. He said he was not. 

3445. Had he on a private's uniform .' 
No, sir. he was dressed as an officer. 

344(1. Did you report the matter again that day 9 

Yes, sir : I went to General Sheridan's headquarters about an hour afterwards. 

344T Did you tell anybody with soldiers' clothes en ? 

Yes, sir ; the man that I addressed hail the shoulder-straps of a first li utenant. Itwas 
then about half past nine o'clock. I meant to say before that they said if they found a 
way to shed blood that whatever they should do that diy would, nor be of any account in 
law. This was said by the one who had the list. He was a middle-aged or old man. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

344S. What were you doing when you heard the two men talk of bringing about blood- 
shed in the convention ? 

1 was jest walking round the garden; I have a few goats there, aud when I get up I 
attend to them. The men n de, on the banquette. 

344!) What sort of lookiDg men were they ? 

They were white men. 

3450. How far were you from them ? 
About six feet. 

3451. What was between you and them ? 

It was a board fence, hut not close. The distance was small, hut I could not see dis- 
tinctly I could see part of his face and tin clothes he had on. 

3452 If you had not sneezed would you have been, able to see the list of name- ' 
I did not say positively that if I saw the list I would I e able to see any thii g on it. 

3453. I thought you said your sneezing prevented you from seeing the lii I 

Yes, sir; it prevented me from seeing the list, or what was on it. I did not see the 
paper When he made the motion to show it they found some one was near. 

3454. What day of the week was it ? 

On Friday, if I am not mistaken ; I cannot tell exactly. 

3455 Were they police officers 1 

If they were they were dressed in citizens' dress. 

3456 Did you ever see them before ? 
I think not. 

3457. Did you ever see them afterwards ? 

I cannot gay. 

.'i4"is You do not speak English very well? 

No. sir : I only learned English in the army. 

3459. You speak Frei 

Yes, sir. I do not speak English well. 

By Mr Shellabarger : 

34G0. Do you understand English well ? 
I understand it better than I can speak it. 



234 NEW ORLEANS RIO'J . 

• 

3461. Have you not had a good deal of difficulty in understanding the questions put to 
you to-day ? 

Well, sir, some of them have given me trouble. The gentleman had to sin., 

to make me understand his question about fences. I could not at first understand his 
meaning. 

3462 What Was the difficulty .' Did you not understand the word o] 

I thought he meant the fenci 3 were all down. 

3463. Do you know whether the men you heard talking were friends of the convention 
or were opposed I 

I don't know : one of them knew something about it and the other did not. 

3464. Are you a full-blooded colored man.' 
Yes, sir. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 18GG. 
E. S. WURTSBERGER, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as being in 
possession of facts relating to the riot that would be important in this investigation, being 
duly sworn, testified as follows : 

By Mr. Boyeh : 

3465. Are you a resident of New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir. 

34(!(i. How long have you been a resident? 
Twenty years. 

3467. Have you any official position here? 
I an. h riff. 

3468. Mow long have you been deputy sheriff? 
Upwards of twelve years. 

3469. In tlie performance of your duty as deputy sheriff has your intercourse -with your 
fellow-citizens been extensive? 

Vi s. sir. 

3470. Have you any personal knowledge of the riot that took place on the 30th of July? 
Were you pr is ml during any part of it .' 

I did not witness any portion of it. 

3471. From your knowledge of the feelings "and sentiments of the people of this commu- 
nity, state whether you attribute the origin of that riot to any feeling of disloyalty towards 
the government of the United States. 

I think not : but I would like to explain. I have been living in this State along while ; 
have been a deputy sheriff, an 1 therefo tinted with many persons. In my position 

as chief deputy 1 ontact with a great many people. I think by far the greater 

portion of the p ire good loj jecommunity like this thereare, 

of coi .is of people. Some a o ; some express disloyalty, thoughtlessly 

perhaps. My intercourse has been with all cl iss s of the population. 

347.' 3S Union sentiments in this community ? 

1 should think it would be. I should think it could be done with the most perfect se- 
curity. 

.'JIT:;. Are you in the habit of expressing any oiler sentiments than th 

I have been, under all circumstances, loyal to the government. I have been in office 
under a^l administrations, whigs, democrats, and know-nothings. 

3474. An- you regarded in this c unmunity as a Union man 1 

I think so. I should not like to be considered othen 

3 175. As such have you ever suffered any inconvenience, molestation, or violence ? 

I have not. 

3476. [s the fact of being a Union man any hindrance to his advancement in business, in 
respect to the people generally ? 

ople generally. 

3477. [f this State \ tediately admitted to full representation in Congress would 
it have a good or bad effeel omunity here ' 

I think it would hive a very good effect. 

3478 Would it bad to cuiity to tie- person or property of any class of citizens? 
On the contrary, I think it would tranquillize ail hostile sentiments. 

3479 Would the i pinion, through the press and public meetings, 
be still as fr , in your opinion .' 

I think so. 



TESTIMONY OF E. S. WURTSBERGER. 235 

3480. What eff ct had the reconstruction policy of the President upon the public mind 
in this community ' 

When it was first promulgated there was almost a unanimous feeling in its favor. 

3481. Did it strengthen or weaken the sentiment of loyalty in the p» 
1 think it had a good elf. ct 

3 L82. [f the policy of reconstruction had prevailed would the effect have been better or 
worse ? 

1 think it had a good effect as it was and I think thai the ct would have in- 

mtiments it contained had been carried out. As I said before, this commu- 
nity is composed of a great many persons, and in all places, especially in a city like New 
Orleans, there are people who are never satisfied with anything. 

3483 Could the. forces of the United States he withdrawn and the State restored to its 
full practical relations to the Union without disorder oi insecurity? 

I cannot speak of the State; 1 think in the city it might be done. I speak of the 
present time. 

niiot you speak of the State at Iai 

Because I have not been in the interior for a long time, aid when I give totimony I 
wish to speak from my own knowledge. 

:1 of a man being a Union man, so far as you know, hinder him from 
having em in this community ? 

I think not. I know in the otiice where lam employed it has not, because three-fourths 
of the officers who were there under the Union sheriff are there yet. 

3486. Who was the Union sheriff? 

Mr. Dunham. He was appointed by Governor Wells, and before by Mr. Hahn. The 
present sheriff is General Hays. 

.'; t87. Then do I understand that General Hays does not discriminate against Union men 
in his appointments ? 

I have not said that. If you ask me that question I will say he does not. When he 
made his appointments he consulted me, and I am certain that no man lost his position for 
being a Union man, or was in any way slighted or damaged for any sentiments of loj 
Mr. Hays lias suggested to me that in recommending pi i t might have been 

said by them would have no weight with him. Mr. Hays has employed persons who were 
in the provost court ; Mr. Baker, tot instance. 

3488. In case a foreign war should occur, from what you know of the sentiments of 
your fellow-citizens in this community, would they side with the enemy or would they 
etand by the government? 

I think they would almost unanimously stand by the government if they were left free 
to choose ; and I think most of the returned confederate soldiers have, by this time, had 
their feelings cooled down. 

By the Chairman : 

3489. How long have you been deputy sheriff; I mean how many successive years ? 
Twelve years. During that time I was out of office only seventy days. Since 1855 to 

the present tbue I have filled the office. 

3490. And you now fill it under General Hays ? 
Yes. Hi'. 

3491. Is Mr. Hays a good Union man ? 

I would at this moment trust General Hays as far as I would any other citizen of the 
United States ; I believe that he is truly loyal 

3492. What are your individual duties as deputy sheriff? 

I am called sheriff de facto. I perform those duties which in every place devolve upon 
the sheriff. The sheriff himself, who Ins the office, has a deputy in most cases. There 
was a g£n lem in in office over thirty consecutive years before me. 

34H3. How do you know there was ' 

I know by the records. 

34!)4. What are your duties '. 

To superintend the office. 
_ 3495. When you go out do you go on business ? 

I visit the parish personally, settle with lawyers, record cases, and attend courts. My 
bu-iuess is to superintend the office generally. The duties of that office are very manifold, 
and it requires a. person to | i,i s time to it. 

3496 Is it any put of your duty to interfere in cases of breaches of the peace ? 

No. sir ; not generally. 

3497. Or to prosecute for breaches of the peace ? 
No, sir. 

3498. You did not witness any of the proceedings of the 30th of July? 



23(3 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

No. sir. 

3499. As sheriff or deputy sheriff, was it your duty to be present at the meeting of the 
convention ? 

Not unless the grand jury had indicted. I proceeded to the scene of the riot with Gen- 
eral Hays when the military appeared. 

3500 During the war were you a Union man or a confederate? 

I was a Union man, and never took arms against the government. 

3501 Wi i I t your Union sentiments during the war .' 
No, Mr. 

3502 Were the people here ■ enerally loyal to the government dining the war? 
No. "sir. 

3503. Then were Union men as safe here during the war as, they are now? 

No, sir : they wen- not. 

350 I. And y< ( you were ? 

Y> 3. sir, I '! course there was a time when people did not express their sentiments. 

5 Did you take an oath of office as deputy sheriff? 
I did. 

! yon take an oath to support the rebel government ? 
ir. 1 will explain that to you. The sheriff was elected in November, 1861. The 
State le I, and I continued in office under that oath." 

3507. How longis the sheriff elected for? 
Two years 

3508. How was it at the end of two years ? 

When Admiral Farragut came up the sheriff left, and Mr. Dunham was appointed by 
I got out under Mr. Dunham, who was the first sheriff on the arrival 
of the 

19 \'- u can turn al out as quick as the administration turned ? 
Ji has been my fortune not to turn with administrations. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 1866. 
VLI'.KIIT VOORHEES, whose name was presented to the committee as having know- 
ledge ol facts connected with the riotous proceedings of the 30th July, of importance in 
this investigation, beii worn, testified as follows : 

T was not pn sent at the mi eting at the Mechanics' Institute on Friday night, but from 
the reports in the newspapers I conceived that there was some danger of a riot in this city 
cted with the matter of the eon vet it ion of 1864. 
3510 Are you lieu'enant governor of the State? 

sir; I wa- at the time of the riot, and am still. I called upon Major General Iler- 
ron, formerly of the United States army, tor the purpose of calling on General Sheridan to 
advise upon this matter, which he agreed to do ; but inasmuch as General Sheridan was 
absent Irom the city, haviDg left for Galveston, it became necessary tha ! should go and 
see General Baird v. command General Herron then suggested that I should 

'tli somebodj else, as ins personal to himself, he , I not calling on 

al Baird. 1 then called on Mayor Monroe, whohad persona! interviews with G - teral 
Baird. Mr Monroe, who was acquainted with General Baird, went with me, hut merely 
to introduce me to the general, in default of Gen ral Berron, w ho d iclined seeing General 
Baird. I had a conversation with him y an hour's duration, at least three-quar- 

ters of an hour, upon the subject of the c on I told him my object in calling 

upon him was to know what would he the c rtain course of the military about this mat- 
ter ; whether they would prevent the arrest of the members of the convention if the 

of indictment from the only court of criminal jmis- 
: n in New <)rh i ict court of New Orleans; and the general an- 

swered ire, that he would prevent ii i I that my first object, and the 

; of all the cers, tor whom l could speak, excepting the governor, who was 

on good political terms with us, were anxious to avoid till trouble, riot, bloodshed, or 
conflict of any kind ; that however right we might he in a conflict, our position was 
such that we would be damaged by it, right or wrong, and the would lake the 

ntne ions to avoid it The general's opini dy reported, mentions that 

fact. I in ele the suggestion then, in lelation to the arrest of the members of the con- 
vention, that the sheriff would not attempt to arres( the members of the convention with 
his warrant, without first submitting it to the inspection of the general, who then would 
indorse upon it, whatever objections he might have, and that then the matter would be 
submitted to the President. This was agreed upon by the general and myself. In the 



TESTIMONY OF ALBERT VOORIIEES. 237 

meantime the general telegraphed to Washington. He informed me afterwards that he 
had I .i" Secretary Stanton. I, oo the other band, telegraphed I i ideut. 

3511. I'" you know when he did telegraph to Mr. Stanton ? 

It was the same day. My sole knowledge about it is the statement of General Baird to 
me, that immediately after I left he telegraphed to Mr. Stanton He made thai statemenl 
to me three or four days afterwards, when 1 received a telegram from the ' t of the 

I ; ed States addressed to myself, as lieutenant governor, and E S. Hen a orney 

general, that the action of the civil courts was nol to be interfered with or obstructed by 
the milit iry, but were to be assisted. On Monday morning, the 30th, the day of the riot, 
earlj ore kfast time, I called upon General Baird and handed him ch of 

the President, of which he took a copy. The general then informed me that he had tele- 
graphed to Mr Stanton, but that he, hud received no reply. I then inquired of thegeneral 
v. In ther he would haw: troops in the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute, that day b 
the day of the meeting of the convention. The general answered that applications had 
le by members— he did not say the members, but by some metnbers of the con- 
vention — to have troops there to keep order, but that he had declined to allow troops tor the 
purpose ; that he did not wish to have the appearance of siding with either party. Then 
1 suggested, if both parties made the same application would he grant it ? That, he said., 
would change the question materially. Then I asked him to send troops there to keep 
order and quiet. I did not mention the number, or what troops I desired I asked him 
generally to send troops there, and left the matter of selection to his discretion. I stated 
to the genera] that if a .small body of troops appeared on the steps with the p.)lice, there 
would be no danger of a riot being commenced on either side. The general was very 
well phased, from wdiat I saw, with my proposition. I then went off, and on my way to 
Canal street I stopped at the mayor's office to inform him that the general would send 
troops to the Mechanics' Institute. At about half past ten o'clock I wrote a snort note. 
to the general to ask him to hurry the troops to the Mechanics' Institute, as I thought 
ther • was danger of some conflict at that spot. At about noon I wrote a second note to the 
general for the purpose of hurrying up the troops. It was a short note, and the general 
me me the justice to publish it in his official report. It is as follows : 

Nkw Orleans, La., July 30, 1866. 
Sir : I am informed that squads of the colored population are going about in the third 
district of the city ; that ihey have abandoned their work, and that others are coming into 
the city, also, from the upper part and from Jefferson. How reliable this news is, or, at 
least, to what extent, I cannot say positively ; at all events, I would suggest that an in- 
quiry be made. The colored population is not answerable for these things ; for, goaded as 
they are by inflammatory appeals to their passions and prejudices, it is astonishing that 
the\ have not alrea ly fallen into excesses. After leaving you I called upon the mayor, 
who was pleased to know what co-operation he would have from the military department. 
Asa measure of prudence, it, would be well, should you, however, concur in this view, to 
have a military Force disseminated throughout the city, to act in concert with the city 
e ; but by all means in the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute. At this very moment 
my mi i c rnnes in and brings the information that a large number of freedmeri are at 

the Mechanics' Hall, and that a great number of white people are in the vicinity. The 
excitement is incri asing. The appearance of soldiers with policemen at this moment would 
be very beneficial. 

I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

ALBERT VOORHEES, 
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. 
Major General Baird, New Orleans. 

This was before the arrival of the procession of negroes that came through Dauphin street. 
I had sent a messenger there for the purpose of ascertaining wdiat was the matter. I saw 
from my office large numbeis of people, and about half an hour afterwards I sent a third 
letter to bfa I, asking him to hurry thetroops he had promised me to anics' 

Institute. Two of these letters were delivered by Martin Voorhees, my partner, who is in 
the office with me, and he returned assuring me that the general would send thetroops 
immediately. Whilst the tiring was goingonat the Mechanics' Institute, near (.'anal street, 
I walked out several times in that directi m, waiting all the time for the troops to come. 
I informed the people in the streets that the general had promised troops, and that 
they would be there very shortly ; but the only troops I saw were two orderlies that 
passed within half an hour of each other, coming from the upper part of the city and 
going at lull gallop. There were a number of negroes, and mere lookers-on upon this riot, 
which was confined to the locality of the Mechanics' Institute. I met four members of 
the convention, who responded to their names, that very day, at the foot of St. Charles and 



238 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

one of them, who is an old acquaintance of mine, conversed familiarly with 
• i ■ time !!«■ lias an important office at the custom-house. Tin's was about three 
lie riot was going on. While J was conversing with him I 

on and i was still waiting for the troops tl : had promised. From my 

saw the first move towar s disorder, which was a little after had' past twelve 
o'cloi though I would not speak positively 

sacl h ur, we had so much anxiety for the arrival of the troops. While 1 was 
waiting I was walking about all the time. I wish I unething which is perso tal 

to myself in this affair, 'i he general seems to have 1 een under the impression that the c n- 
vention was to meet only at six o'clock in the afternoon. I called upon the general 
two houi ! never stated to the general, nor do eneral 

char ii having stated, that the convention was to meet at six o'clock. Every- 

body in tl rleans, and more especially those whose business it was to know 

it, knew that the convention was to meet i 1'clock, since it was advertised for two 

previouly in all the papers of New Orleans : and when the troops were promised me 
at about ten o'clock J took it for granted that the troops could be got in from sixty to 
eighty minutes from the time they were promised. In relation to the three letters which 
I wrote that morning UTgii roops to the Mechanics' Institute, 

and which I referred to before the military commission, I wish to state that I teraJ has 

copies I hough I did not take a copy of but one. Two of them were merely short 

ioul three lines each. 



New Orleans, La, December 28, 1866. 
BARTHOLOMEW L. LYNCH, whose name was given by Lieutenant Governor Voorhees 

ne having knowledge of facts that would be valuable in this investigation, being duly 
sworn. I is follows : 

By the Chairman : 

3512. Were you formerly attorney general of Louisiana? 
sir 
3 How long have you lived in Louisiana ? 

ears. » 

3514. When did yon hold the office of attorney general? 

7 was elected the 22d of February, 1864, and went into office on the 4th of March, 1864, 
and 1 superseded by Mr. Herron, the present incumbent. 

3515. You have, 1 believe, i o knowledge of the riot, but are able to state the feeling of 
pie .' 

I ba\ nformation as regards the feeling of the people toward the government. 

' 6. What, in your opinion, was the feeling ? How did it manifest itself? 
I think it 1 and is still, disloyal, 

te your reasons for believing so 
^ ! Hows : I am a! Hie police commissioners of the city. 

r board charge son i with 

viking them. 1 know that no Union man can get on the 

■ ii it, but they have n ble to 

! know thati ., position on the been 

in the confederati 1 know tbi I i is of this city are cl - and 

tchersof CTn ients. 1 !, ird to formerly disloyal people, 

ireourse with them, to to say or think 1 lisafl 

I in any particular, or that they have become less vindictive towards 

ling. 

By Mr. Sb 

3518. How do (hey talk about the government and its perpetuity ? I mean the late 

ales 
They say they are conquered, but they ],, v , ■' .' lt foY ^ am] t!]( , v wot , ]( j 

in if an occasion offered. Soi ie are no1 so intense :iS that in inga. 

They think it w less to fight any more, but thi y are still ven h stile b 

ernment 

L9. By what class of people arc the offices held ? 

a who, without an except! , hostile to the United States govern- 

ment. 

L9J. Is that true of offices whose incumbents are elected by the people, as well as 
those appointed by the State authoritii B .' 



TESTIMONY OF BAETHOLOMEW L. LYNCH. 239 

It is true, generally. For instance, policemen are brought before the board : the mayor 
n arc or have been confederates, which. thej must now be ■■ 
on the police force ; and if they have been, this is urged in mitigation of tb< with 

which the] ed. If they have been good soldiers in the confedei , this 

fad is cited and the board is asked to deal leniently with them, whether they arc guilty or 
not 1 his takes place in my presence in the board of n hich T am a member. 

3520. If a man is known here to be a Union man, how, if at all, docs it 

iously. I know young men who have been driven from their places of busin 

I know a clerk who was turned out of his position in one of the chief houses on Canal 
because Lt was found out that he had been in the federal army. He is a friend of 
mine, ami I was intimate with hi] be left his place He could intol- 

erable annoyance he was subjected to after it. was discovered that he had been in the federal 
army. It also affects the business of professronal men. 1 know how it affects my business. It 
• in- very much, individually. I am a member of the bar, and it affects me very 
seriovj 

1. How ia it in court and in reference to juries? What chance has a Union man 
who is advocating the cause of a Union client of gaining a verdict? 

lh would have a very poor chance, I suppose, in consequence of the formation of the 
jury. The clerk of the court and the sheriff who lias charge of the drawing of the jury 
panels have keen confederate officers. 

3522. Have you practiced any in the criminal court? 
Yes, sir ; I practice in the criminal court now. 

3523. From your know, e matter, state if there would be any difference in 
i to the conviction of a Union man and a confederate charged with oftenees, and what 

ture of it would be? 
It would be ostensibly the same ; but, inasmuch as those who had the formation of the 
jury have the power to manipulate it, and to put in those who would cany out any policy 
or ai t that they may want them to do, I think a Union man would not have as good a 
chance, as another id" the opposite policy. 

3524 You stated that teachers had been dismissed from their schools. Is that within 
your knowledge .' 
Yes, sir. 

3525. Did you know their names? Please look over this list. (A list of the teachers 
in the public schools of New Orleans was here handed to the witness.) 

I know Mr. Woodson. I cannot say there was not some complaint against him, but I 
know he was a Union man. He took an active part in singing the national airs. I know 
Thurston. I do not b now. She took an active part iu introduc- 

ing the national airs into the schools at the time General Banks was here. I know Miss 
;ie Flood. Her father is a devoted Unit n man She \ I hose who were turned 

out ot the schools She vi I know Miss Foster. Her father is a 

native of Massachusetts — an old citizen here ; a man that was loyal throughout the whole 
war. She is a very exemplary 1 ry careful ami painstaking. I do not know that 

the v • sed for unionism ; but she is the daughter of a truly loyal man. Sheisnotin 

th schools now. Mi 11 is an accomplished and tine scholar and an excellent 

teacher, ami successful in her calling. She is a northern ladyand was prominently identified 
with, the resuscitation of the schools, and the introduction of the national airs into them. 
1 unde stood she tailed to he appointed when the present hoard got into oliiee. I knew 
Miss Moore, principal of one of the high schools. What is true of Miss Coggswell is true 
of her. I know that Miss Coggswell wanted a reappointment, hut she did not get it. I 
know Miss Weeks. I know she used to teach in the Magic i school. She was very 

active in decorating the school-room with American flags at national anniversaries here, and 
tional airs, and introducing loyalty among her scholars. I do not know whether 
she's teaching now. I know Miss Newton. She was very active on the staff of teachers 
here in reinaugurating the national airs and introducing them into the schools on the 
arrival of General Butler. T do not know whether she is o rw. Mi>s Lambourne 

has taught here. She 1 this year, hut whether as supernumerary or not I 

1 think she is. She has played fast and loose to every power that has been 
here. She has I I . secessionist one year as she was a loyalist I fore. 

Mi.-s Chadwick is an excellent Union lady. I think in the schools now. I know 

Miss Zanquila. She's not teaching now. She failed to procure employment. She is 
accomplished, and speaks German, English, and French, and is an excellent musician, She 
is a good Union lady, is poor, and wa , She is identified with the Union , 

here, and us«l to associate with the officers of the federal army. She now makes her living 
by a few outside scholars. 

3526, You know those of whom you have spoken ? 



240 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I do, sir. 

i my knowledge of the kind of sentence imposed after conviction upon 
Union a a sn known as confederates for the same 

I know of no diHcrimination having been made by the jud 

Are the national airs allowe i to be sung in the public schools of this city now ? 
1 bavi informed, but I do not know of my own knowledge. 

>29 Howdidyou itancewith rs thai you have indicated here ? 

They had several celebrations and anniversaries and exhibitions at their high schools 
that 1 have attended, and I wis introduced, from time ■ ti le, to these young lilies. I 
; ir exhibitions at the tin als Banks and Butler were here. 

By Mr. Botbr : 

3530. W vou horn ? 
In Ireland. 

3531. When did you come here? 
In IS 

3532. Wl id you first settle ? 
In New Fork. 

did you come to New Orleans? 
In I 

3534. What were you engaged in when you first came? 
1 was a teacher. 

3535 W en did you commence reading law? 
In 1856 

36 When were von admitted to the bar? 
In 1857 

3537. Wer ■ you in the enjoyment of a large practice before the war? 
No, sir. 1 was not. 

3533- Aie yon in the enjoym nt of a larger or a smaller practice than before the war ? 
About the same, I think, sir. 

:;.i.'!!i. blow did you get your office as attorney general of the State ? 
I v.. i ''V the people. 

3511). When? 
L864 

3541. Eow many votes were polled at that election? 
I do not remember now. 

3542. (3ive us, as near as you can, about the number? 
leed, 1 would not be warranted in giving a number. 

Did the people generally participate iu the election? 
No. sir ; there were only some of the parishes under the national flag. 

3544. Then the were held only at the military posts? 

No, sir ; they were held all over this State wherever the federal arms had possession. 

3545. But onlv in those parts actually held by the federal ai 
That is all. sir. 

3546. How long were you attorney general of the State? 

From the 4th of March, 1SG4, until, I believe, some time in the latter part of No. 
or December, 1865. 

re many cases in the courts at that time that you had occasion to try? 
sir: and there were several capil i lucted— murder ca 

ow many altogether ? 
Some .-i.\ Mi- eight murder oses and some rape cases— capital cases by our laws. 
3549. Were your duties as attorney general at that timecoulined to the trying of capital 
cases .' 

not obliged to prosecute criminal cases of a small grade ; nothing but capit il 
I. Did you try any oth pin-- that time ? 

Yes, sir ; the office of attorm y general did not preclude me from practicing privately in 
cases in which the state was n ,t i oncerne 1. 

. in your capacity as attoi il, did you try civil cases? 

Jes, sir. 
3552. In which the State was a party ? 

YeS 

::;.,">:;. How many ? 
Six or ei Jit. 

3J5i. Give us the names of those persons in this community whom you have heard, since 
the war, avow sentiments of disloyalty and opposition to the government. 



TESTIMONY OF BARTHOLOMEW L. LYNCII. 241 

I am not prepared to give the names ; I hear such sentiments in the highways and 
thoroughfares from people whose names I do not know. 

3555. Then I understand you to say that there are no persons of your acquaintance whom 
you have heard utter such sentiments ? 

I have also heard my acquaintances utter language that is far from being loyal ? 

3556. Will you please give us their names? 

I do not know where to begin ; the thing is so general in the neighborhood, that I do not 
know where to begin or how to designate any one in particular. 

3557. Begin just as you please, and at your own convenience. 

I heard several persons on the cars, Jefferson City people, and several in the neighbor- 
hood ; I do not know that I can remember their names now. 

3558. Cannot you give one ? 

I could give the names of three hundred, if I could remember them just now. 

3559. Is your memory a very bad one ? 
No, sir ; it is not. 

3560. Then give us one name at least ; please to try to do so in a reasonable time, as we 
want to get along ; if you cannot, say so. 

I cannot remember now any particular name. 

3561. Well, sir, are you acquainted with a single case in which you know, of your own 
personal knowledge, that a teacher has been dismissed from a public school in this city 
because of his or her Union sentiments merely ? 

Of my own personal knowledge, I do not know that any teacher has been dismissed for 
any cause from the public schools of the city of New Orleans. 

3562. 'Ihen you do not wish to be understood as saying so? 
Not of my own personal knowledge. 

3563. As a lawyer, and as an ex-attorney general of the State, you should know that 
these things ought not to be stated except upon your personal knowledge. 

Of my own personal knowledge, I cannot state that any teacher was ever dismissed. I 
am not a member of the board, and was not present at the action of these boards, and had 
no means of knowing, of my own knowledge, of their being dismissed for being Union 
people, but I know they are not now in the schools. I know that they participated in 
Union demonstrations, and I know they were obnoxious to the authorities here, and I know 
there are none teaching ; this I do know of my own knowledge. 

By Mr. Shellabakger : 

3564. Do you know any well known Union teacher who is retained ? 
I do not. 

By Mr. Botes. : 

3565. Do you know any of the present teachers in the schools here that hold secession 
principles ? 

I do, sir. 

3566. Which of them? 

I know the wife of an officer in the rebel navy, Mrs. Hooper. 

3567. What evidence have you of Mrs. Hooper's secessionism ? 
Her expressions in my presence. 

3568. What were they ? 

Hatred to the government of the United States, and hostility to the government. She 
expressed herself so in every manner and form. 

3569. Then give us one of her expressions ; state the words, time, and place. 
She avows herself a secessionist, which I know she is. 

3570. What was her language ? 

"The cause is right;" and she said she was still a secessionist, and would remain so ; and 
also that they were not conquered, only overrun. 

3571. When did you hear her say that? 
In the cars, four or five weeks ago. 

3572. Give us another case. 

I do not remember a second, which I could^ate directly, of my own knowledge. 

3573. Do you not know that there are maSy persons in this city who have been known 
all along as Union men, and who are patronized by the public in their occupations and 
professions ? 

I am not prepared to answer the question, so far as mercantile affairs are concerned. 

3574. In the profession of the law, you are better acquainted with the case ; are you 
acquainted with a lawyer practicing in this city by the name of Stewart? 

No, sir. 

16 N O 



242 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

3575. You do not know that a Mr. Stewart, who was a general in the federal army, is in 
the successful practice of law in tlis city ? 

If he is practicing law here, he must have come very recently. 

3576. Are you acquainted with a Mr. Rosier? 
I am, sir. 

3577. Is he not a successful lawyer, in full practice ? 

Yes, sir ; his practice I have heard estimated at from $7,000 to $9,000 a year. 

By Mr. Shellabarqer : 

3578. What kind of a Union man is he ? 

I did think at one time that Mr. Rosier was a good Union man, but I think now he is 
not. 

By Mr. Boter : 

3579. Is it because he has a larger practice than you ? 

No, sir ; I do not envy him his practice ; I have enough for my wants. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3580. Why do you not now deem Mr. Rosier a good Union man ? 

Mr. Rosier, to my knowledge, since the arrival of the federal forces here who took the 
city, would not participate in any movement to restore the authority of the government of 
the United States here, that I could see. 

By Mr. Boter : 

3581. Is that your reason ? 

Yes, sir ; he has always been opposed to the Union men who took steps to aid the ad- 
ministration, or aided any movement to restore the Union sentiment here. 

3582. That is, he opposed negro suffrage and the disfranchisement of those who had taken 
part in the rebellion? 

I do not know whether he opposed negro suffrage or the disfranchisement of those who 
took part in the rebellion. 

3583. Then what do you refer to ? 

He had never attended any of the meetings that were gotten up here in connection with 
the military to restore the Union, but he has, at public meetings, denounced th^ action of 
President Lincoln and Congress, and figured in addressing those meetings, and I have seen 
no action of his to lead me to suppose him to be a good Union man. 

3584. Do you consider a man who opposes publicly the action of the present Congress as 
not a good Union man ? 

A man that opposes every subject that Union men advocate to create a Union sentiment, 
I think is not a good Union man. He may be hostile to Congress and be a good Union 
man, and to the President and be a good Union man ; but if he is hostile to everything 
gotten up here to create a public Union sentiment, I think he is not and cannot be a good 
Union man. 

3585. You know, I suppose, that he voted in the convention against the ordinance of 
secession ? 

_ I heard that he threw down his pen and said he would cut his hand off before he would 
sign it ; but his conduct since the arrival of the fleet has set all that aside. I am person- 
ally friendly with him. 

3586. Do you know Christian Roselius? 
Yes, sir. 

3587. Is he not successful in his practice? 

Yes, sir ; perhaps the most successful of any member of the bar in the city. 

3588. Are you in the habit of expressing your opinion freely here ? 
Yes, sir. 

35«9. At all times and places? 

I never had an opinion that I was afraid to express. 

3590. Have you paiticipated actively in public meetings? 
No, sir ; we have had few of late. 

3591. Had you been here, is it likely thataprou would have been at the meeting on the 
Friday previous to the convention ? 

Yes, sir. 

3592. Then you belong to that class of men— that is, members of the convention ? 
I do not understand the meaning of your question. 

3593. That you sympathize with the objects and members of the convention ? 

I do most assuredly, because I would like to see the State in the hands of loyal men. 

3594. And the offices in the State? 
As a matter of course. 



TESTIMONY OF ANDREW S. HERRON 243 

New Orleans, La.., December 28, 1866 
ANDREW S. HERRON, whose Dame was given to the committee by Lieutenant Governor 
Voorhees, as one whose knowledge would enable him to state facts of value to the commit- 
tee, being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

I was not present at the riot of the 30th of July last, nor near it, but was, during the 
morning and until three or four o'clock in the afternoon, at the first district court. I was 
at that time, and aru still, attorney general of the State of Louisiana. My attention had 
beeu called to the preceding meeting of the convention of 18(54 by the call for its reassem- 
bling, issued by Judge Howell, acting as president of the convention ; also by the procla- 
mation issued by the governor of Louisiana to fill vacancies in that convention. The pro- 
posed meeting of that convention was brought before the grand jury. The convention was 
said to have met, and I believe the official proceedings of one of its caucuses or secret maet- 
ings were published in one of the papers of the city, though the meeting w>s professedly in 
secret and with closed doors. I believed that the proposed meeting of the convention on the 
30th, for the purposes proposed in the call of the president, or rather of the gentleman act- 
ing as president, would be a violation of the laws of the State of Louisiana. I brought the 
matter before the grand jury on the day that the convention met, and evidence was re- 
ceived by the grand jury, showing that certain persons claimed to be members of the con- 
vention, and an indictment was found against them, drawn up fyy myself, indicting them 
as being guilty of making and assisting at an unlawful assemblage, which is a misdemeanor 
under the laws of the State of Louisiana. That was the only offence which, under the stat- 
utes of the State, I thought these parties were guilty of. Several days previous to the 
meeting of the convention fears were entertained that a collision and riot would occur I 
used every effort in my power to see that every necessary step should be taken to avoid that 
result. Some few dajs before the meeting of the convention I saw Mr. Monroe. He called 
at my office arid we had a conference in regard to the proposed meeting of the convention, 
and, I think, in that conversation he stated to me that he had had a conference with Gen- 
eral Sheridan, and that he had made an appointment for himself, myself, and General Sheri- 
dan to confer upon this subject ; but in consequence of General Sheridan's absence from the 
city no conference was held between Mr. Monroe, General Sheridan, and myself in regard 
to that convention. The object I had in view in desiring to see General Sheridan at that 
time was to ascertain to what extent the military could be used in supporting the civil au- 
thorities. It was my intention then to prefer an indictment against these parties, for they 
were claiming to be a constitutional convention — claiming for themselves the powers of a 
constitutional convention — claiming the power to alter the fundamental laws of the State, 
and that, under the circumstances under which they must necessarily meet, would be a 
violation of the law. There might possibly be a difference of opinion as to whether the 
oSence was committed by their meeting without any positive action being taken on their 
part, but my opinion was that the offence was committed on their meeting, and I ex- 
pected to indict them on their meeting, and I wished to know how far the military 
would support them. That conference, however, did not take place. Mr. Monroe 
afterwards, as I learned, addressed a letter to General Baird upon the subject, which 
letter was publi-hed. In this letter General Baird stated that he would interfere to 
prevent the arrest of members of the convention. On Saturday morning the papers 
reported a meeting that was held at the Mechanics' Institute the previous evening, 
at which incendiary speeches were reported to have been made. On Saturday morning 
Lieutenant Governor Voorhees and myself telegraphed to the President of the United States 
the fact that General B.iird would not only not assist in arresting these parties under civil 
process, but that he would prevent their being iutefered with. A despatch was received 
some time either on Saturday night or Sunday morning — but your memory, gentlemen, 
will enable you to recill the contents of that despatch better than mine can supply it, for 
it has probably been before you; the purport of it was that the military would be ex- 
pected to assist, and not oppose, the civil authorities. General Baird came to the conclu- 
sion, as reported to Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, and upon that report I acted, viz : that 
those members of the convention who were indicted, he would not allow to be arrested by 
the sheriff. Being anxious to prevent any collision between the military an 1 the civil au- 
thorities here, I at once acquiesced in General Baird' s decision that no attempt was to be 
made on the part of the sheriff to arrest the members of the convention ; that they might 
be indicted, but that, instead ongoing to the convention to arrest them, the she: iff should go 
directly to General Baird, who would indorse upon the order his objections to allowing the 
sheriff to proceed in the execution of his duty under the laws of the State, and then that 
the whole matter should be forwarded, as I understood, by telegraph to the President of 
the United States for his instructions in the premises. In the mean while the civil authori- 
ties were to abstain from interfering in any way whatever with the members of the conven- 
tion. As to the riot which took place on the 30th of July last, I am unable to give any di- 
rect testimony, as I was not there ; but I think it was on the evening, of Monday, the 30th, 



244 • NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

and after the indictment had been found by the grand jury, that the sheriff did call on Gen- 
eral Baird, and he did indorse on the documents authorizing the arrest of these parties his or- 
der that, for the present, the sheriff should abstain from making any arrests under it. That 
matter, together with other information, was, I think, telegraphedto the President on either 
Monday evening or Tuesday morning. 

In answer to that despatch giving the information there was a despatch received, directed 
to Lieutenant Governor Voorhees and myself, from the Adjutant General's office at Wash- 
ington. In answer to that the facts were telegraphed to the President, briefly, as they had 
to be. The same facts were embodied in a communication of greater length by Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhees, and signed by him and myself, and this we despatched to the Pres- 
ident by mail I received a despatch from the President telling me that General Sheridan 
would afford me such assistance as would be necessary to enforce the civil process ; that 
the military were expected to co-operate with the civil authorities, and not to thwart them. 
I think it also contained something about the fact that this convention had no right to 
meet, and that no convention would he authorized here except it was a convention fresh 
from the p< ople. The only portion of that despatch that I considered as having anything to 
do with the dis( harge of my duties wat that portion authorizing me, in case I should think it 
necessary, to call upon General Sheridan for troops. in carrying out the orders of the civil 
authorities. That despatch was immediately after communicated to General Baird, who 
had in the mean time issued his orders not to arrest those parties. General Band's response 
was, that he did not doubt the authenticity of the despatch, but that he was not disposed to 
alter his ouler till he himself had received instructions fiom the President or the Secretary 
of War. I am under the impression that that conversation between General Baird and 
myself to< k place on Tuesday, the day after the riot ; it may have been as late as Wednes- 
day, but I think it was Tuesday. General Sheridan was absent, and did not return until 
the next day, Not desiring to be or appear to be officious, and not desiring to intrude 
myself upon the military commander, I remained, after General Sheridan's return, till late 
in the evening, or possibly till the next morning. I then started with the intention of seeing 
General Sheridan, to ascertain if he had revoked the order. Martial law had been pro- 
claimed to a certain extent. On my way to find General Sheridan I met General Baird, 
and he told me at the City Hall that he would revoke his order to the sheriff, and allow 
them to arrest the members of the convention who had been indicted by the graud jury, 
which was done that night or the next morning, and the sheriff, I think, arrested about twenty 
members of the convention without any trouble or difficulty. I felt the greatest anxiety 
that no collision should take place, and that no violation of law should occur, and that no 
riot or anything of that kind should grow out of the meeting of this convention. I attended 
a meeting of gentlemen at the. m'ayor's office on Saturday night before the meeting of the 
conventi< n, at which several prominent citizens, some few lawyers, and prominent mer- 
chants, probably some twenty or thirty, were present, intending to ascertain if possible 
what was best to be done to prevent trouble or collision growing out of the meeting of the 
''' nventii n. At that meeting it w-as agreed to issue a proclamation calling upon the people 
of the city not to be brought into collision, or to go about in numbers, so as in any way to 
invite such a result. It was also suggested, and I think carried out, that the city papers 
should call upon the citizens to abstain from meeting in unusual numbers, or from going 
it in the sheets in such a way as might incidentally lead to a collision. I felt 
supremely anxious myself to avoid anything of the sort, and from the expressions of opinion 
made at that meeting, from the tone of the papers, and the mayor's proclamation, and 
from the general feeling of the citizens who were interested in preserving the peace, I was 
inclined to think that there would be no trouble or collision of any kind. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3505. Is there any statute law in force in the State of Louisiana within the provisions 
of which the assembling of the convention of the 30th of July would be embraced in the 
definition- of an "unlawful assemblage?" 

I was muter the impression, and still believe, that the act relating to riots and unlawful 
assemblages is in force, and embraces such a meeting as the convention of the 30th of 
July. 

359G. Can you furnish us with a copy of that statute? 
. sir 

3507. Were those engaged in that convention indicted urider the statute to which you 
have alluded, or under the common law, or both ' 

They were indicted under the statute to which I have alluded. By the provisions of our 
State law. and under the decisions of our courts, nothing is an offence unless made so by 
statute. That class of cases which, Utah r the jurisprudence of some of the States, can be 
prosecuted under the common law, are not punishable under our system, as interpreted 
by .our supreme, court, unless they are embraced iu some statute expressly providing a 
punishment for the ciime. 



TESTIMONY OF ANDREW S. HERRON. 245 

3598. How far back does that date ? 

As far back as 1803. There are a large number of our statutes that date hack as far as 
that, but I am not certain as to the date of the one I refer to. 

3599. Is there any subsequent legislation which has superseded that ? 

I think not, sir. I would state that, in 1855, the legislature of this State adopted de 
novo, and afterwards embodied in what we call the revised statutes of the state, the laws 
previously passed, which, to be binding, must be contained in the act of 1855 ; but in the 
act of 1855, everything pertaining to crimes and offences in relation to riots, routs, and 
unlawful assemblages, is left out ; but as there is nothing else relating to riots, &c., in the 
act, our supreme court had decided, in analogous cases, that unless there was some legis- 
lation upon the same subject-matter the original statute was still in force and not repealed. 

By the Chairman : 

3600. You are now attorney general of the State of Louisiana, are you not ? 
Yes, sir. 

3601. Under what appointment ? 

I was elected by the people at the election held in the latter part of 1865, at the time 
Governor Wells was elected. 

3602. You are, of course, a Union man ? 

Well, sir, I was a Union man at the time I was elected, but during the last four or five 
years I do not know that I could be considered a Union man. 

3603. Were you in the convention when Louisiana seceded? 
I was. 

3604. In the journal of that convention, on page 13, I find it was "Resolved, by the 
people of the State of Louisiana, in convention assembled, That the thanks of this con- 
vention are hereby tendered to his excellency Thomas O. Moore, governor of the State of 
Louis'ana, for the prompt and energetic measures by him adopted in taking possession of 
the forts, arsenals, and munitions of war under 'the control of the fedenl government 
within the limits of the State of Louisiana ; his acts are hereby unqualifiedly approved, 
and we will defend them here and elsewhere with all the power an 1 means at our com- 
mand," on motion of Mr. Wilkinson. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Herrou. 

I am that man, sir. 

3605. Do you still approve of the course of the governor in taking possession of the forts, . 
arsenals, &c, in the State of Louisiana? 

It would be very difficult to say whether I do or not. If I could be placed asrain in the 
same position I was then, under the same circumstances, I should, perhaps, vote the same 
as I did then ; but to say that I should do the same thing now that I did then, I could not. 

3606. But suppose the same state of things should exist again? 

It would be almost impossible to anticipate what my course would be. 

3607. On page 14 of the journal I find, on motion of Mr. Wilkinson, that Mr Bush's 
resolution approving the course of the governor in taking possession of the forts, &c, was 
seconded by Mr. Herron ; are you that same person ? 

Yes. sir, I am. 

3608 . At what time subsequent to this did you first claim to be regarded as a Union man ? 
Shortly after the convention adjourned I was elected captain of a company of infantry, 

and went into the service of the Confederate States. This was in June, 1861 ; the company 
was attached to the seventh regiment Louisiana volunteers, and went out to Virginia, and 
was there at the battle of Manassas. I remained with it, except occasional absence, in con- 
sequence of sickness or wounds, till some time in the spring of 1863, when I was appointed 
a member of the military court which had its sessions at Mobile, where I remained until the 
evacuation of that city. I surrendered, with General Taylor, at Meridian. I came to Mo- 
bile, thence to New Orleans; from thence to Baton Rouge, where I remained till the pi - o- 
clamation of the President was issued, authorizing the taking of the amnesty oath, which I 
took after the war was over. When I took the amnesty oath I regarded myself as a Union 
man, and determined, in all respects, to support the Constitution of the United States, and 
to give loyal adherence to the government. That was my intention wherfl took the oath 
of amnesty, and such has been my course ever since. 

3609. Have you received pardon from the President of the United States? 

No especial pardon, not coming under the exceptions. I took the general amnesty oath. 

3610. Who determined the question whether you did or not come within the excepted cases? 
No one has ever decided it, unless the President did. 

3611. What was your rank in the confederate army? 

My highest rank was colonel of cavalry. I had the rank of colonel by virtue of an ap- 
pointment to the military court. 

3612. Were there not some exceptions to those who took part in the convention who 
voted in favor of secession ? ' 



246 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I think not, sir. 

3613. Has it ever been determined by any tribunal whether you were or were not one of 
the excepted persons ? 

I never heard the question raised. I have examined the proclamation for myself, and 
was clearly satisfied beyond all question of doubt. Had there been the slightest doubt in 
the case I would not have availed myself of the privilege. I do not think there is anything 
in the exceptions that would reach my case. 

3G14. You have never, then, made application for pardon? 

No, sir ; not considering that I came under any of the heads where a special pardon was 
required. My rank was not over a colonel, and I held no civil office under the confederate 
government. I was a member of the convention when the State seceded, but that was not 
one of the exceptions. So I then understood it and still understand it. 

By Mr, Shellabarger : 

3615. Did it become your official duty to conduct prosecutions against persons coming 
under the act against unlawful assemblages? 

Yes, sir ; the law fixing the duties of the attorney general of the State required him, in 
certain classes of cases, to prosecute in capital cases, or in cases which are punishable with 
hard labor for life. In addition to this he is authorized to prosecute whenever he thinks 
the interests of the State require it. 

3616. Did the prosecution of the members of the convention come within the provisions 
of the clause requiring you to prosecute? 

It did not. 

o617. Are manslaughters that do not constitute murder, within the meaning of the com- 
mon law, capital offences under the State law ? 

No, Bir ; I have prosecuted some cases of manslaughter, but in bringing actions it is im- 
possible to* know, until the grand jury has acted, whether it would be murder or man- 
slaughter. In some such cases where I have drawn up the indictment I have prosecuted. 

3618. Do you pay that you received from the President of the United States authority 
authorizing you to use the military, or to call upon the military to assist you iu prosecuting 
offences against the act prohibiting unlawful assemblages? 

No, sir ; I did not pnt that interpretation on the despatch of the President which seems 
to have been put upon it by the authorities here. I understood that the President author- 
ized us to call upon Genera] Sheridau to use the military, if we found it necessary, in execut- 
ing the processes of the State. 

3619. What processes? 

Any indictment that might be found against those parties in suppressing illegal or un- 
lawful assemblages. 

3620. I'o j on consider that that gave you authority to call upon the military to sup- 
press that convention ? 

I considered 1 had a right to call upon General Sheridan in case I found it necessary. 

3621. Was the grand jury in session at 12 o'clock on the-30th July ? 
I think they were, sir ; I think they met about that time. 

3622. What time did they adjourn? 
Between 2 and -1 o'clock. 

.';i>2.'!. Did you get a list of the names of the members of the convention to have them 
indicted ? 

Yes, sir : I got a list of the names of those who were present; I mean those who an- 
s\\( red to their names as members of the convention. 

3624. Were those indictments rilled up before or after the meeting of the grand jury? 

After the grand jury took a vote, evidence being introduced to show what persous were 
present, the names were filled in the indictment. It was after the names were put in that 
they to,,k a v. te ; after the document was perfect. 

362. >. I iiml. rstood you to say that you were authorized to prosecute any offences against 
the criminal law of Louisiana? 

Yes, sir. • 

3626. Did you ever call upon the President of the United States for authority to assist 
in prosecuting for any of the murders that were committed by the police against the friends 
of the convention that day ? 

No, sir. 

3627. Did you ever think there was a necessity for such a prosecution? 

No, sir, 1 never did ; no information has ever been brought to my knowdedge upon 
which I could set on foot a prosecution against any particular individual for the events of 
that day. 1 may state that if at any time a charge is made against any party, no matter 
on which side of the question he is, if I believe he has been guilty of a crime, from a 
prima June fchowing, 1 would piosecute him just as readily were he on the one side or the 
other. 



TESTIMONY OF L. H. PANZA. 247 

3628. Who took the first steps toward prosecuting the members of the convention for il- 
legally assembling ; you, or somebody else? 

I do not know of any one else doing it before that indictment. 

3629. You did not feel as much interest in prosecuting those who killed the friends of 
the members of the convention as in prosecuting the members themselves? 

I cannot say that I felt any interest in their being friends of the convention or the other 
way. I know there were some persons killed that day, but as to how they were killed or 
•who killed them I could not tell ; and this committee must be aware by this time of the 
extreme difficulty of ascertaining the circumstances under which that riot took place, or to 
ascertain who were the parties who were killed, and by whom they were killed. I may 
state that I was unable to elicit the names of any parties who were guilty of illegal acts. 
An investigation did take place before the grand jury, and I was unable from the testimony 
brought out, though I called upon all I knew, who from their position or locality would be 
likely to know anything of the disturbance, without any distinction of party, to obtain ev- 
idence to indict any parties connected with the riot. I hesitated to summon the members 
of the convention themselves before the grand jury ; I did not bring them as witnesses be- 
fore the grand jury out of respect to their own feelings. 

3630. Do you mean to be understood as testifying that in the city of New Orleans suffi- 
cient evidence could not, with due diligence, be procured to indict any party that partici- 
pated in the riot of that day 1 

That is a very difficult question to answer ; it might be. I have not myself seen any ev- 
idence implicating individuals to an extent that I could be authorize 1 in indicting them. 
There was no evidence procured from which any indictment could be framed against any indi- 
vidual. 

By the Chairman : 

3631. Did you take any steps to procure evidence against parties who were unfriendly 
to the convention, who were conuected with these riots ? 

No, sir ; I took no steps to procure evidence against any particular parties. The only 
investigation was as to the riot itself; witnesses were called to ascertain all the facts 
possible, as to whether one party was responsible or the other. 

3632. In the evidence before the grand jury were not the names of parties gi /en who 
had committed acts of violenceVgainst the negroes ? 

No, sir, not that I know of; I do not remember the name of a single party who com- 
mitted any acts of violence. 

3633. Did you conduct the examination before the grand jury ? 
Most of it. 

3634. Do you remember to have called for the names of any persons who were stated by 
the witnesses to have been concerned in acts of violence against the negroes ? 

No, sir ; I do not. 

3635. Has there been any action taken since the meeting of that grand jury concerning 
the punishment of the rioters ? 

No, sir ; there has been no action taken since the report of the grand jury, in which 
they found indictments against these parties. 

3636. Would not your duties as attorney general call upon you to make the same kind 
of investigation for the purpose of punishing parties that were concerned in the riotous 
proceedings outside the hall, as in regard to the unlawful proceedings of the members of 
the convention ? 

Yes, sir ; no matter whether they were inside or outside of the hall. If they were guilty 
of a violation of the law, I should prosecute them. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 1866. 
L. H. PANZA sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

3637. How old are you ? 
I am fifty-eight. 

3638. Where do you live ? 
In this city. 

3639. How long have you lived here ? 

I have lived in this city about thirty years, and have known it for forty years. 

3640. Were you in the city on July 30th ? 
Yes, sir. 



248 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

3641. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute? 

Yes, sir ; I was inside from twelve till about two ; I ran up stairs, and Charles Caylat, 
whom I met in the hall, saved my life. I saw some negroes killed and some white men 
wounded. There were so many that I could not tell the number. It was about two 
o'clock when I went away, when a policeman entered, took a Derringer and put it 
very quickly to my head, and then I was taken away to the calaboose, along with negroes 
and Judge Howell. 

3642. Was Judge Howell in the calaboose ? 
Yes, sir. 

3643 Whom do you mean by Judge Howell ? 

I mean the president of the convention. I begged a glass of water, and was called a 
" Damned black Yankee republican." This is what they first said to me when I asked for 
a glass of water, 

3644. How long were you there ? 
Till the general released us. 

By Mr. Siiellabaeger : 

3645. Did you know of any preparations for the riot before it commenced? 

I can not say, sir, but I will tell you what I know. On the 28th, as I was soing home, I 
heard some young men, whom I supposed to be secessionists, talking together, and one 
said, " No matter, we will pay every one very well by and by." This is the remark 
they made altogether ; I do not know that it meant anything. 

3646. Did you hear the alarm bell that day ? 

I was inside of the hall. I know it because the firemen came, and by the way they 
came. 

[The committee declined to inquire into the occurrences that took place in the hall, be- 
cause of the evidence heretofore taken.] 

By Mr. Boter : 

3647. W;is Charles Caylat a citizen or policeman ? 

I know him ; he was in the confederate army. I think he was not a policeman, for he 
was in citizen's dress. 

3648. Were you hurt? 

No, sir ; but I was very badly abused. 

3649. Did the mob try to get at you ? 

The moo said, "Kill him, kill him, kill him." 

3650. Who saved you from the mob? 
One of the police held a pistol to my head. 

3651. Did he fire it? 

No, sir, or 1 should not be here ; I begged for my life. 

3652. Did the policeman get you safely to the calaboose ? 
Yes, sir ; after abusing me very badly. 

3653. If it had not been for the policeman what would the mob have done ? 
I suppose they would have killed me. I cannot tell. 

3654. Are you an active Union man ? 

I have been so ever since I have been in this country. 

3655. Did you attend every meeting ? 

Evi r.v Union meeting that has been held in the city or out of the city, and wherever I 
have been ; I was raised by Union people. 

3656. Where were you brought up ? 
In Portland, Maine. 

3657. Are you very free in the expression of your opinions ? 

1 should fear for my life if I said I was a Union man. If I said one word I should not 
consider myself safe. 

3658. Did anybody ever hurt you? 

I might be called a republican ; a damned black republican. 

3659. Ate you a radical ? 

I am. sir. I cannot be a Union man and not be a Radical. I go with Congress because 
I am a Union man. 

3660. Are you known to be such here ? 
Yes, sir. 

3661. What business do you follow ? 

1 am captain of a vessel and a river pilot. I am of French descent. 



TESTIMONY OF H. THOMAS PARKER. 249 

New Orleans, La., December 28, 18G6. 
H. THOMAS FARKER, whose name was given to the committee by Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Voorhees, as one whose knowledge would enable hirn to state facts of value to the 
committee, being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3662. State your official position, and whether you are a resident of New Orleans, and 
how long. 

I am a native of New Orleans. 

3663. Do you occupy any official position ? 
I am surveyor of the port. 

3664. Since when? 
Since May, of this year. 

3665. Have you any personal knowledge of the transactions which took place here on 
the 30th of July last at the Mechanics' Institute ? 

None, sir. 

3666. If you know anything of the circumstances which led to the riot, or are ac- 
quainted with any other facts that throw light upon the subject of our investigation, please 
state them. 

I know nothing of the riot, sir. On the day in question I was in the lower part of the 
city on business ; and I should think about 11 o'clock I had occasion to come up to Camp 
street on business, and on re»ching Canal street I learned there was a riot going on at the 
Mechanics' Institute, and continued to my destination, to Camp street, completed my busi- 
ness, and returned to the custom-house, where I remained a considerable time. When 
there I learned there was considerable bloodshed going on. I then started towards the 
Institute, and when I got to the corner of St. Charles and Canal I Siw three officers push Mr. 
Fish into a carriage and the carriage proceeded to the City Hall, as I afterwards learned. 
Mr. Fish, I believe, was a member of the convention, but I am not certain. This is all I 
saw. 

3667. From your knowledge of the sentiments and the feelings of the people of this 
community, can, in your opinion, the riot be traced to any feeling of disloyalty or hos- 
tility to the government of the United States? 

In regard to that, sir, I have simply to state that I honestly believe, and it is my firm 
conviction, that the respectable people of this community had nothing -to do with it. I 
have yet to see the first man of position, whether he has been in the confederate ^army, or 
is a strong Union man, or a conservative, quiet man or what not, who has had anything 
to do with this riot. I may say that during the early part of the day it was talked about 
whether there would be a row. I did not believe it. I thought that the soldiers being 
here, there could be no riot ; and when I came down and saw the state of things I was 
surprised. 

3668. How do the people of this community stand affected toward the government of 
the United States ? 

Take them generally, they would stand by the government. I think that would be the 
case with those who went out and risked their lives as well as with those who stayed at 
home. 

3669 What is your position ? Are you a Union man ? 

I am a Uniou man. 

3670. Have you been regarded as such in this community for any length of time? 
Yes. sir. 

3671. Have you ever been anything else? 
Never. 

3672. What effect would it have upon the public mind in this State if Louisiana were 
immediately admitted to .her full representation in Congress? 

I think it would strengthen the loyalty of the people. That is my impression. 

3673. If the military forces of the United States were removed from this city, would there 
be security for the persons and property of Union men ? 

I think there would. 

3674. Could the good order and peace of the community be preserved without the presence 
of the military? 

I think they could. 

3675. Could justice be obtained in the courts by all classes of citizens ? 
As far as my experience goes, I think so, sir. 

3676 In case of a foreign war, on which side, in your opinion, would the people of this 
State array themselves, if they were left free to choose — on the side of the enemy, or on 
the side of the United States ? 



250 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

On the side of the government of the United States ; that is my conviction. I think the 
confederates were seriously disappointed in failing to obtain French and English interven- 
tion, and they have not forgotten it. 

3677. Can a man safely express himself upon political questions in this city and State? 

I believe he may. It might so occur that offensive things might be said in a bar-room, 
but it would be more a personal than a political matter. 

3678. Would it be more likely that such brawls should occur here than elsewhere? 
My opinion is that freedom of speech does actually exist here. 

3679. Would it in case the military were removed ? 

I think, sir, there might be difficulties between parties, but I think it would not be 
general . 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3680. What else had Doctor Dostie done than express his opinions, and for which he was 
killed ? 

With regard to that, I can say nothing. Doctor Dostie was in the convention and he 
was killed there. With regard to Doctor Dostie, I never knew much of him. I never 
heard him say anything to invite hostility. 

3681. What else had Mr. Horton done than express his opinions, for which he was 
killed ? 

1 must give you the same answer. I had never seen him. 

3682. Did Mr. Henderson do anything but express his opinions? 

I never heard him say anything with regard to the United States government but what 
I might have s-aid myself. 

3683. Were not Dostie, Henderson, and Horton killed on the 30th of July, or mortally 
wounded ? 

Yes, sir. 

3684. Were they not shot on account of their sentiments ? 
That I do not know. 

3685. Why do you say men are safe here for expressing their opinions, when three men 
were shot for expressing their sentiments ? 

These went to the convention, and the result was as has been stated. 

3686. Do you or not know that any men were killed except those that were friendly to 
the convention ? 

No. 

3687. I want to ascertain with accuracy all your sentiments. I find hundreds wounded 
and scores killed, but they had done nothing but entertain and express their opinions. 
How can I reconcile this with the fact, as stated by you, that men are safe here in the ex- 
pression of their opinions ? 

I do not mean to say that those men are safe who invite a row. 

3688. How did these men invite a row ; by doing anything but peaceably assemble ? 
Not that I know. 

By the Chairman : 

3689. Under whom do you hold your office ? 

Under the federal government. My appointment comes from Washington. • 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3690. Did these men assemble on that occasion simply for the purpose of expressing 
their opinion, or was it to effect a change of government ? 

The latter. It was to subvert the State government. 

The witness was permitted subsequently to add to his testimony, as follows : 
When I said that I indorsed the conversation that had taken place between myself and 
Mr. Hendeison, I wished to add that these conversations were of a conservative nature. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 1866. 

NICHOLAS C. SNETHEN, who was called at the request of Lieutenant Governor Voor- 
hees, to state any facts with which lie was aequainted concerning matters the committee 
has under investigation connected with the riotous proceedings of the 30th of July, being 
sworn, testified as follows : 

I am private secretary of Governor Wells, and my office is in the building at the Me- 
chanics' Institute. On the 30th I got to my office as early as half past eight o'clock ; about 



TESTIMONY OF NICHOLAS C. SNETHEN. 251 

nine or ten o'clock some persons who came into my office remarked that there was a con- 
siderable croud outside, and that the street was tilling up. I 'went to the window and. 
saw a considerable number of colored persons. I took no particular notice, and attached 
no particular importance to it. I noticed that the crowd increased, and a little before 
twelve o'clock Judge Howell, the president, came in. I observed to him that I thought 
it was unfortunate that this crowd should be assembling here. I also informed him that 
they were occupying the hall up stairs, and that it would probably interfere with the pro- 
ceedings of the convention. He agreed with me, and asked me what they were doing. I told 
him I did not know unless they were there in pursuance of the invitation extended to 
them at the Friday evening meeting. He said he did not attend that meeting, and he 
deprecated their assembling there, and he would go out and see if he could induce them 
to disperse, and accordingly left the room. I did not see anything further of him till the 
riot began, he then came back to my office, and was there during the progress of the riot, 
and was there till I left, which was before he did. This was about one o'clock, when my office 
was full of persons. There were ten or twelve there who were looking out of the windows 
on the street, I was at my desk attending to some writing, when I heard a shot fired, 
and I heard those who were at the windows remark, " There is a row." I got up, 
and looking towards Canal street, on to the neutral ground, I observed a flag coming 
up and a procession. The crowd was gesticulating very strongly, and was swaying to 
and fro. This procession marched up to the hall and were received with cheers by souse 
who were in front of the hall. They halted there, and for about twenty minutes quiet 
prevailed. I did not heir anything more, and again resumed my .business ;it the desk, 
while the others were looking out of the windows. I did not feel any particular interest, 
not anticipating any serious difficulty. Again I heard some commotion out at the 
front, and going to the window I saw, apparently, a policeman, who had hold of a person 
and was in the act of arresting him. I noticed the attitude of these persons while the 
crowd from the outskirts rushed up, and there seemed a difference of opinion among the 
police and the crowd. Some said " Let him go;" others said, " Kill him," and various 
exclamations of that kind, and an attempt seemed to be made to rescue him. There 
were some persons in front of the window and I did not get a good view, but I noticed 
that the persons or policemen succeeded in getting the party off to Canal street, and the 
crowd followed, but after they got by the confectionary shops at the corner of Canal street, 
I lost sight of them ; but I noticed some persons pick up brick-bats and throw them in 
that direction ; there was a building in the course of erection and a quantity of bricks 
were lying loose between the Institute and Canal street ; I noticed one of the colored men 
pull out a pistol and fire in the direction of the crowd towards Canal street, and immedi- 
ately it was answered by some six or eight shots, perhaps more, from the corner of Canal 
street. I did not see them ; I heard shots from the crowd in front of the building when 
this regular fight commenced by the crowd at the corner. The shots were very frequent. 
Finally, the crowd towards Canal street gradually came into the street towards the Insti- 
tute. The firing became very frequent, and I noticed one man fall on the opposite 
banquette, and he appeared as though he was dead. Finally, the crowd gave way in front of 
the street. After this party fell, there was another immediately opposite our office. The 
crowd then seemed to disappear, and I believe most of them took refuge in the Mechanics' 
Institute. Then the crowd from the corner of Caual street came up in front of the build- 
ing and commenced firing towards the windows, pretty rapidly. There is a vacant lot on 
the lower side of the Mechanics' Institute, towards Canal street ; the crowd got into this 
lot, and I noticed shots coming from that locality. This continued for some time — for a 
half an hour, I suppose — on the part of the mob, or police, or whatever it was, till my 
office became really dangerous from the enfilading shots from the rear and from the front, 
and the windows being up all the time. From the window I observed a crowd on the ban- 
quette, and some men stepped up to me and said, " Why do you not get out ? it is not safe ;" 
and inquired if I was a member of the convention. I said I was not. He advised me to 
get out, but I thought it was as safe there as in the street. I, however, took his advice 
and jumped out of the window, first jumping out inside of the railing, and then jumping 
out over the railing on to the banquette. I was not molested or disturbed, and wended my 
way towards Common street, walking leisurely, for I did not wish to appear frightened for 
fear I should excite the notice of the crowd. When I got to the corner of Canal I observed 
a negro running in my direction, full tilt, and I think there were some three or four shots 
fired at him. Noticing I was in danger from stray shots, I turned my back towards a board 
fence close at hand, till I saw which way the crowd took. I then turned my direction towards 
the Medical College, and thus got out of the scene of the riot, and I did not witness any- 
thing more, except at the corner of Barrone and Common ; I observed quite a crowd there, 
they appeared to be intently watching the rear of the Mechanics' Institute. I heard a man 
in that crowd remark, " That is a good shot," and looking up to the roof of the Medical 
College where I observed persons tiring in the direction of the Institute, and then I observed 



252 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

it was at some unfortunate freedrnen who had taken refuge on the top of the building. I 
thought I had seen enough, and by the time I came to the intersection of Canal and 
Dryades the whole affair was over. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3691. State what was the conduct of the police officers during that affair. 

The only time I observed the police was when they came up in front of .the building, and 
then not very specifically. I do not know that I could indivi lualize any man, but I noticed 
them on the banquette when I got out ; they seemed to be besieging the building. They 
had arms, and I saw several of them apparently watching the building and firing up at the 
windows. 

3692. If the military had made their appearance upon the ground, could the riot have 
been readily stopped ? 

Yes, sir ; the presence of the military would have instantly repressed it. 

3693. Would it have required many soldiers ? 

I think not ; a company or squad would have been sufficient ; that is my impression. 

3694. State whether or not, in your opinion, the riot is to be traced to any feeling of dis- 
loyalty towards the government on the part of the people in this city. 

I could not express any opinion on that point, because I am not cognizant of any pre- 
vious preparation, and I never for a moment dreamed that there was going to be any blood- 
shed, even up to the last moment. I would further observe that several members of the 
convention came into .my office, among them Mr. Shaw, and I playfully remarked to him, 
" Are you prepared for your fate ?" He answered, " 0, yes ; I suppose we are all to be ar- 
rested ; and it will be a contest to see who shall get to jail first. We expect that is the pro- 
gramme " 

3695. Who is Mr. Shaw ? 

He is a member of the convention. 

3696. Did he seem to be under the impression that something unusual was going to take 
place ? 

His answer indicated that the utmost he expected was to be arrested ; and he further 
said, " We will be arrested, and it will be a contest who s^iall be first to get to jail, and we 
shall be immediately released on a writ of habeas corpus, and then," said he, " we shall have 
the full benefit of the President's despatch," which had been received that morning — that 
the military should sustain the judicial tribune ; and I think he was rather pleased at turn- 
ing the tables in that way, and availing themselves of the President's despatch. 

3697. Had you any reason to apprehend that there would be a riot that day on account 
of the meeting of the convention? 

No, sir ; I never anticipited any riot, however persons had spoken of the probabilities of 
it. All the persons with whom 1 spoke deprecated the riot. I remember Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Voorhees came down to the office two or three days before the riot, and some gentle- 
men with him, and asked me about the proclamation of Governor Wells — whether he had 
signed it— and I said yes. 

By the Chairman : 

3698. You did not go out of your office, did you ? 
Not till I finally left, as I have related. 

3699. You think a squad of military would have been sufficient to quell the riot ? 
Yes, sir. 

3700. How many policemen did you see at the Mechanics' Institute? 

It would be a conjecture. I suppose, when I got up, there were between fifty and one 
hundred. 

3701. Would it have been difficult had the police endeavored to quell the riot ? 

There would have been no difficulty. My idea has always been that the police force 
committed a most fatal mistake in besieging the building. 

3702. If the police hail united to preserve the peace, state if, in your judgment, there 
would have been any difficulty in so doing? 

My opinion is, that if the policemen had attempted to drive the crowd back, and clear 
the street, they could have done it. 
3702J. Have you any doubt of that? 
I do not think I have. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

3703. What harm was the crowd doing, if the policemen had left them alone ? 
The police did not come up in front of the building till the riot commenced. 

3704. Do you know whether the first shot was fired by the police ? 

The first shot I saw was fired by a colored man. There was a shot fired at the corner, 
but as to the person that fired, that I do not know. 



TESTIMONY OF PIEKE SAUVE. 2,06 

By Mr. Boter: 

3705. Where was the colored man standing when he fired ? 
Ahout the middle of the street. 

3706. About what time was that? 

That was after the convention met, which was at twelve o'clock. It was after the adjourn- 
ment, and must have been towards one o'clock. 

3707. Did you hear no shot before that? 

No, sir, except the shot that was fired at the corner when the procession was coming up. 

3708. At whom was that shot fired? 
I do not know. 

3709. In which direction did he fire? 

The shot was fired towards the corner of Canal street, and from the building. 

3710. How near to the building was the uegro when he fired the shot ? 

I suppose he was about thirty or forty feet. The party that arrested this man were going 
to the corner of Canal. The crowd I met were following him, and finally stopped, and then 
I saw this colored man take out his pistol and deliberately fire in the direction of the crowd 
where the policemen were. 

3711. What became of the colored man that fired? 

I did not follow him. The fight then became general between the two parties imme- 
diately after that. 

3712. Had there been any fighting before ? 

No, sir, except that those in the procession had some difficulty at the corner of Canal in 
getting through the crowd ; but that was so far off from where I stood I could not distinctly 
see what took place. 



New Orleans, La. , December 28, 1866. 
PIERE SAUV^I, called at the request of the citizens of New Orleans by Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Voorhees to state any facts with which he might be acquainted, relating to facts in 
his possession connected with the riotous proceedings of July 30, 1866, being duly sworn, 
testified as follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3713. State any facts that may be in your knowledge throwing light upon the subject- 
matter of our investigation. 

It was, if I recollect right, on the 30th July I went to see Mr. Snethen, private secretary 
of the governor, and I had been conversing with him for about half an hour, when all at 
once I heard a drum and some music, aud cries in the streets. I approached the window, 
and saw a band of music and a United States flag, and about two hundred or three hundred 
colored people screaming and hallooing. After a moment a negro came out from the 
Mechanics' Institute building and told them that ifc was not a meeting, that it was a con- 
vention, and requested them to go away and be quiet. They persisted and would not go, 
but marched inside of the building, and those in the street begin to cry out and cheer 
them as they went into the building. I then went to the window fronting the street, and 
remained there while there was a conflict between some 'negroes and a newsboy. The 
little fellow was passing among the negroes ; what he said I do uot know, but all at once 
there was a rush of the negroes against the boy, when he got behind a pile of bricks, and 
seized one in each hand, and with these he faced the whole lot of negroes. A policeman or 
two approached, and told the negroes not to do anything ; that he had arrested the boy, 
and he was trying to take him away when the first shot was fired by a negro at the police 
officer. After that the riot extended everywhere. I afterwards noticed there was a wounded 
officer on the portico of the house, towards which the first shot was fired. I was standing 
at the window, and near me was Mr. Shaw, a member of the convention, that had come 
into the room of the private secretary. He was standing at the window when the first shot 
was fired. 

3714. What time w^-sthat? 

It was about half past twelve. I was standing next to Mr. Snethen, in his office, in the 
Mechanics' Institute building. When I arrived there, there were perhaps four hundred 
negroes, men, wome'h and children, before the buikliug, and the building itself was crowded. 
I did not for a moment 6uspect anything, when all at once that shot was fired. I under- 
stand that previous to that a shot had been fired on Canal street, one square from the 
Institute. 

3715. Did you hear that shot yourself? 
No, sir. 



254 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

3716. Are you sure that the shot that you saw fired hy the negro was the first shot fired 
in the immediate neighborhood of the Mechanics' Institute? 

Yes, sir ; 1 am perfectly sure. I saw the negro, and I saw him fire. He had in his hands 
one of those large navy revolvers, and -he aimed deliberately at the policeman that was 
cirrying away the little newsboy, who was about fourteen years of age. The police then 
came and made charge against the negroes. There were about sixteen of the police that 
made the charge, as near as I can judge. One of the negroes I noticed encouraged them 
to resist the police. 

3717. What is your occupation ? 
I am a recorder of sales. 

3718. How long have you occupied that position? 
Since February last. 

3719. How did you receive your office? 

I received it from Governor Wells. I was a planter. I had two plantations, and during 
the time General Hutler was here he gave me protection to work my place. My negroes 
had abandoned my plantation, and I attempted to raise a crop, and succeeded in raising a 
very huge crop. When General Banks came my place was taken possession of by a Captain 
Cousin. 

3720. State your position towards the government of the United States heretofore. . 

I have been a whig all my life During the war I was nothing at all. I was a citizen 
from the south, but I took no action whatever in the late troubles, but I was known and 
respected as a Union man, even by confederate officers. 

3721. Did you take any part against the government of the United States? 

No, sir : my children were in the army. I went to General Butler and told him my 
position, and he sai 1 he should not hold me responsible for the acts of my children. 

3722. How old are you? 
I am sixty-one. 

3723. Do you know of any other facts connected with the proceedings of the 30th July ? 
In the mi Idle of the conflict I came out of the Institute building and went through the 

streets without being molested ki any way. Right at the door I siw several negroes, five 
or six ; they were standing just inside of the building, and they held in their hands revolvers. 
I noticed that they were long navy revolvers. One of them had received a shot in the foot. 
I saw two bleeding. They were much exasperated, and I was almost afraid to go out when 
I opened the door and stw them. I asked them what they were doing. One of them said, 
" Well, they sent for us to guard the convention, and they gave us these revolvers." One 
of them i ffered me his revolver to get hitn out of the position he was in. He told me he 
did not want his weapon. 

By the Chairman : 

3724. Were the negroes pretty much all armed ? 

No, sir ; I only saw six with arms. I saw several negroes opposite the Mechanics' Insti- 
tute that were tiring at the police and citizens. 

3725. Did you see them kill anybody ? 

I saw a oegro killed right opposite. When the policemen made that charge there were 
about sixty ; and about four hundred negroes crowded together, so that every shot fired 
by the police was almost sure to hit somebody. They were crowded together, filling the 
whole street opposite the Mechanics' Institute. 

3726. Is not your name registered among the public enemies of the United States in this 
city ? # 

No, sir. When General Butler came here there was an order for persons here to take the 
oath of allegiance, to register their names as public enemies, or to leave. I never left the 
place, an 1 I did not register my name as an enemy, and I did not take the oath of allegiance. 
General Butler himself received me. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 1866. 
CHARLES LEAUMONT, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens as 
one having in his possession facts important to state to the committee, sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boter : 

3727. Please state your age, residence, and occupation. 

I am thirty-one years old. I reside in this city, and have resided here ever since I was 
horn. 1 now hold the office of judge of the fifth district court of the city of New Orleans. 

3728. Have you any personal knowledge of the circumstances in connection with the 
riot of New Orleans of July 30th ? 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES LEAUMONT. 255 

Not in the least. 

3729. Do you know any circumstances connected with that riot which would throw light 
upon its origin? 

I only know this, that I was consulted about the matter of a coup d'etat to be played by 
the parties who wanted to call that convention — by Ur. Dostie, who was the head and tail 
of the whole concern. 

3730. Go on and state what conversation you had upon the subject. 

The doctor called upon me and asked me whether I knew that all the offices in the State 
were going into the hands of the rebels. I told him that I did He asked me whether 
the convention of 1864 could legally sit. I told him I did not think so. I gave the opin- 
ion as a private matter, and not in my judicial capacity, but as between man and man — 
gentlemen together. He told me he was awaiting news from Washington, and then he 
would let me kuow, because he intended to call the convention. That was the substance 
of the conversation I had with him. 

3731. From what you know of the feelings and sentiments of this community, state 
whether, in your opinion, they may be relied upon for fidelity to the United States gov- 
ernment. 

As a general thing, yes. 

3732. Can Union men in this vicinity freely express their sentiments ? 
Yes, sir ; T am a living example of that fact. 

3733. How long have you been a Union man ? 
Ever since I was born. 

3734 How do you hold your office — by appointment or by election ? 

I hold it by appointment ; first from Governor H ihn, as judge of the sixth judicial dis- 
tiict, and then from Governor Wells, as judge of tli3 fifth district court. I first held a 
position under the appointment of Governor Shepley, as recorder, and I hold my present 
position by commission from Governor Wells. 

3735. Can Union men in this vicinity obtain justice in the courts ? 

Yes, sir. When I was recoider, under military rule here, (I never was recorder under 
the civil administration,) equal justice was administered to negro and to white man. 

3736. Is justice administered in the courts in this vicinity impartially to all classes of 
men ? 

As far as my observation goes, it is. In my own court I am certain of it. 

3737. If the State of Louisiana were immediately admitted to representation in Congress, 
and restored fully to her former position in the Union, what would be the effect of such a 
policy upon the public mind here ? 

I think it would be conducive to the prosperity and well-being of the State. 

3738 Would it lead to any outbreak, disorder, or disaffection ? 

No, sir ; not the least. There might, of course, be certain malcontents. 

3739. In that case would Union men be safe in their persons or property? 
Certainly, sir. 

3740. Is there any danger at this time in holding a public meeting to discuss politics, or 
any other topic in this community ? 

I do not believe it, though there might be some of the rabble who would create confu- 
sion. I, myself, I believe, was the first man after the federal occupation to make a public 
Union speech in the City Hall. I did it at a time when I was afraid of being shot at 
from the crowd. I was interrupted, but no serious difficulty occurred. 

3741. Would you feel any apprehension in making a Union speech now ? 
No, sir ; not in the least. 

3742. Need anybody else feel any apprehension in reasonably and temperately discussing 
the affairs of the country ? 

No, sir ; not even a radical man, of which I happen to be one. I could just get up and 
make a stump speech on negro suffrage, and I do not believe I would be molested. They 
would spurn and scout at me, probably, because that is a little in advance of the ideas of 
this community, but I would not be hurt, and I would feel perfectly at home. 

3743. From your knowledge of the temper of the people of this region and throughout 
the State, which would have the most beneficial effect, a liberal and magnanimous policy 
on the part of the government, or the reverse ? 

A liberal policy. 

3744 Would the southern people be able to appreciate that kind of treatment ? 
Yes, sir ; that is the controlling class of southern people. The rabble would not appre- 
ciate any policy that might be adopted. 

3745. Could the rabble be controlled and made subordinate to law? 

Yes, sir ; the mass of the people have been trying to do what was right ever since the 
eud of the war. 

3746. Can a Union man successfully follow an ordinary occupation in this community ? 



256 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Certainly. 

3747. Is there any danger of personal violence to him? 
Not in the least. 

3748. Are you aware of any reason why the practical relations of Louisiana to the Union 
should not he immediately restored? 

No, Bir ; I cannot see any reason for these relations not heing restored. 

By the Chairman: 

3749. Yoti say you are radical ? 

Yes, sir ; that is, understand me, I am in favor of one of two propositions — either re- 
stricted white suffrage, including the black man, or universal suffrage without distinction. 

3750. If restricted, how should it be brought about? 

It should be brought about by education. I would like suffrage, if I just had the law in 
my own hand, to be regulated in this way : that all men owning property, say to a certain 
amount, and having a good education, should have the right to vote, whether white or 
black, Indian, or any other kind of person. I would make the amount, say a thousand dol- 
lars' worth of real estate ; and then I would adopt that policy, or universal suffrage, with- 
out reference to property or qualification. That is the position I occupy, and every one here 
knows it. 

3751. Then you were in favor of the supposed objects of this convention, were you not? 
Yes, sir ; I was in favor of that movement if it could have been properly brought about. 

At the time General Banks called the convention I cautioned them against rejecting exactly 
what they wanted to accomplish. I told them that these measures should be adopted then, 
(but they disregarded my advice,) when they had the whole thing in their power. 

3752. If you are in favor of impartial suffrage, either restricted or universal, are you 
not in favor of having some steps taken by which that impartial or universal suffrage can 
be secured before Louisiana is fully reinstated in the Union ? 

No ; not before. 

3753. How, then, would you bring it about? 

By public meetings, and by bringing the public mind to reflect on that question. 

3754. Do you deem that either impartial suffrage or universal suffrage is important for 
the welfare of the State at this time? 

No ; I think it is a little too fast. It would not do now. I think the public mind must 
be brought to think about the question before adopting it. But that it will come to that 
within six months' time I have not the least doubt, because I have followed the whole re- 
bellion through, and I have seen men change from white to-day to black to-morrow. 

3755. Then you think the men who control the votes and the power of the State now, 
the electors under the present law, would, in the course of six mouths, bring about impar- 
tial or universal suffrage ? And you state that as your judgment ? 

I state that as my judgment. 

37.">6. Did you sign a petition to Congress some time ago for a provisional government for 

this Stat,-.' 

Yes, sir. 

37.">7. It was a petition setting forth why a provisional government was wanted, and ask- 
ing that Congress should take steps to have such a government created — a military move- 
ment, was it not? 

STes, sir. 

3758. Do you still adhere to that view you then expressed ? 
No, sir. 

3759. You think a state of things has occurred since then warranting a change of view? 
Yes, sir ; there has been a change in the public mind itself upon that subject. The most 

of the people have become much more loyal. 

3760. When did you sign that petition? 
I cannot precisely recollect now. 

3761. You asked in that petition for universal suffrage to be secured, did you not? 
Yes, sir ; because at that time the governor had taken side with the rebels, and men 

openly avowed their intention of resisting the government ; but now the circumstances are 
different. 

3762. You said that Doctor Dostie asked you if you did not know that the offices. in this 
State were held by the rebels, and that you told him you did? 

Yes. sir, I did ; that is by men who had taken part in the rebel service. I did not mean 
that they were rebels now. They may have become perfectly loyal men the moment the 
war was over. 

3763. Do you mean to say that you think they did ? 

( ertainly ; I think that they became loyal men. What I meant by rebels in my conver- 
sation with Doctor Dostie was that they were those who had been in the confederate army. 



TESTIMONY OF CHARLES LEAUMONT. 257 

t 

3764. Do you think the men who control the power of the State, and who have heen 
plotting against the government for four years past, are loyal to the government now, hut 
were not a year ago ? 

I do not think so. The moment the war was ended and the armies surrendered I consider 
those who came hack from the army in good faith hecame loyal. 

3765. Then why did you ask for a military government? 

That was previous to the surrender, I believe ; while the war was still going on. 

3766. Was the war still going on when you signed that petition? 

The war was ended in 1865. I think I signed that petition before the surrender ; I am 
not certain. Upon further recollection I think, perhaps, it was after the surrender. 

3767 Then, if on the surrender all the people Ijecame loyal, what need was there of a 
provisional government more than now ? 

Because the governor then, as I informed you, had been siding with the rebels ; that is, 
with those men who had been in arms agaiust the government. 

3768. But were they loyal then ? 
Yes, sir ; I considered them loyal. 

3769. Then, I ask again, what need there was of a provisional government ? 

In order to prevent the supplanting of men then in power who had been faithful to the 
government by those who had returned from the war. 

3770. But they have all been supplanted now, have they not ? 
Yes, sir, about all. 

3771. Then why is there not need of a provisional government now ? 

'there is no necessity for a provisional government now from the very fact that those men 
who were against the United States, but are now loyal, already occupy the offices. 

3772. Then why does not the same reason apply in favor of a provisional government 
now, in order that those who had been faithful to the Union may again obtain the offices ? 

Because at that time the men who were to be appointed were just fresh from the army. 
I had no opportunity of communicating with them, or of knowing what their ideas towards 
the government were ; whereas now I have had occasion to know their ideas and feelings 
towards the government. Here, for. instance, is the auditor of the State, who had just 
returned from the war, and whom I then considered a rebel. Since then I have come to 
know his opinions, and I consider them loyal to the government of the United States. The 
same thing may be said of the secretary of state. He had just returned from the war at 
the time he was appointed, and I hardly knew him then ; but now I am satisfied that he 
is nearly as loyal as I am ; not quite, Because I stood by the government during the whole 
rebellion. I think these men have pretty much all got back now faithful to the Union, 
and that they would not break it up if they had the power. 

3773. You say you are a radical ; do you believe the power of the State ought to have 
been put in the hands of men who have been rebels during the war, to the exclusion of 
men who have been faithful in sustaining the government during tbe war ? 

No, sir, I do not believe that. 

3774. And yet you say that state of facts now exists ? 

Yes ; but these men are now loyal ; I do not think you should give them office in pre- 
ference to me ; I think I am entitled to the office because I have earned it, whereas 
they have done nothing to earn it. They have been fighting against the government 
while I have remained loyal. But they have come back as loyal men, and as long as they 
have the offices I would not establish a provisional government for the sake of turning them 
out. I think the offices should have been given to men who were faithful to the Union. 

3775. But they are not in their hands? 

No, sir ; but they are in the hands of loyal men. I consider the present auditor and 
secretary of state just as loyal as I am. 

3776. They committed acts of treason against the government, did they not ? 
Yes. 

3777. Do you not think that treason, in some way, ought to be punished ? 
Yes, sir. 

3778. Do you think it should be by bestowing offices on those who have committed it ? 
No, sir ; I do not think that should be a punishment. 

3779. And yet that is the state of things existing ? 

Yes ; the State has been permitted to hold an election, and they have been elected to 
office. 

3"80 Do you think that state of things ought to be continued ? 

No, sir ; and it will not be continued at all. There is no reason because a man is elected 
to office this time that he will be elected again. I believe if I were to run for office I 
would be as likely to be elected as any one who had been in the rebellion during the war. 

3781. Under the present law white men alone can vote, I believe? 

Yes, sir. 

17 N. o. 



258 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

3782. "What percentage of the white men of the State engaged in the rehellion or sup- 
ported it ? 

I believe every one, with the exception of a dozen, that I know. 

3783. Then it is your opinion that these men who compose the electors, all of whom 
have heen rebels, will, within six months, bestow the right of voting on negroes ? 

Yes, sir, if left alone ; that is my opinion. 

3784. And you think it is right and safe to allow those who have been rebels to do the 
voting and make the laws, and to trust to their magnanimity to extend to others the rights 
they ought to have ? 

Yes, sir ; and it would be done. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3785. Would it not be better for the community and the Union at large, in your opinion, 
if past dissensions could be forgotten, and all unite with equal loyalty and forgiveness of 
the past in now sustaining the common government? 

Undoubtedly ; and that is the idea that pervades the leading minds of this community, 
and which can be brought about. I make myself strong to mould public opinion. 

3786. Is the present governor of the State also regarded as a Union man? 
From what I know, yes. 

3787. Did he receive a majority of the suffrages of the State ? 
O, yes, sir. 

37S8. Is that a demonstration that a Union man can be elected governor of the State ? 
Undoubtedly. I might have had the position had I wanted to run. 

By the Chairman : 

3790. Did they want you to run at the time Governor Wells was elected ? 
No, sir ; at the time Governor Halm was elected it was offered to me. 

By Mr. Shellebarger : 

3791. Is your court one of criminal jurisdiction ? 

No, sir, and most of the cases involve small amounts. 

3792. Is it a State court? 
Yes. 

3793. What amounts come within your jurisdiction ? 
All amounts. 

3794. You have heen asked whether it is hest to forget the past and forgive. Would it 
not be good to adopt the same policy with respect to all the criminals in the jails, and 
forget their past and forgive them ? 

If you broach that subject I will be compelled to enter into a philosophical discussion in 
illustration of my views. Upon that general subject it is my opinion that it would be better 
to pardon all the criminals in the jails than punish them ; that more good could be obtained 
by that means than by punishment. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3795. Do you not recoguize a distinction between treating with individuals and treating 
with communities in such matters? 

As a broad principle, no. I would treat individuals as I would treat communities. As 
to the theoretical and philosophical question involved in the question propounded to me, I 
cannot now enter into it. I simply say that I would make no distinction between a man 
that committed a crime and a thousand men who committed it. I believe that clemency 
is a very great power when properly used. 

By the Chairman : 

3796. Do not you think that criminals should not only he forgiven but that there should 
he some small offices bestowed upon them ? 

That would lead me immediately to the whole philosophical question involved in this 
case. I answer, no matter how ridiculous it may appear, that there should be. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3797. As you are an old resident in this community, and doubtless are well acquainted 
with the character of the older Union men, I would like to know as to the consistency of 
the Union character of some of those who participated in the convention of the 30th of 
July? 

I believe them to he all real, staunch Union men. I could go into the history of individ- 
uals if you desire it. 

3798. I do not wish to press the question if you do not desire to enter into personalities. 
I had rather not. 



TESTIMONY OF EUGENE TISDALE. 259 

New Orleans, La., December 28, 18GG. 
EUGENE TISDALE, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens for the 
purpose of communicating to the committee information as to the causes that led to the 
riot and as to the loyalty of the people, sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyee : 

3709. State your residence and position. 

I reside in New Orleans. I c.tme here with General Butler as a captain, and have been 
stationed here during my term of service in the United States army in Louisiana. I have 
resided here altogether over five years, and have held every position from private to lieu- 
tenant colonel commanding a regiment. I came here in 1862 as captain in the 13th Con- 
necticut. I am engaged in no special business now. 

3800. Do know anything of the facts connected with the riot? 

Nothing special. I had conversations with many of the members of the convention 
previous to its assembling. 

380T. State what conversation you had. 

I have had many conversations with Dr. Dostie and with mauy other members, for 
nearly all of them are friends of mine. I have been well acquainted with them ever 
since I have been here. Several times I have had occasion to almost rebuke them for in- 
temperate language in respect to what they were going to do on their reassembling on the 
30th of July. 

3802. State what language you heard them use. 

Dr. Dostie often met me on St. Charles street, and would say to me, " Colonel, we aregoing 
to rule here ; we are going to have a convention, and we will disfranchise every rebel and 
give the negroes the right of suffrage, and appoint our own judges to hold office during 
life." These remarks he would make in the presence of the people passing, evidently in- 
tending that they should hear them. I have always considered the doctor half crazy and never 
paid much attention to him. He was rather angry because I would not join with him in 
his views. Having entered the army at first, and being almost the last one to leave it, 
I felt as if we must abide by the decisions of General Grant. 

3803. How long before the convention met did you hear Dr. Dostie express himself in 
this way ? 

Two weeks, I should think. I also had conversations with Cutler and Henderson, who 
told me that instructions had been received from two members of the Reeonstructien Com- 
mittee to assemble the convention at all hazards. 

380i. From what members of the Reconstruction Committee? 

I do not know ; I can find out. I remember that in the letter they said, " We are too 
far distant to designate the manner in which it should be assembled, but you must go ahead 
and trust the consequences." This was about the middle of July, as I recollect. I have 
been promised a copy of the letter, but I never have received it ; I probably can get it. I 
took down some of the evidence myself in reference to the riot ; I was not there myself ; I 
was at home that day. 

3805. What else did you hear said about the meeting of the convention? 

John Henderson, jr., was a particular friend of mine ; ho came to my house often. He 
seemed to be rather afraid that I fraternized too much with the returned rebel officers. He 
said I was rather losing the friendship of King Cutler and others, and he gave me this ad- 
vice as a friend of mine, familiarly. 

3806. What did he say in reference to the meeting of the convention ? 

He said they- had made a great mistake in the first convention, but that they were going 
to assemble here to do what they had neglected to do when they had the opportunity. He 
told me what their whole programme was, and that they were going to give the negro the 
right of suffrage. 

3807. How long Was that before the convention assembled ? 

I have had frequent conversations with him ever since the convention adjourned, but 
poke more particularly on this subject in June or July. 

3808. DM he say anything about the instructions he had received in July ? 

Yes. This letter to which I have referred was written in answer to a letter which was 
sent from here asking advice as to what to do. It was written to them by two members of 
the Reconstruction Committee. Henderson said they had the authority of Cougress to as- 
semble and that they should do it, although they expected to have a great deal of trouble. 
I met one day Mr. Bell, who was very intemperate in his language. I had to protect him j 
I was afraid he might get into trouble. This was in the Gem saloon, on Royal street. He 
stated loudly what they were going to do ; that they were going to disfranchise every rebel. 
There were confederate officers standing by, and I was afraid he would get into trouble. 

3809. Did they interfere with him? 

No, sir ; they thought he was a ciazy man. 



260 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

3810. Did yon raise a regiment in this city ? 
Yes, sir ; in 1863 and 186-1. 

3811. Did you hear any other member speak of assembling on the 30th of July? 

I have spoken to young Wells and Talliaferro, the postmaster, but they were opposed to it # 

By Mr. Shellabaroer: 

3812. Can you furnish the names of the two members of the Reconstruction Committee 
who you say signed a letter in reference to the assembling of this convention ? 

No ; they would not show me the address, but it had two signatures. 

3813. How do you know it was from members of the Reconstruction Committee? 
Because it was spoken of in my presence by parties whom 1 knew. The letter was quoted 

in my presence a number of times. 

3814. Then you never read the letter yourself? 
No, sir. 

3815. And never saw it? 
No, sir. 

3816. And when you say the letter was received from members of the Reconstruction 
Committee you are speaking from hearsay — from what other persons told you ? 

I am speaking of the remarks made in my presence by parties who said they had au- 
thority from Congress to assemble the convention. 

3817. Who were the persons who told you ? 

John Henderson, jr., Doctor A. P. Dostie, and R. King Cutler. They are the only per- 
sons who told me positively. 

3818. Did you ever hear the names of the persons who sent that letter? 

No, sir. I have understood that Mr. Flanders was the man who received the letter. I 
have been promised a copy of it, and will probably be able to furnish it in a short time. 
The letter was quoted to me as an argument for my sustaining the members of the con- 
vention, and portions of it were read several times in my presence. 
. 3819. State as near as you can the exact words of the letter which you read. 

It requested them to assemble the convention, and states: "The great distance you 
are from us prevents us from telling exactly how to proceed. You will act your own judg- 
ment ; do the best you can, and trust to consequences." That was about the way it was 
read to me. 

3820. Are you a correspondent of any of the papers? 
I have corresponded with several papers. 

3821. With what papers? 

With the New Orleans Times ; and I have written to the New York Herald, and the 
New York Times, and other papers. I have been five years in the army, and am just out 
of service. I am trying to do the best I can to arrange my affairs previous to going into 
business. I do not wish to be understood that I have been a paid correspondent of any 
newspaper. I have never received one cent for the letters I have written. 

3822. Are you just recently from Washington? 
Yes, sir. 

3823. Have you been an applicant for office under the present administration ? 
I have been. 

3824. And your application is still pending ? 
It is still pending. 

3825. What is your age ? 
I am thirty-two. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3826. What application for office have you made ? 

I applied in the first place, at the request of some people here, for the place of assistant 
assessor, but was refused. I then applied at Washington for the office of assessor. I have 
been promised assistance by Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson, and others who were friends 
of my father, and, I believe, many of my friends think it will be given to mo. 



New Orleans, La., December 28, 1866. 
EDMUND H. DTJRELL, a witness called at the request of the lieutenant governor, as 
one having facts in his possession bearing upon the subject under investigation by the 
committee, important to communicate, was sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyer : 
3827. Please state your residence and official position. 



TESTIMONY OF EDMUND H. DURELL. 261 

I reside in New Orleans, and have resided here since 1837. I am judge of the United 
States district court for the district of Louisiana. 

3828. If you are acquainted with any of the facts relating to the riot in New Orluans 
which occurred on July 30, please state them. 

I know nothing otherwise than what I have read in the newspapers. I was not here at 
the time. I leftVew Orleans for New York on the 7th of July last, and returned about 
the 15th of November. 

3829. As an old resident, and as occupying a public position in this place, you doubtless 
are acquainted with the general sentiment and feeling of this community upon certain 
matters which the committee desire to know. We should like your opinion as to whether 
the people in this community are well or ill disposed toward the United States government 
at this time 

I suppose that the people in this community are in precisely the same condition or situa- 
tion any community would be which has been through the same troubles and excitements 
we have for the last few years. The great body of them, at least the larger _ portion of 
them, not at once, but gradually, went over to the confederate cause, and having lost in 
that attempt, in accordance with human nature they will not at once return to a good 
feeling, such as existed for years before the commencement of these troubles. This city is 
cosmopolitan, made up of French, Spanish, Italians, and Germans, as well as English 
and American and other nationalities, and therefore there is not that oneness of feeling 
you will find in a city made up of a population of the same origin. I do not think a large 
portion of what is called the Creole French population and Spanish population, or the 
foreign population generally, went into the rebellion willingly. I do not think, so far as 
my knowledge goes, and it is not extensive, that they went heartily into the rebellion at 
all, as did those of American extraction born at the south. 

3830. What we desire to know particularly is, whether the people of this community 
can now be relied upon for obedience to the government ? 

I think so. 

3831. Have they given in their adhesion, in good faith, in your opinion, so far as your 
experience has gone ? 

I should suppose they had ; I do not suppose there is any latent idea of reviving the 
trouble or auything of that kind. I suppose that those who made themselves a part and 
parcel of the rebellion are extremely anxious to regain their former positions as the com- 
manders of the situation in politics and that in the State elections and city elections to 
take place they will be candidates, and that the people will be likely to elect them or men 
of similar feeling who have been in the struggle agaiust the government. 

3832. Would these men be likely to make use of their positions to overthrow the gov- 
ernment ? 

I cannot suppose such a thing. 

3833. Do you think the riot of July 30th is to be traced to any feeling of disloyalty to- 
wards the government, or is it owing to some peculiar cause of which you have no know- 
ledge ? 

I know of no peculiar cause except, perhaps, the meetiDg of the convention, so believed 
and generally considered, to make a great political change in the State, to give to negroes 
who were twenty-one years old and residents of the State one year the same right of voting 
as to white people ; and to, perhaps, disfranchise a certain portion of the residents of the 
State who had been leaders in the rebellion, and I have no doubt that excited the feelings 
of a large portion of the community against the members of the convention. I do not 
think there was anything in it as a conspiracy against the government or as the cropping 
out of auy thing like a new rebellion, for it appears to me, as far as I hare seen, that the 
southern people in the contest have been so thoroughly subdued in every respect that there 
cannot be any man of any sanity among them who would contemplate a renewal of the 
contest. 

3834. Can a Union man in this community obtain justice in the courts ? 

I am not able to speak on that subject generally. I attend only my own court. 

3835. How is it in your court ? 

I think they have thus far, as far as I know. I never heard any complaint in that respect 
in regard to the United States court. Justice in that court is administered impartially, 
without regard to class or persons and without regard to political distinction. I have seen 
nothing otherwise. You must consider that the United States court is one of limited juris- 
diction. No litigation in that court is carried on between individual and individual, both 
of them being residents of this State. Where it is a contest between private parties one 
must be a non-resident or a foreigner. In other suits the contests are between the United 
States and individuals, mostly in cases of revenue, unless it is a matter of the seas, in suits 
in admiralty. 



262 * NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

38.T(5. Would justice in this court be impartially administered as between a citizen ot 
Louisiana and a citizen of a northern State? 

I have seen nothing otherwise. The suits brought in the United State? court arises out 
of notes of hand and 6uch matters, in which there cannot be much of a contest. 

3837. If Louisiana were immediately restored to her practical relations in the Union, 
might the obedience of her citizens to the government of the United States be relied 
upon? 

I think so. At least I think this : a distinction must be made in reference to the civil 
rights bill. The civil rights bill may be consideied as a completion of the putting down of 
the rebellion in the country. Where the country is sparsely populated, all their former re- 
lations with the blacks being changed, and through the losses of the war, many of those who 
considered themselvep wealthy have been made poor, and they feel the change to a very 
high degree ; and I suppose that such a bill as the civil rights bill would not, perhaps, be 
enforced in every instance. I do not think it is enforced at this time. I do not think it 
could be enforced as completely as ordinary suits of the government are enforced in ordinary 
times, except by the aid of military power. I think that is the case in regard to all the 
other slaveholding States. That arises out of the nature of humanity. You cannot ex- 
pect that p< ople are going to change in one day. 

3838. What would be the effect of the restoration of Louisiana to her representation in 
Congress upon the public mind? Would it strengthen or weaken the loyalty of the peo- 
ple in general ? 

I should suppose it would strengthen it. I do not think it would weaken it. I believe 
that if Louisiana were permitted to send her delegation to Congress, to the Senate and to 
the House of Representatives, unrestricted, as with every other southern State, it would 
naturally foflow, and would continue for one generation, that every representative sent would 
be a man who had been a leader in the rebellion. 

3839. Might those former leaders of the rebellion now be trusted as loyal citizens to the 
government ? 

I think the committee can judge of that matter as well as I can, and perhaps better. All 
I can say is, that I have found thus far that those who took the rifle in their hands and 
went to fight the government, and fought it out, express more kind feelings toward the 
government, and appear to me to be moie willing to forget the past and strive on for the 
glory of the future, than those who staid at home and talked. I think this latter class are 
very much more bitter. Probably it is because they wish to cover over their own case by 
their great talking. 

3840. You were president of the convention in 1864 ? 
Yes, sir. 

3841. You did not sign the call for the reassembling of the convention in 18G6? 
No, sir. 

3842. Why not? 

Because I thought it could not be assembled without a riot. 

3843. Had the convention of 1864 performed its part previous to that time ? 

That is to be judged of by the construction given to the resolution adjourning the con- 
vention. Some say one thing and some say another. Some say that the convention hav- 
ing formed a constitution, and that constitution having been submitted to the people, and 
they having ratified it, and one or two legislatures having been assembled under it, and 
one or two governors having beeu elected under it, that the resolution adjourning gave no 
power, under such circumstances, to reassemble it. 

3844. Did you ever resign as president of the convention ? 
No, sir. 

3845. If that convention, therefore, on the 30th of July was in esse, were you not its 
president? 

If it was in esse, I was its president. 

3846. Did you, as president, in any form sanction its reassembling? 

I did not. I was consulted about its reassembling. I was told by certain members that 
if it assembled protection would be afforded. In June last I called upon General Sheridan 
and told him I had been very much pressed to call the convention together. I told 
him what I understood the convention intended to do. I told him that, from the con- 
dition of the public mind, I did not think the convention could be assembled and the 
sessions carried on without a disturbance, and that there would be a riot. "Now," 
said I, " General Sheridan, I come to ask you this: If I assemble that convention will you 
obey my orders ? Will you give me an armed body of men to protect that convention? 
Will you surround us with an armed body of troops if T ask you to do so?" His answer 
was, "If the convention assembles and there is any disturbance I will disperse the mob and 
the convention and treat them both alike." I then said: "Suppose the convention 
assembles and there is no disturbance, and its action is sent forth for the sanction of the 



TESTIMONY OF EDMUND H. DURELL. 263 

• 
voters of Louisiana, among the then voters will be the negroes ; will you protect the 
negroes at the polls ?" lie said no ; he could not do it, that it was impossible. He had not 
the men to do it. Then, said I, " They would be shot down like dogs." I telegraphed to 
Senator Fessenden, and to Representatives Boutwell and Stevens, for their opinions about 
calling the convention, but I could get no reply whatever. 

3847. When was that ? 

I telegraphed in June, I think. 

3348. At what time in June ? 

I have here the telegram. The reconstruction committee of thirteen in their report 
state that all these southern governments, of which Louisiana is one, excepting, perhaps, 
Tennessee, were no legal governments whatever. I therefore wanted to know whether, if 
this convention were called together, its action would be ignored or not. As it will appear 
by their report, they intended to ignore all such action in the past and by strict logic to 
ignore it in the future. This is my despatch, dated June 15th last : 

1 18 Custom-house street, 

New Orleans, June 18, 1866. 
By resolution of tbe Louisiana convention of sixty-four, ('64,) as president I am author- 
ized to reoonvoke said convention. If I do so and it amends the constitution of sixty-four, 
(64,) and gives suffrage to the black, and its action is ratified by the people, white and 
black, will said amended constitution be recognized by our Union friends in Congress as 
valid ; and will the senators and representatives elected thereunder be admitted by Con- 
gress? I am unacquainted with the features of the two (2) enabling bills introduced by 
you. Shall I call this convention, and when ; now or in the fall ? If you think it desi- 
rable I will come to Washington to confer with you. Please telegraph reply, and write full 
advices. I am strongly pressed to issue the call, and desire your earliest answer imme- 
diately. 

E. H. DURELL. 
William Pitt Fessenden, 
Thaddeus Stevens, and 
George S. Boutwell, 

Washington, D. C. 

3849. To that you received no reply ? 
To that I received no reply. 

3850. And you finally refused to convoke the convention ? 
I refused. 

By the Chairman : 

3851. Have you signed at any time any memorial to Washington in regard to the gov- 
ernment at Louisiana ? 

No, sir ; I have not signed any. 

3852. At the time you wrote that despatch you had no doubt as to your legal right to 
reconvoke the convention? 

I have had doubts about it. I wanted to strengthen myself. I wanted to know wdiether 
it would be supported or not. I knew they had copies of our proceedings in 1864 in Wash- 
ington, and I thought those men were able to give me advice. I spoke to Mr. Stevens 
when I was there in July last. I asked him if he received my despatch. He said he did. 
I asked him why he had not made me a reply. He said Jbey had nothing to say on the 
subject, and so said nothing. 

By Mr. Shellabaroer : 

3853. You say you thought the men down here who had been in the rebellion were anx- 
ious to forget the past and do better in the future, or something of that sort ? 

I think not. I said those who fought were more anxious to forget the past than those 
who staid at home. I do not see many ; I do not go about much. As Ions as I have been 
in the city of New Orleans I know but very few people here. Personally I do not know, I 
suppose, more than a hundred people in this city. 

3854. What I meant to ask you is, whether it is an unusual thing to see men who have 
committed crimes against the government or State anxious to forget the past, and more 
anxious than those who have behaved well ? 

No, sir ; it is not. I do not know why those who have behaved well should be anxious 
to forget the past. I should rather think they would be anxious to keep it in strong 
memory. 

3855. Do you think it a safe policy, in dealing with criminals who may have been guilty 
of treason, murder, or whatever the crime may be, to make arrangements with them to 
forget the past ? 

No, sir ; I do not. 



264 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New Orleans, December 28, 1866. 

JOHN HENRY ILSLET, a witness called at the request of citizens as one having a 
knowledge" of facts important to communicate hearing on the matters under investigation 
\>y the committee, heing duly sworn, testified as follows : 

I am one of the judges of the supreme court of Louisiana. My habits are very domestic, 
and my presence is confined almost exclusively to two points — my home and the court- 
house. 1 rarely mingle with the people except I meet a gentleman on the streets and 
speak socially with him. I have taken very little part in politics, from the fact that my 
time has been entirely occupied with my official duties. I was always opposed to secession, 
and always a lover of the Constitution and laws of the United States. I took no part in 
the rebellion. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3856. How have you b< en regarded during the rebellion and since as to your loyalty? 
I have generally been regarded as a Union man. 

3857. When did you obtain your present office? 
I obtained my present office in 1864. 

3858. By appointment or election ? 

By appointment of Governor Hahn, approved by the senate, and without any application 
on my part ; on the contrary, I considered that there were abler men than myself, and 
requested the governor to select some man more competent to discharge the duties of' the 
position. 

3859. Are you acquainted with the general sentiments of the people of this city and 
throughout the State at this time, with regard to the government of the United States ; if 
so, please state whether the people of the State at this time, in general, entertain loyal or 
disloyal feelings towards the government? 

As I stated before, my intercourse with the people is very limited ; I frequent few public 
places ; my family occupies a great deal of my attention at home, and my duties at the 
office occupy my attention there. My official decisions, I think, will show my own views 
in relation to this matter. 

3860. In respect to the obedience of the laws and Constitution of the United States? 

In relation to the feeling of the people ; as I said before, I mingle very little with them. 
I had supposed, before the riot took place, that those whom I called secessionists or rebels 
were disposed to enter into the existing state of things as they found them at the time they 
returned. I never heard any one express any objection to that course. At the close of the 
war. people of Louisiana, in my opinion, gave in their adhesion to the government in good 
faith I do not believe they would have done it if they had not been compelled to do it ; 
but I believe that, having surrendered, they came in well disposed towards the govern- 
ment of the United States, as far as my observation goes. There are, as you will under- 
stand, a great many refractory spirits, but I am speaking of my observations of the people 
generally. 

3861. If the State were admitted to its representation in Congress, would that produce a 
good or bad effect upon the public sentiment ? 

I think it would produce a good effect. 

3862. Might the people be relied upon in their allegiance to the government? 
I think so ; it is a mere matter of opinion, however. 

3863. Would the restoration policy of the President, if practically applied to Louisiana, 
be productive of good or bad Affects ? 

That is, the policy as I understand it — as he has declared it in his public speeches and 
State papers. I am disposed rather to think it would be conducive to bringing about a 
proper state of things. 

3864. Iu such case would you consider it safe for the government to withdraw its military 
forces ? 

I think we could get along in this country without a military force ; that is my im- 
pression. 

3865. In case of the withdrawal of the military forces, could Union men continue to live 
and prosecute their business without bring molested ? 

I think they might remain heie without being molested ; but I cannot say that I think 
they would have the same chance in the public offices. Where the offices are held by 
those who formerly occupied the positions as secessionists, I think there would be a little 
leaning in favor of that class of persons, and perhaps a great deal; I do not know. 

3866. Would they be safe in their persons and property ? 
I think they would. 

3867. You have obtained justice in the courts ? 
Most assuredly, in my opinion. 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN HENRY ILSLEY. 265 

3868. How is it now in a suit between a Union man and one who bad been a rebel ; 
would the Union man receive justice ? 

I can only judge as to my own court, where we do not know persons at all. I hope it is 
so in the other courts ; I think it is. 

3869 In case of a foreign war, on which side would the people array themselves, on the 
side of the enemy or on the side of the government of the country ? 

I should think on the side of the government. 

3S70. As a general thing, state whether a free discussion in the newspapers and at public 
meetings is tolerated in the city of New Orleans and in the State. 

I think it would he tolerated ; but if it were extreme either way, it would not be palata- 
ble to a good many persons ; still I think it would be tolerated ; I have no doubt of that. 
People have their own views here, as you know, but I do not think there would be any 
trouble at all, no matter how extreme were the doctrines advanced. 

3871. Have you any opinion to express in reference to the origin of the riot of the 30th 
of July ? 

I had heard that this convention was to meet, but I had never heard or supposed that 
any riot would grow out of it. That is all I have to say about it. 

3 872 Did you attribute it to any general sentiment of hostility or disloyalty toward 
the government? 

My impression is, from what I have read in the newspapers in regard to the matter, I 
having been away at the time, that it could not be attributed to a general feeling of dis- 
loyalty. 

3873. Are you acquainted with any sentiments of hostility or bitterness in this com- 
munity which would be likely, upon a similar occasion, to provoke another riot? 

No, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 
' 3874. Are there any juries in your court ? 
No, sir ; it is a court of appeals. 

3875. A paper court ? 

Yes, sir. a paper court ; nothing but records are brought up to our court. 

3876. You have said, as I understand you, that you deem that in the courts the rights 
of men who have remained loyal to the government during the war would now be as 
scrupulously enforced as those who were confederates. I wish to ask you whether any suc- 
cessful prosecutions have been maintained for violations of the rights of the friends of the 
convention on the 30th of July ? 

I do not think that any such question has ever been presented. I know it has never been 
in my court, and I am not aware it has been in any other court. 

3877. How do you explain the fact that nearly one hundred people were killed and sev- 
eral hundred wounded on the 30th of July, and no man prosecuted for these murders, or 
these assaults ? 

I cannot give you any reason why ; that would come within the province of the attorney 
general. 

3878. I want you to state whether it is your opinion that, with a jury empanelled as 
your juries are in this city, under the officers who now control the courts, a successful crim- 
inal prosecution could be maintained for killing negroes or Union men on the 30th of July- 

You ask me a question very difficult to answer. I do not see why they should not ; I 
am supposed to believe every man honest. 

3879. Is it not a very singular thing to happen in any country or city professing to be 
civilized that so vast a slaughter should have occurred where the courts are open and all 
men's rights are protected, and yet not one prosecution be either commenced or successfully 
maintained in the courts for the violence committed during that riot ? 

Prosecutions in our State are commenced by information, or on a declaration made by any 
citizen, no matter who he is, before a justice of the peace. It is open to any one to make 
this declaration ; any citizen or any party aggrieved. I have not heard of any such declar- 
ation being made, or any such case being presented to the court. 

3880. You have already testified that men are permitted in this city to speak their opin- 
ion freely without danger of molestation, and that it would simply, in some cases, be un- 
palatable. I wish to know what Dostie had done for which he was killed, unless it was for 
expressing his opinion? 

I knew Dostie very well. I knew that he was a gentleman of very excitable disposition, 
and as I am bound to give my opinion of the facts as I understand them, I will say that I 
am not aware that Dostie was selected as a victim more than any other rnwn. I am merely 
stating the facts as they appeared in the newspapers at the time he was killed, as other per- 
sons were in the convention. I did hear, and perhaps read it in some newspaper, that he 
had been making an inflammatory speech some days previous ; I cannot say that he did ; nor 



2G6 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

can I say whether he was selected as a victim because of that fact. I knew he was a mem- 
ber of that convention, and that several persons were killed there, he being one, but whether 
for any special cause I do not know. 

3880J. The Rev. Mr. Horton was killed on the 30th of July. For what was he murdered 
unless it was for the political sentiments he expressed and entertained? 

I should give the same answer in regard to him. 

3881. Had he made any inflammatory speeches? 
I never heard of any. 

3882. Mr. Henderson was killed on the 30th of July. What had he done worthy of 
death, unless it was expressing his sentiments in this community ? 

That is more than I can answer. 

3883. Why, then, do you say that persons are perfectly safe in expressing their opinions 
in this community ? 

I say so because, as I have said, this riot was brought about, as I understand, by inflam- 
matory speeches. This is not the only riot that has taken place. Riots take place in all 
parts (if the world. 

3884. What started the riot unless it was the opinions expressed by members of that con- 
vention and those out of it ? 

I have understood that the members of the convention were mingled with an organized 
body of negroes who had marched up there, and that shots were fired fiom that body of 
men among the citizens. 

3885. Do you testify that it was a body of negroes who fired the first shot? 

I do not testify to any fact in the case ; I was not there ; I speak merely of newspaper 
reports, and of what I have learned from other sources. 

3886. What I want is, to test the opinions you have already given to the committee. 
You stated that the rebels surrendered at the close of the war to an overwhelming force 
because they were compelled to do so, and that you believe they accepted the situation in 
good faith. I wish to ask you whether, in your judgment, these fnen who were engaged 
in the rebellion would not renew that rebellion if they were called upon to do so by their 
leaders, and if. they saw prospects of success in that rebellion ? 

In order to answer that question it would be necessary that I should mingle a great deal 
with the people, which I have not clone ; but in conversation with a good many of the 
leading men, so far as I can judge, I believe they are well disposed, and have been from 
the time of the surrender, to accept the situation, and to do all they can to put things in 
statu quo as far as possible. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3887. Do you believe, from what you have learned of the sentiments of those with whom 
you have associated, that they would, if the opportunity was afforded, combine to overturn 
the government? 

No, sir, I do not think so, so far as I am able to judge from those I have conversed with. 

3888. Incase the constitutional relations of Louisiana with the United States were re- 
stored, would you have confidence in the public tranquillity and in the Union sentiments of 
this community? 

I should consider that the admission of representatives from this State into the Union 
would conduce, more than any other cause, to bring about the old state of things. 

3889. By the old state of things you "mean before the war ? 
Yes, sir ; ante bellum. 



NEW Orleans, December 28, 1866. 
EDMOND A6ELL, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens as one 
having in his knowledge facts to communicate bearing upon the subject of inquiry, being 
duly sworn, testifies as follows: 

I have the honor to be the presiding judge of the first district court of New Orleans. I 
was a member of the original convention of 1864. That convention proceeded to complete 
its labors, which were submitted to the people on the first Monday of September in that 
year. I was appointed judge of the first district court, which is strictly the criminal court 
of the parish, and the only district court of original exclusive criminal jurisdiction. In the 
latter part of May, or early in June, 1866, I learned that there was a proposition to recon- 
vene the convention of 1864. As a member of that convention I felt satisfied that any such 
convocation was directly in violation of the second title, 147th article, of the constitution. 
I had no other but the kindest feelings towards the members generally; we had a very 
pleasant session in 1864, although it appeared to be somewhat stormy. I made known my 



TESTIMONY OF EDMOND ABELL. 267 

belief that it was entirely unconstitutional, and I thought, from the apparent excitement, 
that itmighi result in a disturbance of the peace. At the close of the session of 1864 a reso- 
lution was offered by Mr. Cutler, which will be found in the debates of the convention, pro- 
posingto call the convention again together under certain circumstances. 1 being satisfied 
that that resolution was superseded by the article in the constitution to which I have referred, 
wrote out and published my views upon that subject, expressing my belief in the unconstitu- 
tionality of the proposed meeting. I did not do this officially as judge, but as a member of the 
original convention. Discovering that there was considerable excitement, and that a por- 
tion of the members appeared to be resolved upon its reassembling, it came to my notice, 
through one of the members, that a private meeting had been held. I saw in the hands of 
a Mr. Bowfield, one of the original members, a notice to meet in the night time at Mr. Cut- 
ler's office. Feeling entirely satisfied that it would be subversive of public order, I charged 
the grand jury in very decided terms on the subject the 3d of the month previous to the as- 
sembling of the convention, and again on the 23d in a supplemental charge, at the request of 
the grand jury. That is all the part I have taken in the matter, as far as I know. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

3^90. You were not present at the riot ? 
No, sir. 

3891. And you know nothing of what took place from your own personal observation? 
Nothing whatever. 

389*2. How long have you resided in New Orleans ? 

I have resided here, with the exception of two years or a little over, during which time I 
was in California, twenty years next April. 

3893. What were your relations as respects the Union cause and the confederacy at the 
time of the rebellion ? 

I in no way, either directly or indirectly, ever participated in the rebellion, either by fur- 
nishing soldiers or money. 

3894. Were you regarded, during the war, as a Union man ? 

1 can only take the evidence which the public records contain as to the regard in which I 
was held. I was elected by Union men to the convention of 1864. I was appointed by a 
Union governor to the judgeship I now occupy. I was nominated to Congress for the first 
district, the portion of the city in which I live, by Union men, and I received the full vote 
of the Union men of the district. I think this record will show my position on that subject 
in the estimation of Union men. 

3895. As a person occupying official position, and therefore with opportunities to judge of 
the sentiments of this community, please state whether, in your opinion, the people of Louis- 
iana are disposed to sustain the government of the United States at this time or not. 

I have had a very good opportunity of knowing, and I feel that I can say unhesitatingly 
that, in my opinion, there is no more loyal people in the world to the Union government than 
the people of Louisiana are now. With some few exceptions, I believe they are as earnest and 
desirous as it is possible for the people to be to become members of this great confederacy 
in the fullest and heartiest sense of the word. 

3896. Do you believe there is a general feeling in the community throughout the State to 
seek another opportunity of rebellion? 

I do not, indeed ; I think any such proposition would be rebuked by almost every honor- 
able man in the State. It is merely an opinion of mine. 

3897. If Louisiana were restored to her representation in Congress what would be the 
effect on the public mind? 

I think the people of Louisiana would be most happy to see their restoration. I think 
they would look upon it as a light accorded to them, but an act they could appreciate. 

3898. What effect had the restoration policy of the President, as proclaimed, upon the 
people of this State ? 

I believe that with one voice, with small exceptions, they were in favor of it; I think, as a 
people, there is no more united people in the world. There are exceptions, but they are com- 
paratively few. There are quite a number of highly honorable exceptions, but I think the 
people of the State, as a body, gave their hearty, unqualified sanction to the policy of imme- 
diate restoration as it was offered by the President. 

3899. If it had prevailed would any mischief have ensued in the State ? 

I cannot conceive that there would. I think, on the contrary, that if it had prevailed it would 
have been rather an additional bond of union, and given confidence to the federal government. 

39(H). Could the military forces of the United States be withdrawn from this State without 
creating disorder or an outbreak against the authority of the laws ? 

I believe, generally, order in Louisiana would be as secure as it would be in New York or 
in the most favored State in the Union. 

3901. In such a case would the lives and property of Union men be safe? 

I answer unqualifiedly, 1 believe perfectly safe. I do not believe any single man in the 
State would attempt to violate the rights of any Union man. I do not believe any part of 
our population would attempt to do it. 



268 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

3902. Do you believe the right of Union men could be secured in the administration of jus- 
tice by the courts ? 

I have not a doubt about it. I entertain no doubt that their rights would be as com- 
pletely secured as would those of any portion of the citizens of the United States. 

3903. In case a foreign war were to break out, on which side, in your opiuion, would the 
people of Louisiana array themselves, on the side of the enemy or on the side of the govern- 
ment ? 

I Lave no doubt in the world Louisiana would be as loyal to the government as any State. 
Recollect that among our citizens there would be individual exceptions. There are a few in 
the State — and they are comparatively few — of extremists on both sides. There are ex- 
tremists who are known as radicals, and who are rery extreme, and what is most extraordinary 
to me, many of them at the beginning of the war were the most inveterate confederates. 

3904. Will you name some of those who were connected with the convention held on the 
30th of July of that class ? 

I should not like to be personal. I can name them with the greatest ease. I will name 
Judge Howell, for instance, who has held office in the confederacy, a gentleman whom I not 
only respect, but love. 

3905. What office did he hold ? 

Judge of the sixth district court, and I think a part of the time of the second. I name R. 
King Cutler, who raised what we called the "Cutler Guards" for the confederate service at 
his own expense, as I was informed. I will name W. R. Fish, who was one of the com- 
mittee of extremists in New Orleans who cast their vote for hanging Mr. Flanders. He was 
one of the committee who took him from his house, and forced him beyond the lines. 
His family remained here for a long time without knowing whether he was alive or dead. 

3000. Was he sent away on account of his Union sentiments ? 

On account of his Union sentiments, and nothing else. He was a most estimable gentle- 
man. 

3907. I desire you to state whether Union men can obtain justice in the courts of this State, 
and whether or not, when they are parties to suits, they will receive consideration before the 
court and the jury, according to the merits of the case. 

I do not know how to answer you. In my own court, I will say that I do not know any 
man when he is before me, whether he is a Union man or not. I do not know of a single 
circumstance of a man who has been treated differently because he was or was not in the 
Union army. I do not think I have ever heard that question mooted in any way. I am 
under the impression that there is no such distinction known here. If any one supposes there 
is, it is purely imaginary. I am of the opinion that they can get justice in our courts according 
to the merits of the case under the law. I think the Union men here, without exception, will 
admit that. There are a tew extremists here who make a good deal of noise, but the Union 
men of the State generally, are as highly esteemed as any others. All Union men, such as 
Roselius and Rozier, will tell you there is no distinction. If a man here, as anywhere else, 
really misbehaves ; if he stirs up strife in the community, there may be a prejudice against 
him among the people, but it would not extend to the courts. 

3908. Are men here persecuted in business on account of their Union sentiments 1 
According to my view they are as much esteemed in business as anybody. 

301/0. Are they, or not, successful in the prosecution of it? 

I do not believe the distinction is known at all, or that any individuals are molested in the 
free expression of their opinions. I have never heard of any difficulty in that regard. As 
the principal conservator of the peace in this city, presiding over the only court, as I have re- 
marked, having exclusive criminal jurisdiction, I answer that there is no distinction ; I feel 
that there is none. Even among the members of the convention with whom I was associated 
there is no one towards whom I do not entertain the kindest feeling. I would add that, 
during the rebellion, I know, with the single exception of Mr. Flanders, whose name I have 
already mentioned, of scarcely a single man Avho has not drifted more or less towards the 
southern cause. Mr. Flanders retained his integrity to the Union during the whole time. 

3910. Do you mean to include those who are now known as extreme Union men? 
Nearly all of them, and, as far as I am able to say, all of them. I may say that I know 

of Out one man in Louisiana who, during the whole war, sympathized wholly with the 
North. In respect to many others, while their intelligence taught them they ought to remain 
loyal to the government, there yet seemed to lie a feeling such as I may almost compare to 
that of the father towards his erring child. There seemed to be that feeling towards the 
South. 

By the Chairman : 

3911. You say you know of but one exception, and he was Mr. Flanders; do you mean 
to apply that remark also to all the Union men now here, that they also sympathized 
with the South ? 

I mean to say that there seemed to be a kind of drifting, not what you would call an ap- 
probation of the act — not a participation in it — but still something that seemed to incline all 
the people here in their sympathy towards the South. Mr. Flanders was the only exception, 
and he was driven out of the block in which I live. 



TESTIMONY OF EDMOND ABELL. 2G9 

3912. Iu which direction is that sympathy drifting at this time? 

Since the surrender of Lee I think it has been like a dutiful child. When once a dutiful 
child lias been chastised lie will return heartily to his allegiance, while the undutiful child 
will only become more uncontrollable and still persist in his perversity. 

3918. Has the feeling which you just now referred to been growing steadily, in your 
judgment, in favor of the Union since the surrender of Lee's army? 

1 am fully satisfied in my own mind that it is growing silently but constantly. We have, 
as I said, a few exceptions as extremists, on both sides, but I speak now of the general pub- 
lic sentiment. 

o'.'U. You think that from tho time of the surrender, when it became apparent that the 
power of the United States would be sufficient to restore the Union and control the States iu 
rebellion until now the feeling of loyalty has been steadily growing, and that it is very warm 
and very sincere ! 

I have no doubt of its sincerity, and that it has been growing monthly, weekly, and 
daily. There has been a constant increase of real earnest disposition ou the part of the great 
mass of our people here to remain loyal to the federal government. 

3915. Will you define more particularly what you mean by the whole people ? 

I mean the entire mass of our people, with the exception of a few extremists. There are 
some, however, here who seem to want to go into history on the one side, as there are a 
few extremists on the other side against the government, who have become soured against 
the government. 

3916. Soured because of what? 

Because of the war, and because of their want of success I think, more that than any- 
thing else; but they are very few, all the others are earnest in their allegiance to the Union, 
and, as they understand it, to the Constitution of the United States. 

3917. Between these two extremes, you include the whole body of the people, white and 
black 1 

White and black. 

391S. When you speak of the people, do you mean colored people as well as white? 

I will give you in a word my views in regard to the condition of the colored people. The 
mass of the colored people here are yet untaught as to even the meaning of government. I 
was raised among them and by them, and I must say that I am satisfied that the mass of 
them have no more idea of the principles of government than one of your children seven 
years old. 

3919. My question is whether, in speaking of the people of Louisiana, you include tbe 
colored people ? 

I include those who have intelligence enough to understand the principles of government. 

3920. Then in speaking of the people, you do, in point of fact, include the colored people ? 
Iu point of fact I include the entire mass of people who are intelligent. I will say this, 

as far as the colored people are concerned, that the mass of them are inclined to a feeling of 
attachment to the government, but they hardly know more than one of your children seven 
years old what the principles of government are. 

3921. Do you mean that you think the others would not be attached to the government? 

I think there is a large portion of the colored people who do not know. If you would mix 
with them you would understand the force of my remarks and judge better of its applica- 
bility. So far as negro suffrage is concerned our constitution has authorized the legislature 
of the State to grant it. 

3922. You were present in the convention when that measure was adopted ? 

With the exception of a single day I suppose there was scarcely a vote passed when I 
was not present. 

3923. Upon that question how did you vote? 

Upon that and every question relative to it I voted adversely. 

3944. How is your opinion now 1 

My opinion is now and always unchanged. 

3925. Do you think that question has tended to increase the feeling of loyalty you have 
spoken of? 

The view I take of it is that it unquestionably does not tend to satisfy the colored people. 
I consider, however, the colored people unconditionally loyal. 

3926. You are now speaking of the whole of them ? 

I speak of the whole of them. The qualification, however, must necessarily apply, for I 
could not say that your child, five years of age, has any approximate knowledge in regard to 
the government. 

3927. Do you think that what is known as the President's policy has had any effect in the 
State in regard to the loyalty of the people ? 

I do. I think it has given them kindly feelings towards the government in conceding to 
them what they believe to be just. Our people believe that the President's policy concedes 
simply what is just to us. 

3928. What do you mean by our people ? 

I mean the white population and that class of the colored population who entertain the 
same views. 



270 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

3920. How large a class is that ? 

It is comparatively small. The principal part of the intelligent colored people claim the 
right to vote. 

3930. Do you think that is a small proportion of the colored people? 

I think the whole colored people, as far as they have intelligence, think they ought to have 
the right of suffrage. 

393J. You speak of the effect of the President's policy upon a certain class of colored 
people. I want to ascertain what class you refer to. 

Those who wish unconditionally for the restoration of the Union, and to leave all these ques- 
tions open for future consideration. Among the old Creole population there is a large class 
who are favorable to the President's policy, leaving the matter of negro suffrage open for 
the future, as circumstances may develop themselves. 

3932. Can you give us any idea of the proportion of people who feel that way ? 
I do not think I have any data upon which I could give it. 

3933. How do the great mass of the people who stood by the United States against the 
rebellion from its inception and through the war, who have been known here as loyal men 
during the war, feel upon this subject? 

As I have before saidj I know of but one man who comes within that class. Among those 
who are now warmest for the Union are those who were strong confederates ; and some who 
were even in the confederate congress are now among the most noisy Union men. 

3934. You know to what class of men 1 refer in my question? 

I could not answer the question differently, for I know of none, with the exception of one 
man, who comes within that class. 

3935. Is there not a large body of men here who claim to have been friends of the Union 
throughout the war, whether rightfully or not, and who are regarded by you as among the 
extremists on one side ? 

I must say that I do not know them. I know none such. 

3936. Have you not reason to suppose there are a great many who claim to have been, 
during the entire existence of the rebellion, friends of the Union, and who do not now en- 
tertain the same views which you entertain? 

It is not possible. In the whole range of my acquaintance, which is not limited, I know 
of no class of population which answers to that. The mass of the people, from the low- 
est to the highest, with the exception of this one man, I believe, were all of them, to some 
extent, sympathizers with the South. I have heard some men say that if they had a drop of 
Yankee blood in their veins they wished to let it out, who are now among the noisiest of 
what are called Union men. 

3937. You think as far as these Union men are concerned, they may express their opinions 
freely in this community and be entirely safe in their persons and property ? 

I do. I think those men whom we do not think to be counterfeit merely, but know to be 
counterfeit, are as safe in this community as your honorable committee ; and you are as safe 
as you would be in the national capital, or in any other part of the world. 

3938. There is no pressure brought against them, socially or politically ? 

There are a few of those men who, of course, socially, have very little standing. If you 
will trace their history, you will find they never had any in their lives. They are standing 
always upon the bubble of their claims as Unionists. They were all good confederates until 
the Union cause was established, and then they became immensely patriotic. These men 
were unknown before the war as citizens of any standing, and they have no standing, par- 
ticularly, now. 

3939. Dining the whole war I suppose you desire the committee to understand as your 
opinion that the negroes, take them as a mass, in your State, were not loyal to the govern- 
ment? 

I have no doubt through the war, that all the mind they have has been loyal. 
394U. Throughout the war, from the beginning; that is your judgment .' 
My judgment is that from the first appearance of the Yankees, as we call them, they have 
all been loyal. 

3941. You have named one white man iu New Orleans who, you think, was loyal ; are we 
to understand you that, taking the rebellion throughout, there were no persons in Louisiana 
loyal except the colored people and one white man whom you have mentioned? 

That is as far as 1 know. I cannot say that others were not friendly to the government, 
for all the intelligence that God blessed me with was in favor of the United States; otherwise 
I should have gone as far into the rebellion as any man. I am naturally of the warmest 
temperament, and yet my intelligence told me that this movement on the part of the southern 
people was dangerous, if not wrong. 

3942. Nevertheless, so far as your sympathies were concerned, you wanted separation to 
take place? 

I never wanted it, if our wrongs could have been redressed. 

3942£. But inasmuch as they could not be redressed, you wanted the confederacy to suc- 
ceed? 

I expect I felt very much as a father whose child had committed murder : I would like 
to have him escape, and I must say honestly that my feelings were all southern. 



TESTIMONY OF EDMOND ABELL. 271 

3943. And you think all tho rest were with you, with the exception of one man and the 
colored people .' 

Except the one man ; and the colored people, without doubt, as far as they had intelligence, 
were loyal. 

3944. You delivered a charge to the grand jury prior to the - sitting of the convention, did 
you not 1 

I did, and have it with me, as well as the supplemental charge. 

3945. In that charge you took occasion to call the attention of the grand jury to the coming 
together of the convention which was then about to assemble, and also took occasion to read 
from some old English law a definition of a riot and of a riotous assembly ? 

I did not read or speak to the grand jury any sentence or syllable except what is contained 
in the manuscript I now have before me ; I read just the words here, without any comment 
whatever. 

31)46. Did not your charge refer to this old English law ? 

I do not know ; I may have referred to it in one paper. Whatever I read to them is here. 

3947. Did you anticipate any riotous proceedings that day ? 

I cannot state that I anticipated any riotous proceedings whatever. 

3948. When you made your charge did you anticipate any ? 

When I made the charge I did it with the hope of preventing a riot. I made an argument 
and published it last May, or perhaps some time in June, after I was informed that the meet- 
ing of the convention was about to take place, showing why the proposed meeting was un- 
constitutional and illegal. 

3949. I have not asked you about that ; I am asking you about your charge 

You ask me whether I anticipated a riot at that time, and I am telling you how the matter 
stood. I did not anticipate it, and my object in the charge was to prevent it. 

3950. Then I understand you distinctly, when you made your charge, you did not antici- 
pate riotous proceedings ? 

I did not, but I feared it at the time I made my supplemental charge. The people had 
become somewhat excited. My original charge was on the third, and my supplemental 
charge was on the twenty-third, of July, the month of the riot. 

3951. What was the date of your charge to the grand jury in which you took occasion to 
call attention to the fact that the convention was about to assemble ? 

The third of July. 

3952. In your charge, did you take occasion to admonish the grand jury of what ought to 
be their action in case of a riot, independent of the immediate action of the convention .' 

I suppose you gentlemen are lawyers ; I have stated that I made no verbal charge, di- 
rectly or indirectly. I have the charge here in writing, and it can speak for itself. I would 
like to have the committee read it. I wish no special pleading upon it, but it is a rule of 
law, as the committee are aware, that a document in possession of the committee must speak 
for itself. 

3953. Then I understand your answer is, that you prefer your address should speak for 
itself, and that you offer the committee a copy of it. 

Yes, sir; I offer the committee a copy of the charge, and of the supplemental charge. 

3954. Were there not three ? 

There was another on the fourth or fifth of August, of which I will procure a copy and fur- 
nish it, if the committee desire» 

3955. There have been in your court prosecutions commenced since your charge to the grand 
jury agaiust persons who were members of the convention? 

Yes, sir. 

3956. Are these prosecutions still pending 1 
They are still pending. 

3957. What prosecutions, to your knowledge, were commenced against parties who were 
engaged in acts of violence on the day of the riot — parties who killed Doctor Dostie and Mr. 
Henderson ? 

There are none, to my knowledge. 

3958. Have there been any of the persons engaged in these murders punished, to your 
knowledge ? 

There has been none, to my knowledge. 

3959. Then all the prosecutions that you know of are prosecutions which commenced under 
your charge against the members of the convention ? 

The charge was delivered long before the convention assembled. There have been no other 
cases except these. 

3960. Have you had a meeting of the grand jury since that time, in which you made a 
charge to them 1 

Yes, sir ; and I charged them again to ferret out the offenders. I laid down the general 
doctrine, substantially, that if there was a riot in law existing, it was the duty of the law to 
put it down. 

3961. In consequence of that charge there yet have been no other cases of arrest ? 

No, sir ; The grand jury reported that they failed to have any person pointed out as one 



272 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

of the guilty parties. They complained that the military turned all their witnesses out of 
the station-house. 

By Mr. Shf.llabaroer : 

3962. You stated in substance that you had no hesitation in saying that prosecutions in 
vindication of the rights of Union men could be as successfully maintained in the courts 
of this city, before the juries thereof, as they could in favor of vindicating the rights of rebels ; 
now I want to know how you explain the fact that not a single, prosecution has been com- 
menced, or successfully carried on, for the vast number of homicides and assaults on the 30th 
of July. 

I explain it in this way : as the presiding officer of the court it is well known to you, gen- 
tlemen, I cannot and do not know anything that transpires before the grand jury ; but the 
complaint was that they could get no one against whom information had been given ; that 
there had been some military action releasing all the parties they had arrested. 

39(53. Do you testify that the reasons why prosecutions have not been successfully made 
for the wrongs of the 30th of July was that the military prevented it ? 

I testify only that that was the complaint of the grand jury. I know nothing about the 
facts of the case. 

3964. 1 >o you testify that you have done all that you could to procure a successful prose- 
cution of the offenders of that day ? 

I have done all that was in the power of the court. 

3965. You have stated that you have made three or four different charges pointing to the 
indictment of the members of the convention, and have secured their indictment ; why have 
you not been equally industrious in getting indictments against the enemies of the conven- 
tion, who killed the members thereof and the negroes ? 

That is morally impossible. I charged the grand jury as explicitly as it was my duty to 
do. I cannot enter the grand jury room and ascertain what has gone on there. 

3966. You have said there is such a condition of impartial opinion here as that a prosecu- 
tion against one class of citizens would be no more successful in the courts than against another ; 
now I want to know, if you have done your duty, how it happens that no one man has been in- 
dicted for the riots of the 30th of July? 

I can only repeat that it is impossible for me to do more than to charge the grand jury 
properly in the case. In one case there was the demonstration before us that men were to 
meet in violation of the constitution ; that they were coming together by a preconcerted 
plan. That is a very different matter, it w°uld seem to me, from determining who was 
right and who was wrong in what was supposed to be a riot. The people here all believe, 
as I believe, that the riot was altogether a riot of these men. 

3967. Do you mean the members cf the convention? 

They all believe that. There is but one opinion, that this convention assembled in viola- 
tion of the law and of the constitution. It was done by virtue of public advertisement call- 
ing the meeting, which all could read. 

3968. You are a lawyer, and therefore know what is a proper answer to a question. I. 
ask you to give me an answer to the question I have propounded. 

I will do so. They have been just as successful on one side as on the other, for both sides 
killed their men, ami no prosecution has been commenced for the killing of either. 

3969. Who was killed by the friends of the convention? 

I understand there were two policemen and a young man b*y the name of Cenas. 

3970. Was he killed by any one friendly to the convention? 
It was so said. 

3971. I wish you to state where you ever saw in the history of a civilized country an 
instance in which scores of men were killed in daylight and hundreds wounded, where the 
law, as you have sworn it is here, is impartially and fairly enforced, and yet no man bo suc- 
cessfully prosecuted I 

I have answered that already, that this was looked upon by all as being a riot of the con- 
ventinuists. It was looked upon by all here as being one of the most unparalleled attempts 
to usurp the franchise of a State ever known in history. The whole people here believed, 
and I presume the grand jury participated in that belief, that the action of that day was to 
put down one of the most terrific riots caused by these men ever known — a riot committed 
by these conventionists and thirty thousand negroes called in to sustain them. I said that 
the whole people looked upon this as an unparalleled attempt to revolutionize and usurp the 
franchise el' the State. They looked upon these people in connection with the convention as 
altogether to blame for bringing about the riot. The whole people here, as far as I have 
heard, express themselves as believing this convention was acting in violation of the consti- 
tution of the State, which they admit themselves, and thai they had called in thirty thousand 
negroes to sustain them in their revolutionary work. They called them publicly rromstands 
at various points, as I am informed, and as was stated in the papers. The grand jury did 
not think, perhaps, that the punishment was greater than the magnitude of the circum- 
stances surrounding the meeting of that convention warranted. 

3972. In other words, the grand jury held, under your instructions, and with all the light 



TESTIMONY OF EDMOND ABELL 273 

they had, that the blood shed on that day was justified by what was done by the convention 
ami its friends ' 

I have staled that the acts of that day were deprecated by every intelligent man. 

3973. Do you take hack, then, your remark that the riot was justified by what the con- 
vention did ? 

Nothing of that kind was contained in my charge; but it is well known that it is the gen- 
eral impression, and thai may have been the impression of the grand jury. 

8974. Did you tell the grand jury that the riot was not justified by what the members of 
the convention had done ? 

I could not have said so. 

3975. Why could you not have said so? 

Because my opinion is, and always has been, that the meeting of that convention was one 
of the most illegal, unconstitutional, aud unwarranted and riotous acts ever perpetrated in 
any civilized country. 

3976. In your opinion it justified what the police did? 
1 did not say what the police did. 

3977. Then I want to ask you why you did not charge the grand jury, if the riots were not 
justified by what the convention did, that they were not justified? 

If you will he kind enough to read the charges themselves you will perceive that I charged 
the grand jury, as I stated, that if they believed there was a riot, the civil authorities had 
the right to suppress it ; but if there was more force used than was necessary the parties 
using it were liable to criminal prosecution, whether on one side or on the other. 

3978. What did the friends and members of the convention do, besides meeting, which 
constituted them rioters ? 

They devised to subvert the government of the State. 

o'J7!). Did not you charge the grand jury that what they did in connection with the de- 
clared purposes of the convention, and also its meeting, justified what was done against the 
members of that convention and its friends? 

No, sir; I charged no such thing. 

3980. Then it was your charge to the grand jury which has prevented the authors of that 
bloodshed from being indicted ? 

On the contrary, 1 charged them to indict them. 

3981. Then, why are they not indicted, when you say the fact is that the sentiments of 
this community are such that the law will be enforced here even against rebels ! 

Yes, sir; the humblest negro even, I believe, will get full justice. I explain, as I have 
before, upon the general principle that the riot was looked upon as being perfected or 
brought about all the time by the convention, by a preconcerted determination to subvert 
the very government they had made, and directly in the face of it. They admit for the 
purpose of subverting it, and therefore I could not charge the grand jury any further than I 
did. t I said that if, in suppressing it, any person or persons used more force than was reasona- 
ably necessary, they were liable as being guilty of manslaughter or assault and battery, as 
the case might be. 

3982. And yet those who committed these murderous assaults have not been indicted? 
Yet none of those who engaged in the riot have been indicted. 

3983. And yet there is an impartial state of feeling here? 

Yes, sir ; those who killed the policemen, aud those who killed the members of the con- 
vention and their friends, have none of them been indicted. • 

3984. Suppose the members of the convention were to meet to ascertain how many vacan- 
cies existed in the body, to provide for elections, so as to have the entire State represented in 
the convention in September ; then to reassemble, and consider, in a full convention from 
the entire State, the question of their power to propose amendments to the constitution, 
and, if they found they had that power, to submit amendments to a vote of the people, and 
not to put them in force until approved by the people and by Congress ; then I want to 
know what there was illegal in the assembling of that convention, with such a purpose, on 
the 30th of July ? 

If we could suppose that, in the face of the advertised purposes to the contrary, then I 
could not say but what the conclusion would be different. 

3985. What were the advertised purposes ? 

It was reconvoking the convention for the purpose of altering and amending the constitu- 
tion, substantially, and specifying, to some extent, the very propositions they intended to 
make. 

3986. Who signed that recon vocation ? 

I am not able to say ; Judge Howell claimed to be the president. 

3987. In that connection, please examine the proclamation now shown you, signed by R. 
K. Howell, president pro tempore, and state whether it is a copy, according to your recollec- 
tion, of the advertised propositions alluded to in your last answer .' 

I think it is a correct copy, according to my recollection. In fully answering the pre- 
ceding question I will say that the call purporting to be by Judge Howell was to propose 
amendments to the constitution; and according to my individual understanding of the con- 
stitution, they had, by the 147th section of the constitution, divested themselves of the 
18 N. o. 



274 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

power, directly or indirect]}', to alter or amend the constitution. According to this article I 
am clearly of the opinion that they had no power to meet under any state of the case, and, 
in my opinion, tins advertisement was in direct violation of the constitution, and that the 
meeting of these men was calculated to subvert the government and disturb the good order 
of the Slate. 

3988. I now call your attention to the proclamation of Governor Wells, dated 27th July, 
1866, ordering an election to be held on the 3d of September, 1866, of members to the con- 
stitutional convention from the unrepresented parishes in the State; I also again direct your 
attention to the provision in the call of Judge Howell providing for the filling of such va- 
cancies by such election, and 'inquire of you how, taking these two purposes together, it 
could have been expected that steps should have been taken to submit propositions or amend- 
ments by that convention on the 30th of July, or before the elections on the 3d of Septem- 
ber? 

I respond by saying that I then looked upon it, as I now do, as one of the most unau- 
thorized and unjiistiliable acts ever done in any civilized government. Judge Howell had 
no right to issue any such call. Governor Wells could not have had any authority in the 
constitution or laws of the State for issuing any such proclamation. I repeat that it was, 
in my opinion, one of the most unauthorized and illegal acts ever perpetrated by an official. 

The following papers, referred to by witness in his testimony, were presented by him in 
evidence: 

PROVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION FOR ITS AMENDMENT. 

"Art. 147. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the 
senate or house of representatives ; and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the 
members elected to each house, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered 
on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon. Such proposed amendment or 
amendments shall be submitted to the people at an election to be ordered by said legislature, 
and held within ninety days after the adjournment of the same, and after thirty days' pub- 
lication according to law ; and if a majority of voters at said election shall approve and 
ratify such amendment or amendments, the same shall become a part of the constitution. If 
more than one amendment be submitted at a time, they shall be submitted in such manner 
.and form that the people may vote for or against each amendment separately." 



GOVERNOR WELLS'S PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas R. K. Howell, president pro tern, of the convention for the revision and amend- 
ment of the constitution of Louisiana, has issued an order reconvoking the said convention, 
to meet in the city of New Orleans on the 30th of July, instant; and whereas in the same 
ddcument, and in conformity to a resolution of that body, he has called on the governor of the 
State i" issue writs of election for delegates to said convention in till parishes not represented 
therein : 

Now . therefore, I, J. Madison Wells, governor of the State of Louisiana, do issue this my 

I (reclamation commanding that an election be held on Monday, the 3d day of September, 1866, 
iy the qualified voters, for delegates to the aforesaid convention, as follows: 

Parish of Bienville, two delegates; Bossier, one ; Caddo, two; Calcasieu, two ; Caldwell, 
one; Carroll, two; Claiborne, four ; Catahoula, three ; De Soto, two ; Franklin, one ; West 
Feliciana, one ; .Jackson, two ; Lafayette, two; Livingston, one ; Morehouse, two ; Natchi- 
toches, three ; Ouachita, one; Poiute Coupe, two ; Sabine, two ; St. Helena, one ; St. Lan- 
dry, four; St. Mai tin, two ; 'St. Tammany, one; Tensas, one; Union, three; Washington, 
one ; Winn, two. 

And I do further command all sheriffs, commissioners of elections, and other officers therein 
concerned to hold the said elections as herein ordered, the proceedings to be conducted ac- 
cording to law, and no person will have the right to vote unless he has restored his citizen- 
ship by having taken the oath before competent authority, as prescribed in the amnesty pro- 
clamation of the President of the United States, either of January I. 1864, or May 29, L865. 

All persons excluded from general amnesty by being embraced in any of the articles of ex- 
ception contained therein will not be allowed to vote unless specially pardoned by the 
President. 

Prompt returns will be made of said election to the secretary of the State, for all of which 
this proclamation, without further notice, will serve as authority. 

Given under my hand at the city of New Orleans, this 27th day of July, A. D. 1866, and 
•of the independence of the United States the ninety -first. 

J. MADISON WELLS. 

Attest : A true copy. 

N. C. SNETHEN, Private Secretary. 



TESTIMONY OF EDMOND ABELL. 275 

CHARGES TO THE GRAND JURY. 

State of Louisiana, parish of Orleans, first district court of New Orleans. 

Charge to the grand jury. — Filed July 3, 1866. 

GENTLEMEN: You are selected as the grand inquest in and for the body of the parish of 
Orleans. 

By your high office you are made the guardians of peace and good order. GPuided as yon 
will be in your deliberations by the wisdom, experience, firmness, and moderation of the law 
officers of the State, is to your oaths an additional guarantee that no offender against the laws 
of the State, however high his position, will go unpunished through favor, or any innocent 
man be endangered, however humble or lowly. 

I am required by law, as judge of this court, to call your attention to the several penal 
statutes against the several offences of carrying concealed weapons, trespasses on public land, 
misappropriation of the school fund, obstruction of navigable streams, destruction of levees, 
and the sale of lottery tickets without license. Should any violation of these statutes be 
brought to your knowledge, it is your duty to indict the offender. 

You are required by law to visit and inspect prisons within the parish and make report to 
the judge of this court of the manner in which prisoners are treated, &c, and report delin- 
quent officers connected with the prisons. 

Gentlemen, it must be borne in mind that every officer, however high his position, is 
equally responsible to the law, and is as absolutely subjected to its penalties for his crimes 
and misdemeanors as the humblest member of society. 

Every officer in the State of Louisiana, before entering upon his duties, is bound to take 
the following oath or affirmation : 

"I, A. B , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution and laws of 
the United States and of this State, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and 

perform all the duties incumbent on me as according to the best of my abilities and 

understanding. So help me God." 

I charge, you that the constitution adopted on the — day of July, 1864, and submitted to and 
ratified by the people on the 1st Monday of September of the same year, is the constitution 
of the State, which all her officers have sworn to support. 

I further charge you that the constitution makes no provision for the continuance of the con- 
vention of 1864 ; and I further charge you that there is no convention in the State of Louisi- 
ana known to the constitution and laws of the State; that the resolution offered by Hon. 
R. King Cutler, by which the defunct convention claims the right to reassemble, is neither a 
part of the constitution or laws of the State, and furnishes no legal pretext for its pretensions, 
and that any effort upon the part of that defunct body to assemble, for the purpose of altering 
or amending the constitution, is subversive of good order and dangerous to the peace of the 
State, and that any overt act tending to subvert the constitution by any officers of the State 
who have sworn to support it renders them liable to the criminal laws of the State for misde- 
meanor in office and perjury. 

Gentlemen, these are grave considerations, and require great deliberation and moderation. 
But it is my duty, your duty, and that of every lover of his common country to firmly oppose 
factional usurpation and stand by the reconstruction policy adopted by the President of the 
United States, which proposes at once to unite the country and make it great and prosperous. 

Indorsed: First district court. Charge of the court to the grand jury. Filed 3d July, 
1866. 

M. TREPAGNIER, Clerk. 

Certificate. 

I hereby certify that the above and foregoing four pages do contain a true and correct copy 
from the original charge delivered to the grand jury on the 3d day of July, and now on file 
and of record in this court. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of our said court, 
at New Orleans, this 20th day of September, 1866. 

[SEAL.J P. GRAVOIS, Deputy Clerk. 



State of Louisiana, parish of Orleans, first district court of Ncio Orleans. 

Charge to the grand jury.— Filed July 23, 1866. 

Gentlemen of the grand jury : You ask for more specific instructions relative to your 
powers to suppress unlawful assemblies dangerous to the peace and good order of the State, 
such as is advertised to take place on the 3Uth instant. Everything is comprehended in the 
instructions already given. 



276 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

The constitution of 1864 is the fundamental law of the State, and furnishes ample protec- 
tion for its supremacy, and can only be altered or amended in accordance with the provisions 
contained in the instrument itself. The oath required to support a constitution by officers of 
a state who are intrusted with its administration, is one of the guarantees that it will not 
be betrayed. In some governments a violation of that oath would not only be perjury, but 
treason, which, being anigher grade of felony, perjury is merged in it. 

Under the constitution of this State a violation of oath of office would be perjury, and no 
more. 1 and every officer in the State of Louisiana have sworn to support the constitution, 
and substantially made oath that it shall not be altered in any other manner than is provided 
in the 149th article of that instrument. 

I now charge yon that a violation of that oath isperiuryin the officer or officers who violate 
it, and subornation of perjury in all who procure it to be done. 

The 147th article of the constitution of lbu4, made by the late convention, clearly points 
out the mode of amending it. It reads — 

"Any amendment or amendments to this constitution maybe proposed in the senate or 
house of representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members 
elected to each house, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their 
journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon. Such proposed amendment or amendments 
shall lie submitted to the people at an election to be ordered by the said legislature, and held 
within ninety day& after the adjournment of the same, ami after thirty days' publication, 
according to law ; ami if a majority of the voters at said election shall approve and ratify 
such amendment or amendments, the same shall become a part of this constitution. If more 
than one amendment is submitted at a time, they shall be submitted in such manner and 
form that the people may vote for or against each amendment separately." 

This, gentlemen, is the only mode pointed out by the constitution, and, it being fully ratified 
by the people, it can only be altered by their own consent, expressed at the ballot-box, or 
by the legislature. 

By the 2d clause of article 149 i* is declared that "All laws in force at the time of the 
adoption of this constitution, and not inconsistent therewith, shall continue as if the same 
had not been adopted." 

These laws furnish ample vindication for the integrity of the constitution. Among the laws 
thus adopted by the convention itself are several sections against breaches of the peace, 
misdemeanor in office, unlawful assemblies, vagrancy, perjury, and subornation of perjury: 
and it is my duty, as one of the conservators of the peace and judge of the criminal court, 
ami you as grand inquest of the parish of Orleans, and of all other peace officers, to use all 
lawful means to prevent any unlawful assembly or assemblies, and such as would have a 
natural tendency to create a breach of the public peace. 

Any attempt to alter the constitution of the State in defiance of its provisions, by any body 
of men unauthorized by the provisions of the constitution, or powers emanating directly 
from the people through the ballot-box, is illegal and unconstitutional, and punishable by law. 
The members of the late convention claim to be loyal men ;'this I concede: with a few 
honorable exceptions they were loyal to the confederacy under apparent prosperity, loy^bl to 
the United States while they could get ten dollars a day as members of the convention, and, 
after the division of offices among them, they became so exceedingly patriotic that they de- 
clared the constitution of 1864 the best ever made. Some of these men were deserters from 
the confederate army, others held office under the confederacy, civil and military, and others 
raised guards tor its defence. And yet. gentlemen of the grand jury, these men claim to be 
of and represent the loyal people of the State of Louisiana, and boldly assert that they are to 
receive the aid of the arms of the United States to assist them in usurping the right to alter 
the fundamental law of the State of Louisiana, and that in direct violation of the constitution 
they have made and the laws they have adopted. 

This is an unmerited implication against the arms of the country — the mere vapor of dis- 
appointed men. The profession of arms is one of the most honorable in this or any other 
government, tilled by the best men of the country, and guarded by them with an eye of jealousy. 
It is not to be supposed a profession so honorable would lend itself to the aid of these disap- 
pointed men, so utterly at variance with republican principles, illegal, and unconstitutional. 
The military have in ail cases refused to interfere with the civil government of this State, even 
when called upon by the late attorney general. 

I do not hesitate to say that the military will not interfere with the civil government of the 
Stale. With a government organized under the constitution of 1864, regularly and efficiently 
administering the laws, notwithstanding the conflicting elements incidental to the close of the 
late war, there is a guarantee that it will be competent to guard its constitution and vindicate 
its laws. 

Gentlemen, some of the members of the late convention predicate their hopes of success 
on the preamble of the resolution offered by Mr. Terry on the 5th of May, 1864. ^Debates 
of the convention, page 175 ; journal of the convention, page 64 ) It reals: " Whereas large 

sums of mi y ha\ e during the past year been remitted to this State for the purpose of a free 

State government m Louisiana, and it is now a fitting time that the said money should be 



TESTIMONY OF EDMOND ABELL. 277 

applied to the patriotic purpose of the donors, and this convention is informed that the said 

moneys arc in the hands of the so-called Free State General Committee, of which is 

president," &C. 

They say emphatically they have large sums of money. As a member of the late conven- 
tion - I recommend it to the use of charitable institutions, and you, gentlemen of the grand 
inquest, who have equal privilege with the most favored of the late convention, will no doubt 
join me in the recommendation, as will every honest man in the State, each and every one of 
whom have the same right on the floor of any convention that may be assembled to alter the 
constitution as I or anyone of the late convention. 

Can it be possible that these men in their desperation expect to corrupt a great State with 
their money ; and yet'the clamor of the affidavit man for his share or blood is significant .' It 
cannot be so. 

Gentlemen, the tendency of the colored population of the city and State to industrial pur- 
suits and orderly conduct has given satisfaction and promise for the future, but the construc- 
tion given by Commissioner Shannon to what is known as the "civil rights bill" will, if 
persisted in, lead to great inconvenience, hardship, and oppression. 

Under the laws of the State of Louisiana the colored man has preciselythe same rights and 
redress in all cases, civil and criminal, that any white man has or can have, and yet by the 
construction given by Mr. Shannon, in cases of assault and battery, he claims the right, and 
has done so, to drag under guard for hundreds of miles respectable citizens on a charge of 
assault and battery upon a negro, an offence for which the constitution and laws of the State 
furnish precisely the same remedy for the black as for the white man. He claims the right 
under that bill to arrest the judges of the courts of the State, however honest their decisions, 
if adverse to his construction of the bill. Under his construction there is no security to the 
citizen unless his skin be black. 

I now repeat what I have often said before, that the negro having equal rights under the laws 
of the State with the white man, if what is called the civil rights bill is a constitutional law, 
it is not applicable to the State of Louisiana, audi earnestly recommend the attorney general 
of the State to correspond immediately with the Attorney General of the United States, in 
order to get a proper construction of the act, that we may have certainty as to our status. 

Finally, gentlemen, as a member of the late convention of 1864, with feelings of kindness 
towards each and every member, I earnestly hope that they will desist from their illegal 
purposes and that you may not be required to enforce any law of the State in the vindica- 
tion of its peace and dignity. But if meet they must, apply the law justly and firmly : the 
constitution must be vindicated. 

Indorsed : First district court of New Orleans. Charge to the grand jury. Filed 23d 
July, 1866. 

N. TREPAGNIER, Clerk. 
Certificate. 

I hereby certify that the above and foregoing eight pages do contain a true and correct 
copy from the original charge delivered to the grand jury, on the 23d of July, and now on 
file and of record in this court. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the seal of our said court 
at New Orleans, this 21st of September, 1866. 

[seal.] » P. GRAVOIS, Deputy Clerk. 

State of Louisiana, parish of Oilcans, first district court of New Orleans. 
Charge to the grand jury. — Filed New Orleans, August 2, 1866. 

Gentlemen of the grand jury : The riot which occurred on MonJay last has filled the 
breast of every considerate member of society with sorrow for the untimely fate of so many 
of our fellow-beings. The cause of the riot has no parallel in history. It will be remem- 
bered in 1864 a convention was called by order of Major General Banks, General Orders No. 
35, commander of this department, for the purpose of amending the constitution of 1852 of 
the State. That on the 25th of .July following they concluded their labors by adopting the 
■present constitution," which was submitted to the people on the 1st Monday of September, 
L864, and adopted by them. By the 147th article of the constitution the mode of amend- 
ment is clearly pointed out. By the 154th article of the constitution an election was ordered 
and the State government went immediately into effect, and has been in successful operation 
nearly two years, and, I hesitate not to say, as efficiently as the most sanguine could have 
expected immediately upon the close of the war. 

That notwithstanding a complete constitution, adopted by the people, a portion of the 
members of the late convention of 1864 took it into their heads that they would assemble 
and form themselves into a convention with the avowed and previously advertised purpose 
of altering the fundamental law of the State, under a resolution which was never made a 
part of the constitution, and consequently superseded by it, leaving them without the slight 
est legal pretext for their assembling. The constitution that these men made in 1864 con- 
tains provisions entirely inconsistent with the resolution under which they pretended to have 
the right to meet. 



278 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



In the 153d article of the constitution a provision is made for a proclamation of its ratifi- 
cation in these words: " It' it shall appear at the close that a majority of all the votes given 
is for ratifying this constitution, then it shall be the duty of the governor to make proclama- 
tion of the fact, and thenceforth this constitution shall be ordained and established as the 
constitution of the State of Louisiana." The proclamation was duly made. In the 14/th 
article of the same instrument the mode of amendment is clearly pointed out in these words: 
''Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the senate or 
house of representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members 
elected to each house, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their 
journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon. Such proposed amendment or amend- 
ments shall be submitted to the people.at an election to be ordered by said legislature, and 
held within ninety -days' after the adjournment of the same, and after thirty days' publication 
according to law; and if a majority of the voters at said election shall approve and ratify 
such amendment or amendments the same shall become a part of the constitution. If more 
than one amendment be submitted at a time they shall be submitted in such manner and 
form that the people may vote for or against each amendment separately." 

The 154th article orders a general election throughout the State. The 149th article adopts 
the law s of the State in these words : " All laws in force at the time of the adoption of this 
constitution, and not inconsistent therewith, shall continue as if the same had not been 
adopted." 

The second clause of the 133d article of the constitution declares that " The city of New Or- 
leans shall maintain a police, which shall be uniformed, with distinction of grade, to con- 
sist of permanent citizens of the State of Louisiana," a clause unknown in other constitu- 
tions. These words and clauses in the constitution of 1864 not only show that the conven- 
tion had completed its work when the constitution was ratified by the people, but that it 
has thrown around it the strongest safeguard for its vindication. 

With these facts existing, it could not be supposed that any people could submit to have 
their fundamental law altered in any particular without their consent; and I do not hesi- 
tate to say that there is not a town, city, or State throughout the length and breadth of these 
United States that could or would submit to have their charter or constitution altered with- 
out warrant of law or consent of the people to be governed ; yet, gentlemen, in the face of 
these stubborn facts, and the natural consequences that would grow out of them, a few weeks 
ago it was announced by thirty or forty of the late convention, first in secret conclave and 
afterwards in the journals of the city, that they intended to meet on the 30th instant for the 
purpose of altering the very constitution that they have made, and under which the most of 
them b^ave held office. 

This, gentlemen of the grand jury, was treated for some time by the whole community as 
the mere vapor of disappointed ambition, or the boast of demented persons; but few be- 
lieved that they entertained seriously any such intention 

As a member of the late convention, and now one of the conservators of the public peace, 

I believed otherwise; the press believed otherwise, and used every possible means of dis- 

Ihag the leaders of the illegal proceedings from proceeding further in an enterprise 

which nearly all believed to be a mere farce — which might and in fact has ended in a 

serious tragedy; but reason and persuasion were alike unavailing. 

On bViday last, the '27th of July, a mass meeting was called by them, largely attended 
by colored people. The meeting was addressed by several persons in language most inflam- 
matory, calling upon the freedmen to arm themselves and defend the convention on the day 
fixed for its meetings, promising them that they would give them the right to vote, &c. 

Gentlemen of the grand jury, by reference to the proceedings of the convention of 1864, 
you will perceive that these very men and co-operators had power to grant the right of 
franchise to the colored people by a vote of seventy-two to twenty, a clear majority of fifty- 
two votes. They had the entile control of the convention, and why not spare the blood of 
these unfortunate men, if guided by patriotic motives, and their own blood and the loss of 
se many citizens and officers on the 30th day of .July, the time advertised for the meeting of 
these men.' The freedmen assembled in large numbers, with demonstrations tending to a 
riot. The members of the late convention, to the number of twenty-live or thirty, proceeded 

to the Mechanics' Hall and attempted t ganize. Up to this time, it appears, but little or 

no trouble had accrued, and I think it most likely but tor a misunderstanding between the 
military and civil authorities the riot would have been, at this point, suppressed. At the 
request of General Hays, sheriff of the parish of Orleans, I appeared at an early hour in the 
morning for the purpose of swearing in a large number of influential and respectable citizens 
as special deputies for the day; but he having what he deemed reliable information that 
he would not be permitted to execute the process of this court, declined having them sworn. 
Such a body of men could not have failed to have great weight in the suppression of a riot, 
as well as aiding in the execution of the process of the court. 

Gentlemen oi the grand jury, my apology for dwelling so long upon the circumstances of 
this case is its vast importance to the state, and the efforts that will, most likely, be made to 
show the inefficiency of the courts of the State to preserve the public peace and maintain 
order. It must be borne in mind that the riot in New ( brleans on Monday last was an attempt 



TESTIMONY OF F. M. OROZAT. 27 9 

to subvert the government of the State, which is always attended by disorder, and usually 
with bloodshed, which cannot be prevented by the wisest foresight or the most efficient laws. 

Gentlemen of the grand jury, you have power to call before you witnesses to the tacts and 
circumstances of the riot, and to apply them to the law governing the case. 

The 31st section of the act el' 1805 declares, "Whoever shall make or assist at any riot, rout, 
or unlawful assembly," Ac, shall suffer fine or imprisonment, or both, at the discretion of 
tla urt. 

An unlaw I'ul assembly is said by Serjeant Hawkins to be any meeting of great numbers 
of people with such circumstances of terror as. cannot but endanger the public peace and 
raise fears and jealousies -among the king's subjects. A rout is any motion of such unlaw- 
ful assembly towards the consummation of the unlawful act designed; a riot comprehends 
both an unlawful assembly and a rout, and must consist of three persons or more; the meet- 
ing must be unlawful, or lawful and executed in an unlawful manner, and must be accompa- 
nied with acts of tumult or violence, and must be under circumstances calculated to terrify 
the people. 

1 charge you, gentlemen, if any one of these offences has been committed, all who shall 
have made or knowingly assisted are guilty as principals, and, as such, are liable for all the 
criminal consequences that follow, up to the abandonment of the illegal purpose. 

I further charge you that, in case any murder or other felony was committed, all present 
countenancing, abetting, assisting, and aiding in the execution of any unlawful purpose 
are guilty as principals ; and all those who counselled, hired, or procured it to be done, but 
absent at the committal of the fact, are guilty as accessories before the fact, and punishable 
by r special statute, with the same severity that the principals are. 

Gentlemen, if you are satisfied that a riot has taken place in the city of New Orleans, then 
I charge you that it is the duty of all peace officers of the State to assist in suppressing the 
riot, using no more force and violence than is necessary; and it is the duty of every citizen 
to aid the officers of the law, using the like caution; and if it becomes necessary to slay one 
or more of the rioters in order to put it down, it is not murder, but excusable homicide; if 
more force and violence was used than was reasonably necessary upon the circumstances of 
the case, then the party using the excess will be guilty of murder, manslaughter, or assault 
and battery, according to the circumstances of the case, and the nature, fierceness and mag- 
nitude of the riot to be suppressed. 

r i -A- true and correct coj)y from the original on file and of record in this court. 

1 KAL-J P. GKAVOIS, Clerk. 

Clerk's Office, N. O., December 29, 1866. 



New Orleans, December 2Q, 1866. 
F. M. CEOZAT, a witness called at the request of Lieutenant Governor Voorhees as one 
acquainted with facts that may be of service to the committee and wdiicb ought to be stated, 
being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

I am fifty-eight years old ; was born in New Orleans ; I am. recorder of births and deaths, 
appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. I was not 
at i he Mechanics' Institute on the 30th of July. 1 was a member of the convention; but 
in consequence of advice given me I did not go. A friend of mine came to me and told me 
that if he were in my place he would not go there. I asked why not ? He said if you go 
there you will have a riot, and you had better take care of yourself. The person who told 
me is a mason and belongs to the same lodge with me. I do not wish to give his name. 

By the Chairman : 

3989. When did you get that information? 

The day before the convention took place — on Sunday. 

3990. And that was what prevented you from going? 

Yes. I had not much inclination to go anyhow: but that determined me not to go. 

3991. How did he know that there was going to be a riot ? 
He belonged to the police. 

3992. What did he say had been prepared to be done? 
He did not tell me what had been. 

3993. What arrangements did he say had been made to prevent the convention from 
assembling .' 

He did not say anj'thing about it. 

">!><J4. What did he mean by a riot? 

I do not know about that. I know what a riot means. 

3995. What did he say was going to happen ? 
Some trouble 

3996. Where wore you on Monday ? 

1 was in my office when the alarm bells rung. 



280 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

39<)7. When was that? 

At twelve o'clock Monday morning'. 

3998. How many times did the hells ring? 

O, about a half an hour; and then I saw all the policemen pass by in a company, going 
up to the Institute. 

3999. Did you count bow many squads there were? 

They were going two by two on the banquette; about fifty going, I think, from the third 
district. 

4000. Did you see the police from the other districts? 
No, sir. 

40U1. Who was leading them ? 
I do not know. 



New Orleans, December 29, 1866. 

LIONEL A. SHELDON, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens as oue 
acquainted with facts which ought to be stated concerning the matters under investigation, 
being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

I have lived in New Orleans nearly two years ; am a lawyer by profession ; I have prac- 
ticed here since the 1st of March, 1865; I have no personal knowledge of the riot whatever; 
I was in the city on that day, but was contiued to my room, and saw nothing of the dis- 
turbance. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

. 4002. Were you ever in the United States army? 
I was. 

4003. What was your position in the army? 

I held all the oracles from captain to brevet brigadier general. I was b'revetted after I went 
out of the service. 

4004. How long did you serve in the army 1 
About four years. 

4005. And since then you have been in business in New Orleans? 

I have been in business here since March, 1865 ; until recently I resided in the adjoining 
arish of Jefferson. 

4006. How have you succeeded in your profession ? 

Very much better than I ever expected I could in this place. I consider my success flat- 
tering ; very much so as a la\\.\ er. 

4007. You have succeeded, notwithstanding you have been an officer in the federal army, 
fighting against the confederacy ? 

I have succeeded, audi fought against the confederacy. It is well known that I have 
been in the federal army. 

4008. Please state how the people of this community stand affected towards the government 
at this time ; whether they are favorably or unfavorably disposed. 

I do not think there are very many men in Louisiana who lived here previous to the war 
who felt towards the government of the United States as I did— that is to say, I think the 
number who loved the government of the United States is very small ; but I think the disposi- 
tion to recognize its authority and obey its laws in peace is very general. 

4009. Can a man, without reference to his political sentiments, live in this community 
and speak his mind .' 

I think he can. At least I have never been interfered with, or had any unpleasant occur- 
rences, and I have been about the State a good deal since my sojourn here, except on one or 
two occasions. One occurred at the City .Hotel since the surrender of the confederate army. 
A gentleman, whose name 1 did not then know, and do not now know, made use of some ex- 
pressions which excited my anger, and which I took up. I found out that his reputation 
was that of a very irresponsible man, ami the thing dropped. On another occasion 1 had 
some pretty sharp words with Colonel E. Crandall, formerly of the confederate army, while 
coming down the Mississippi river. He afterwards made an apology to me for it, and said 
he was trying to buy some cotton, and that he thought he could exert a favorable influence 
by his secession talk. 

4010. Do confederate and federal officers, those who were formerly in arms against each 
other, now meet amicably and upon friendly terms? 

I think they do, universally, or nearly so, 

401 J. If Louisiana were restored to her representation in Congress, and her position in the 
Union as a State, would it produce a good or bad effect upon the public mind in this com- 
munity .' 

It is m}' opinion, and has been all the while, that the sentiment of affection towards the 
United States government would, by that occurrence, bo rapidly developed. That has 
been my judgment all the while, and is at this moment. 



TESTIMONY OF LIONEL A. SHELDON. 281 

4012. State whether, in your opinion, that would be the best mode of fully restoring 
public confidence and fidelity to the government. 

I cannot say whether it would be the best mode. My opinion is that it woulfl be a good 
mode, provided that representation was limited to loyal men or men who had not been prom- 
inent in 111' 1 struggle. I mean the leading men in I lie confederacy, although 1 must add that 
some of those wiio have been most active in the rebellion are now among the best men In the 
State of Louisiana ; are the most peaceable, sensible, and generously disposed men here: but 
the difficulty is this: that many of these men fought for glory aud failed to achieve glory in 
the war, and they still retain much of their old bitterness, and take advantage of the sentiment 
that prevailed during the war to inflame the minds of the people against the government. 
Others again are as remote from that as possible. I could mention instances of men whom 
I would trust much before that class of men who have been here with an oath to support the 
confederacy in one pocket and an oath to support the Union in another. 

4(HI!. Are there many here of that class? 

"Within my acquaintance there are several. Among those who have been prominent in the 
rebellion, and who, I think, can now be trusted, are General Hays, the sheriff of Orleans 
county, and General Adams, chief of police ; they are both excellent men; but I repeat, 
there is still a class of men exceedingly vituperative, and some of them at one time or another 
have taken an oath to support the government. There is a pretty large class of this descrip- 
tion of men living near the coast, where our army had possession during the war. I think 
those wdio were purely soldiers are the best men we have now; men who stood faithfully by 
the confederacy aud will now stand faithfully by the Union. I must say that those who now 
claim to be Union men of Louisiana are a class I do not think very much of, either in 
respect to their capacity, their courage, or their moral principle. I speak of them now as a 
class. There are some of them I have very a high opinion of. 

4014. What is your opinion of that class of men here who advocate negro suffrage ? 

I think they have been the cause of very much irritation in the community from the 
manner in which they have advocated their theories, and especially from the inconsistencies 
of the persons-; nearly all of them who advocated that doctrine, and a great majority of 
whom have at one time been sneaking rebels, if my information is correct. I do not, of 
course, know that personally. I think the very best element in Louisiana, the element 
to be most relied upon in an emergency to-day, is the confederate army. If we had 
a foreign war, and the theatre of that war was in the east or north, there would be little 
volunteering and very little support of the government on their part ; but if the invasion 
was here, and this was the theatre of the war, they would defend their country with just as 
much spirit as they did the confederacy. That is my opinion. I have talked with a great 
many of the leading men on the subject, and they say they would fight here, but they would 
not go north or east. They would defend their homes. There are a very few who wish a 
foreign war, in order to unite and consolidate the country, and to heal up all past differences. 
I have taken a good deal of pains since I have been here to make myself acquainted with 
the leading prominent men, and learn what their sentiments are. I recollect a remark made 
by the district attorney of the seventh district here, which perhaps illustrates to a certain 
extent the sentiment of a certain class of politicians. He said it was determined in this 
State that any man holding a prominent position in the country, as President or Vice- 
President, must be a confederate in order to obtain the support of the south. I think there 
is considerable of that class of sentiment upon the part of certain individuals. 

4015. Is that sentiment general? 

I do not think it is general. There are certain men who undertook to ride on that issue. 
The result of the recent elections in the north, however, has perhaps somewhat modified their 
ideas. But a man must live in the south in order to understand this thing. There is a larger 
element of irresponsible, reckless, bad men in this locality than there, is in the north. There 
is, however, a very large element of quiet, good men who desire to develop the welfare of 
the country, but who seem not to have the moral courage to take hold of public sentiment, 
and suffer themselves to he controlled by these irresponsible men. This element of bad men 
has always existed here, and has always affected injuriously, I think, the interest of the 
south. They are men who have no social status in the community. I believe the kindest 
men in the State of Louisiana towards the blacks are the old slaveholders. ' It is this irrespon- 
sible class that does the shooting, the killing, and the injustice towards the blacks. The men 
of property who formerly owned the blacks are really as kind to them now as I or any 
northern man would be, and they have not the prejudice against the race which I would feel. 

4016. From your observation and acquaintance in this community, stale whether, in your 
opinion, a liberal, magnanimous course upon the part of the government towards them 
would be more advisable and productive of better effects than an illiberal, oppressive course. 

It is my opinion that a generous and liberal course upon the part of the government of the 
United States is best for that government and for this community. I would not make that 
generosity universal. There are . persons I would discriminate against, such as those who 
have been politically and morally responsible for the secession of this State. The misfor- 
tune, as I understand it, has been this : The President has pardoned not soldiers, not those 
who went out and fought bravely and sincerely, but he has pardoned the politicians — the 
very men who carried the State out of the Union — aud he has placed them right back in tho 



282 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



forefront of society. Congress has then said to this State, and to all of the south — though I 
am speaking particularly of this State — that it makes no difference who you send to Con- 
gress, one man can get in as well as another, and this set of politicians take advantage of 
the fact, and say that a Union man will have no better chance to get into Congress than one 
who has been a rebel. The action of both President and Congress, in my opinion, has been 
unfortunate. It has had a tendency to put these men, politically aud morally irresponsible, 
iu the forefront of society; whereas, if he had pardoned those who were sincere, and who 
fought in the southern army, and had punished, by refusing to pardon, those who were 
morally responsible for the rebellion, and Congress had admitted Union men, then Union 
men could have gone before the community and said, "We are the only men who can serve 
you. We can get into Congress, while those who have been morally responsible for the re- 
bellion cannot. 1 think this would have had a very beneficial effect. 

4017. Yon think it would have encouraged the Uuion sentiment of the south, and given to 
Union men the control of affairs? 

Yes, sir. The thing that seems to offend the people as much as anything in my observa- 
tion — in other words, the great unconstitutional and unpardonable offence committed by the 
government of the United States in this war — is that which has made it necessary for the 
whites to work. That is an offence they cannot get over. They are not, as a people, in- 
clined to be industrious. I do not believe that there is any feeling here which will prevent 
a Union man from living here and doing business in this locality. A man can live just ex- 
actly as well iu the south as he can in the north. The sentiment in respect to killing aud 
lighting is. however, different here from what it is there. I do not desire you to believe that 
I am volunteering this statement for this occasion ; I expressed the same sentiment last 
fall ou the stump in Ohio. 



New Orleans, December 28, 1866. 

CHRISTIAN ROSELIUS, called as one of the witnesses whose name was presented by 
a committee of citizens as having knowledge of facts which the ■committee should be put iu 
possession of, being sworn, testified as follows : 

So far as the subject of this riot is concerned, I have no personal knowledge of what trans- 
pired on the 30th of July. I was in my office when the unfortunate occurrence took place, 
and heard of it from my junior partner, Mr. Phillips. I went out to see what was going on, 
but the riot had been quelled by the military. Preceding this unfortunate affair I was con- 
sulted by the lieutenant governor, Voorhees, and ex-Chief Justice Merrick as to the course 
that ought to be pursued to prevent the action of individuals who pretended to be members 
of the constitutional convention, and one of whom, Judge Howell, pretended to be the presi- 
dent, (and who, by the by, is a personal friend of mine, and one of my students,) for the pur- 
pose of amending or changing the constitutiou of the State. In that consultation I advised 
that legal proceedings should be instituted for the purpose of preventing violence and avoiding 
a riot, which 1 feared might take place. These gentlemen concurred with me, and thereupon 
application was made to the attorney general, an indictment was prepared, with the names 
li fi in blank, after the statute of the State against illegal assemblies of persons for illegal 
purposes. Nothing was done until some of these individuals styling themselves members of 
the convention which framed our constitution in 1864 had assembled. For the purpose of 
ascertaining who they were, a witness was sent to the convention, or to the house where these 
people were to assemble. As soon as the names were obtained the indictment was completed 
and submitted to the grand jury. The grand jury found a true bill, which, being presented 
to the eourt, then in session, &.caj>ias was issued. In the mean time, however, it had been 
referred to the military authorities, and General Baird (who was then in command of the 
department of Louisiana) it was found would probably interfere in the execution of the pro- 
cess of the court. For what reason it was referred to him 1 do not know. It was without 
my advice or approbation. But the sheriff thought proper to confer with him upon the sub- 
ject. In my opinion General Baird had nothing whatever to do with the matter. The result 
of that was that the execution of the order was suspended until further order: therefore the 
legal process was not executed. In the mean time those gentlemen who had met at the Me- 
chanics' Institute for the purpose of acting as a convention found that a quorum of their mem- 
bers did not attend, and a motion was made by one of them to send the sergeant-at-arms who 
had been appointed to compel the attendance of absent members, and a recess was taken 
for some little time. During this interval, or just about this time, a collection (if armed 
negroes came down some of the streets. 

By the Chairman : 

4018. Are you now speaking from your own personal knowledge ? 

This is the history of the thing as 1 learned it at the time. I was not there. I have no per- 
sonal knowledge of what transpired during the riot. I got to the scene after the riot had 
beeu quelled by the proper authority. This narration 1 had entered upon was intended as 



TESTIMONY OF CHRISTIAN EOSELIUS. 283 

introductory to what I was about to state to the committee. The committee will not under- 
stand, of course, that I am stating what I know to be matters of fact, for I was not there. 
I made these observations merely to show the origin of what led to the terrible consequences 
which follow cii, for the purpose of giving you the reason of my opinion that there was no dispo- 
sition en the part of any citizen here to violate any law, or to show any hostility towards a Union 
man ox towards the government of the United States, for I believe you desire my opinion upon 
that subject, and which is the second branch of inquiry of which you desire me to speak. 
I was one of the few members of the secession convention who opposed secession openly 
and earnestly. I spoke against it on the floor of the convention, denounced it as treason in 
most unmeasured terms, both at Baton Rouge and here, after the convention came here, and 
although there was great excitement then I have never been molested in the remotest man- 
ner by any of them. I have never known any person to have been persecuted or annoyed 
here because of his loyal sentiments. Many of my personal friends, and rny clients, took a 
different view of this subject — nearly all, after the thing had been consummated by the 
passage of the Ordinance which they called "an ordinance of secession." But, notwith- 
standing that. I am not aware that it influenced in the remotest manner my professional 
relations with my former associates. They continued just where they had beeu before. 
When civil government was about being organized, General Banks (with whom I was on 
terms of great intimacy) consulted me frequently as to the proper mode of organizing a civil 
government. Unfortunately I differed with him as to the mode. It was always my opinion, 
which I expressed freely to him, that he, as commanding general, had no power whatever to 
call a convention. The reason of that opinion is, simply, that a convention can only be called 
by the people, and by no other authority. My advice to General Banks was to issue a pro- 
clamation for the purpose of electing members of the legislature, and for that legislature to 
pass a law submitting the question whether the people should call a convention or not. We 
knew perfectly well that the people would call a convention. But a different course was 
pursued, and this irregular organization took place. It is true that in consequence (at least 
in my opinion in consequence) of this irregular mode of organizing civil govermeut, and the 
improper interference of the military with the election of the people, many of the highest 
offices were filled by persons considered as unfit for the offices they held, and that did create 
some dissatisfaction. But as soon as the rebellion was finally put down, and the surrender 
of Lee's army took place, with the exception of a few crazy rebels — a very few, indeed — I 
have not heard one man utter a disloyal sentiment. The result of my observation is this : 
that those who embarked in this unfortunate undertaking are satisfied that they have done 
wrong, at least they have blundered, not to say any worse, and they are now ready and 
willing cheerfully to submit to the legitimate authority of the United States, and recognize 
the supremacy of the laws of the United States, and the authority of the officers of the United 
States that have their proper sphere of action. My own position has been somewhat peculiar. 
I have perhaps been fighting extremes on both sides. My idea of unionism is implicit obe- 
dience to the Constitution ami laws of the country. Some on both sides do not exactly coin- 
cide yvith me in that respect, and, like most old men, I am rather too far gone in life now to 
change my views upon that subject. • 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4019. At this time in yvhat way do the people of this State generally stand affected towards 
the United States government .' 

Considering the people as a whole, I believe they are just as loyal to the Constitution and 
laws and government of the United States as the people of Massachusetts or New York— 
perhaps more loyal than the people of New York. 

4U2U. Please state whether you regard the riot of the 30th of July as any indication of 
disloyalty in this community, aud if not give your reasons. 

Not in the slightest degree. The riot arose by the attempt of these people, to yvhom I 
have already referred, to subvert the State government, and had nothing whatever to do 
with any feeling of disloyalty towards the United States government. On the contrary, the 
object of those who attempted to resist these people was to maintain that government. We 
considered (for I was one of them) that it was sustaining the government of the United 
States by preventing the subversion of the State government by persons who had no 
authority whatever to meddle with it. We thought it was doing that yvhich the government 
of the United States was bound to do itself if we could not maintain a republican form of 
government in our State. 

4021. If the people of this State had an opportunity now to overthrow the government of 
the United States, or sever their relations with it, what would they do ? 

I do not believe that, within the limits of the entire State, you could find a hundred 
persons who would embark in such an undertaking; audi do further believe that all the 
rest of the community would resist such an attempt. 

4022. What effect upon the public mind would the restoration of Louisiana to representa- 
tion in Congress have '. 

It would strengthen their attachment to the Union and to the government of the United 
States. It would put an end to anything like unfriendly feeling or opposition, even with 



284 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

regard to the small element which yet may exist, and which, as I have already stated, n 
my judgment is very insignificant. 

4023. State whether the proclamation of the President's policy in this State produced a 
good or bad effect upon the public sentiment. 

It produced a good effect. The people rejoiced when they learned what the intention of 
tin' executive department of the government was; and to give you further evidence of that, 
we had a meeting upon that occasion, which I was called upon to address myself. I was 
requested to read an address to the people, which I did, which was published, and which 
was indorsed, I believe, almost unanimously by the people of New Orleans at least, not only 
by those wIhi had formerly agreed wifh me, but by those also who had differed with me. 

4024. Would the practical application of the President's restoration policy, if it were to 
prevail in this State, weaken or strengthen the loyalty of the people? 

Strengthen it of course. The only way to weaken the loyalty of the people is by a course 
which would be in violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States. As long as 
the government of the United States, and those intrusted with the execution of its laws and 
its powers, confine themselves to that authority which is delegated to them by the Constitu- 
tion and laws, the people of this State will most cheerfully not only obey, but insist on en- 
forcing obedience. That is my judgment. 

4025. Would good order and allegiance in this State be maintained in case the military 
funes of the United States were withdrawn? 

Unquestionably. 

4026. Could men, known as Union men during the war, be assured of the safety of their 
persons and property? 

I have not any apprehension on that score, for in the midst of the rebellion I never was 
troubled. 

4027. Could they have justice in the courts ? 

I do not believe our judges make auy distinction between litigants on account of their 
political proclivities and sentiments. I have never seen any instance of it. The governor 
did me the honor to appoint me chief justice, which I declined. I am sure if I had been 
judge, 1 would not have inquired whether a man was a Union man or secessionist, as far as 
the administration of the laws was concerned. 

4028. Do Union sentiments interfere with the advancement of men in this community in 
business or otherwise? 

1 can answer that question by saying that it has not interfered with my successful practice. 
4(129. Have you ever denied or disguised your Union sentiments ? 
O, no. 

4030. Are they well known in this community, and were they during the war? 

Yes, sir; I was called in that time a " submissionist " — a title which I never refused to 
have. I understood by submissionist, submission to law, and I was always willing to be 
called a submissionist in that sense. 

4031. If this country were to lie engaged in a foreign war, on which side would the people 
of Louisiana array themselves — on the side of • the enemy or on the side of the United States 
government ! 

They would never side with the enemies of their country. They are too honorable. They 
would not have done it during the rebellion, unless they formed au alliance with a foreign 

power. 

By the Chairman: 

40.12. In the convention of Louisiana in 1861, when the secession ordinance was passed, 
I find this resolution adopted: 

" Resolved, That this convention, in a body, unite with the citizens of New Orleans to- 
morrow, in receiving with proper honor our distinguished fellow-citizen, General D. E. 
Twiggs." 

A motion was made to lay the resolution on the table. Upon which the yeas and nays 
weie taken, and among the nays 1 iind the name of Roselius. I suppose that is a record of 
your vote ' 

It is possible I may have said no. 1 assure you 1 did not receive General Twiggs. I 
never disguised my disapprobation of General Twiggs's conduct. 

4033. Did you hold any military office or position under the confederacy? 
No, sir. 

•lu::;;A. You were not connected with any cavalry company of any kind 1 
I belonged to the Jefferson Mounted Guards, which was formed as a police of the parish. 
That company afterwards joined the confederate service, but as soon as the proposition was 
made to convert it into a military organization, 1 immediately quitted it, and had nothing 
further to do with it. 

4034. What was the name of that company? 
The Jefferson Mounted Guards. 

403,5. Hid i! continue in existence afterwards.' 

1 am not sure. Guy Drew was the captain of that organization for police purposes, and 



TESTIMONY OF TIIOMAS E. ADAMS. 285 

for no other. It may have taken another name when it went into the confederate serrice. 
It was to protect our own property during the state of anarchy that prevailed. 

4036. During the time you were connected with that company, did you have a confederate 
uniform, or what was known as confederate uniform I 

No, sir ; v\ e had a uniform of our own. I do not remember what it was. It was a police 
organization. It was not a military organization. 

4(137. Among the proceedings of the convention I find a resolution expressing the cordial 
approval of the convention of the election of Jefferson Davis as president and A. II. Stephens 
as vice-president of the provisional government of the southern republic, news of which had 
just been received by telegraph. Do you remember having voted for that resolution? 

I did not, certainly. I never approved of it. 

4038. The record shows that resolution to have been unanimously adopted. 
It was more than probable I was not present. I did not approve of it. 

4039. Have you any recollection of the passage of such a resolution? 
Not the slightest. 

40 10. I find here another resolution, -which, upon motion of Mr. Herro.n, was unanimously 
adopted, appointing a committee to have an appropriate salute fired in honor of that election. 
Do you recollect taking any part in that ? 

Not at all. I certainly never approved in the slightest degree of the election of Jefferson 
Davis. 

1041. Among the proceedings of the convention we find this resolution: 

" Resolced, ofC'i That the thanks of this convention are hereby tendered to his excellency, 
Thomas O. Moore, governor of the State of Louisiana, for the prompt and energetic measures 
by him adopted in taking possession of the forts, arsenals, and munitions of war under the 
control of the federal government, within the limits of the State of Louisiana; his acts are 
hereby unqualifiedly approved, and we will defend them here and elsewhere with all the 
power and means at our command." 

The record states that the yeas and nays were called upon its adoption, and among the 
yeas I find your name recorded. 

That must be a mistake, because I was the only one who denounced that as treason on the 
floor of the convention, openly. I remember that distinctly. I never saw, until the jour- 
nal was published, that I had approved of the reasons given by the governor for his act. 
That is a mistake ; I never voted for that resolution. 

4042. I find, immediately following, this entry made upon the record: 

"Mr. Rosehus asked leave to have his reasons for voting in the affirmative spread on the 
journal: 

" ' In my opinion, the conduct of the governor was justified for the reasons assigned in his 
message to the convention. I give this reason for voting yea. C KOSELIUS.'" 

That is the very reverse of what took place. I gave that reason for voting nay. 

4043. Then the record is wrong in all these respects ? 
Yes, sir. 

4044. And when the journal says " in my opinion the conduct of the governor was justi- 
fied," it should be "was not justified?" 

Yes, sir ; I denounced it as treason upon the part of the governor. 

4045. And when it says, " I give this reason for voting yea," it should be "nay ?" 
Yes, sir. 



New Orleans, December 28, 1866. 

THOMAS E. ADAMS, a witness called and permitted to testify at his own request irpon 
motion of Mr. Boyer, one of the members of the committee, his name also appearing upon 
a list furnished to the committee by Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, being duly sworn, tes- 
tified as follows : 

I will state that on the morning of the 30th, when I heard the convention was about to 
assemble, fearing and anticipating, from speeches made on the Friday night previous, that 
there would be trouble, having been told also that the avowed intention of those who were 
governing the convention was to force trouble upon me, and force me or my officers to com- 
mence a riot, I, ordered all the men to be kept in their station-houses, that it might not be 
said that they had, by their threats or acts while on their beats, provoked members of the 
convention or their friends to any violence, or any harsh words that might lead to violence. 
When the crowd was about to assemble at the Institute, I made three or four trips by myself 
in that locality, and saw no particular excitement or anything leading me to anticipate, on 
that day, any disturbance whatever. As an ordinary precaution, I left two or three men, 
citizens, to bring nie word if anything did occur. Between eleven and twelve o'clock, word 
was brought to me that the riot had commenced. The mayor, who was in conversation with 
me, urged me to send down my force as quickly as possible. I told him I would wait until 
I saw enough to be sure that there was a necessity for them. I walked down to the 
neighborhood again, and found a pistol shot had been fired from a procession of negroes 
into the crowd, and that an arrest had been made by one of the officers or men. 
I came back to my office, and had been there a few moments when word came that the riot 



286 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

bad commenced in earnest; that thirty or forty shots had been fired. I went down as quick 
as I could, alter ordering up the men from the other districts. When I got there I found a 
portion of my force running away. I stopped them and asked them what they meant. They 
said they were going away because they were being fired into from every direction. They 
had no opportunity to defend themselves. I told them to go back as quick as they could, 
and make some arrests; that it would not do for my men to be found running away. 
Very soon afterwards, the fighting began to be indiscriminate. There were citizens who be- 
haved badly. There were half-grown boys there who behaved badly. I made all the police 
I had, as far as I could, interfere to prevent the citizens from their riotous acts, and to keep 
them away, But in this I succeeded very badly. The citizens were too numerous entirely. 
While arrests were being made, every man we would get hold of who asked for any protec- 
tion received it. Some of my officers saved the lives of persons under arrest at great personal 
risk. They saved the life of Mr. Cutler, of Mr. Halm, and of Mr. Fish. There was no 
arming of the police on that day. There was no order given of that kind. I do not know 
whether any man was armed or not, though I presume some of them had pistols. There 
certainly was DO order given to arm them, and I know that a great many were not armed. 
I ordered made, as near as I can recollect now, from eight to twelve arrests of citizens whom 
I saw committing the grossest acts of brutality, such as shooting a man who was already 
shot, after he was down. Some few of my police behaved badly, and, in order to prevent or 
stop the effusion of blood that was going on, I had to go so far as to take a club and knock 
down four or live of the police. They got excited after they were in the fight and behaved 
very roughly when there was no necessity for it, when those that were shooting at them had 
given up, stopped shooting, and surrendered. I w'as obliged to do this in order to stop them. 
After martial law had been declared — it was some time after the riot was over — General Kautz 
sent me, with Colonel Strang of his staff, to take a tour of the city and see what was being 
done. Quiet had been restored in all quarters. When we came back we found that all the 
prisoners I had sent in had been released, thus depriving the sheriff of the chance of iden- 
tifying those I had sent in for their outrageous conduct upon members of the convention or 
citizens acting in concert with them. I had no means of identifying them, for having ordered 
them to be arrested 1 took no further notice of them, intending to have charges made up 
against them. In this way the statement came to be made, I presume, that no arrests had 
been made of parties acting against the convention. 

Bv Mr. Boyer- 

4046. Who released those men ? 

General Kautz, the military commander appointed after the. riot was over that day. I 
spoke to him about it, and he told me lie was sorry it had been done, but it was too late then 
to rectify it. There was no record made, and I could not identify those people.' 

4047. Did you save the lives of any persons that day under arrest from the mob ? 

I saved the life of Michael Hahn and of Mr. Fish. I was sick that night, but before I 
left I sent a detail of police to escort and guard them. They both came to my private office, 
where I was lying ill, and expressed their gratitude. They told me they owed their lives to 
me personally, winch they did not, for my officers were doing all they could to protect them. 
I could not have saved Mr. Halm's life personally without their assistance. He was taken 
away while several of the mob were trying to shoot him. It was an infuriated mob. The 
policemen were doing all they could to save him. They called to me across the street, say- 
in- tli.it they were powerless, that they could not prevent the citizens from shooting. 

4048. Some of the policemen you say behaved badly. Will you state what they did ? 
They behaved badly by unnecessary violence when they might have arrested the men they 

wanted to w ithout, or if they had let the men alone they would have gone home quietly. The 
bad conduct, however, was confined to a very few. I had two policemen sent to the lock-up. 
They were drunken and behaved very badly. 

4(I4'J. Are you sure there was no general order issued by you for arming the police there 
on that day or the day before? 

There w as uo order issued on that day or any other day. There was never any such order 
issued, and especially never anywhere near that time. 

■bod. Aie the police officers in the habit of carrying pistols on their heats? 

It is not allowed if I know it. It is against the rule. Sometimes if I put a man upon a 
dangerous beat, I allow him to take a pistol to go there. It is sometimes allowed in bad 
localities where officers are likely to lie. assailed. 

4051 . I low does it happen that the police on that day were so generally armed ? 

A great many armed themselves, knowing we were going there, and a great many borrowed 
pistols. This 1 know from the fact that quite a number of men came to me and complained 
that on that day they bad loaned policemen pistols, and they had neglected to return them. 

405*2. It has been stated that on that day tin- police officers were ordered to the police station, 
to be furnished with arms, and that they obtained them there. Was that or was it not true ? 

So far as my knowledge extends it is not the fact. I never to my personal knowledge 
furnished a solitary man with a pistol on that day. Citizens have told me since that they 
loaned certain men pistols during the riot, and they came to me to ask me to make them 
restore them again. But to what extent that was done I do not know. It was done without 
my knowledge and without my sanction. ^ 



TESTIMONY OF EDMUND HOOD. 287 

NEW Orleans, La., December 29, 1866. 
EDMUND HOOD sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRMAN: 

4053. What is your age? 
Fifty-eight. 

4054. Where do yon live? 

In the fourth district in this city. 

4055. I low Long have you been living here? 
A little over thirty years. 

4056. Were you a member of the convention of 1864 ? 
Yes, sir. 

4057. Wore you at the Mechanics' Institute on the 30th of July? 
Yes, sir, I was there when the roll was called. 

4058. How long did you remain in the hall of the Institute ? 

I remained there till they adjourned. I then went over towards Poydras market. 

4059. Did you return to the hall again ? 
Yes, sir. 

4060. Were you in the hall during the disturbance there? 

Yes, sir; when I returned to the hall, I went up stairs and I saw one man lying dead at 
the door. They hallooed, "If you go there you will be shot down." Two or three cried, 
"Shoot the damned old scoundrel." That was shouted out by a number of the policemen 
after I returned to the hall. 

4061. Did you go up stairs ? 

Yes, sir; there was a whole crowd of them there. During the time I was at Poydras 
market they were shooting in the neighborhood of Circus street. They cried, "Shoot down 
the radicals." 

4062. How many did you see fire? 

I can only say I saw two or three, but I heard them cry out, "Shoot all of them radicals. 
Shoot the niggers." 

4063. Did you go back to the hall ? 
I did not go in. 

4064. What did you do ? 

Three or four policemen took hold of me, dragged me down stairs, and off to the cala- 
boose, and I believe I should have been killed but for the policeman that stood at my back. 

4065. What was his name? 
I cannot tell. 

4066. Did you receive any wounds ? 
No, sir. 

4067. How long did you stay at the calaboose? 

From about two till about seven ; till General Baird sent orders to release all of us. 

4068. Have you been arrested since, or are you under bonds > 

Yes, sir ; I was under bonds, and gave $1,000 security to stand my trial before Judge AbelL 

4069. Had there been any preparation made by members of the convention to defend 
themselves with arms .' 

No, sir. No one that I spoke to had any arms whatever. We met at the custom-house 
before we went to the hall, and I told them a friend of mine had informed me that they were 
coming to the hall to kill us. They laughed at me. I heard it from a policeman. 

4070. When did you hear that ? 
On the morning of the convention. 

4071. At what time? 
About eight o'clock. 

4072. From whom? 
Mr. Dorsay. 

4073. Did the policemen appear to be armed? 

They were all armed. Arms were given them by the corporation, I believe. 

4074. Did you see that ? 

No, sir. A number of them I know had arms. 

4075. Did you see any firing by any friend of the convention anywhere? 
No, sir. 

4076. When you were up in the vestibule, was there anything going on in the convention ? 
No, sir. At the time I was arrested there was a man who had been shot lying dead at the 

door. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

4077. Are Union men safe in this city? 

No, sir. I do not believe any man would be safe if it were not for federal havonet.°. 

4078. Why do you think that ? 

Because I believe that when I was arrested and taken to the calaboose I was r n more 
danger than ever. 



288 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

4079. Arc business men safe now in their business pursuits throughout the State? 
No, sir: I do not believe they are sate in any respect. 

4080. Suppose the military were withdrawn? 

I believe they would kill every Union man and every negro in the streets. I believe that 
those who were negro-holders hate the negro so badly that they would kill every one of them. 
I was a negro-holder myself, but I am not one of that sort ; but that is the disposition of 
them. 

4081. You say you were a negro-holder yourself: what is the reason you do not hate them 
like the rest? 

Because, sir, I was a good abolitionist before I ever saw New Orleans. 

4082. How did it happen that you owned negroes if you were a ffood abolitionist? 

I bought them because it was profitable. I was somewhat like the rest. It was fashion- 
able here to own them before the war commenced. I never sold them, however. The first 
negro 1 owned I took on a contract. I built a house aud had to take a negro as part of the 
payment. I could not get my pay otherwise. But I believe if General Baird had not re- 
leased us from the calaboose every one of us would have been killed. 

By Mr. BOYER: 

4083. What is your business ? 
I am a carpenter. 

4084. Have you followed your trade ever since you have been in this city ? 
Yes, sir; most of the time. I was in office here a short time. 

4085. When was that I 

1 [hder Governor Wells. 

4086. I low did you get out of office? 

1 suppose he put mi- out and somebody else in my place. As for me I believe, in keeping 
no one iu office too long. 

4087. What office did you fill? 
I was harbor-master. 

4088. Are you following your occupation now ? 
Yes, sir, when I have work. 

4089. Have you as much business as you want ? 

No, sir ; the secessionists will not give any Union man work if they can get a secessionist 
to work fur them. 
4UDU. When the war broke out did you contribute towards the support of the rebel army? 
No, sir ; I never contributed a picayune nor ever took the Jeff. Davis oath. 

4091. Did you stay here during the whole war ? 

Yes, sir; I was in the United States army during the war. 

4092. What were you going to do? 

I was going to fight under General Banks's order for sixty-days' men. I joined these, 
and was afterwards mustered into the United States army. 

4093. Did you ever suffer any violence before the 30th of July? 
Not that I know of. 

4<)il4. Did you attend the meetings that were called before the 30th of July? 
Yes. sir. 

4095. Were you tin officer at those meetings? 

No, sir; 1 was one of the members of the convention. 

4096. Were you in favor of the objects of the convention? 

Yes. sir: to put an amendment to the constitution of the State of Louisiana. 

4t)'J7. So that negroes could vote? 

So that the secessionists could not grind us into the earth. 

4098. How was that result to be brought about by the convention ? 

That was to lie deliberated on in the convention. The calculation wasjo make some kind 
of amendment to the constitution. 

4099. What kind of amendment ? 

That is more than I can tell. I am under oath, and do not wish to tell anything that is 
not right, and just, and true. 

■lluil. You had no plan of your own, then? 

No, sir; 1 expected to indorse the plan of the majority. 

dliil. You were waiting to see how the majority would go? 

Yes, Sir; I expected to go with the majority. 

4102. When you were going to the calaboose were you under the charge of any police 
officers ? 

Yes, sir; three of them had hold of me. 

4 in:;. Did they hurt you ' 

They dragged toe in such a manner that I knew no one around me. 

4104. Hid the policemen keep the crowd off/ 

They did. 1 believe that the policeman at my back saved my life. 

41U5. What is his name ! 

I do not know. 



TESTIMONY OF MARTIN VOORIIEES. 289 

New Orleans, La., December 29, 1866. 

SAMUEL P. GLENN, whose name was given to the < imittee by Lieutenanl Governor 

Voorhees as one whose knowledge would enable him to state facts of value to the commit- 
tee, being duly sworn, testified as follows: 

]'.v Mr. Buyer: 
4106. State what is your position in this city. 
I am reporter to the supreme court. 

41(1?. Do you reside in New Orleans f 

Yes, sir; I have resided here, off and on, for twenty-five years, practicing law during that 
time. 

4 108. Do you know any facts relating to the riots of 30th of July last T 

Yes, sir. I am a boarder at the St. Charles hotel ; I sat, with Mr. Shaw and Judge War- 
mouth, at a private table for a week before this riot occurred. We were intimate friends; 
and on the morning of that riot nothing was said respecting any anticipated riot by either of 
those gentlemen, though I heard remarks through the city the Sunday previous that there 
was to he some trouble. I left my room at the St. Charles, and walked up Common street 
about quarter past eleven o'clock, and took a stroll up Canal street. On reaching Dryades 
street I heard a shot tired and saw a stampede take place from Dryades street towards Com- 
mon — a great many colored people and a few whites. I found the street pretty much cleared 
of everybody; I think I was the only white man on the street. I still proceeded on towards 
Canal stunt, where I met the procession, so called. There was no order nor system about it. 
As a procession it was merely a crowd of sixty or seventy people. They had a torn banner 
in front, aud a fife and a drum. They were all colored people. I beard them say to each 
other, with respect to the shot tired, that they had tried to take their flag from them. It was 
a torn old banner, an American flag. I then proceeded on as they passed me and found a 
very much increased crowd of boys and the lower rabble of the city, nothing more. It was 
mid-day, and the people were highly incensed ; the day was exceedingly hot, and they were 
heated, perhaps, with hotter whiskey. I turned round and followed the procession back to 
the Mechanics' Institute, and went into Mr. Snethen's room. He is private secretary to the 
governor. There I met Judge Howell, president pro Urn., also Mr. Shaw, the ///•<> tern, pres- 
ident of 1864. I remarked that the crowd were creating a disturbance, and they immediately 
coincided with me, and I asked them to send out some speaker who would induce them to 
disperse. Judge Howell remarked that he had already sent out one speaker, and that he 
would send out another. I stopped to talk with a few friends in the room some ten or fifteen 
minutes, when I left. I saw a very tall mulatto calling the crowd together. He was squat- 
ted on the curb, and I think I was the only white spectator on the street. It was then about 
quarter to twelve o'clock, and I presume this man was the man Judge Howell indicated as 
having sent out to disperse the crowd. Not intending to stop at the Mechanics' Institute, I 
proceeded on towards Canal street, and went down Common street two or three squares, and 
met some friends and stopped to talk with them on the sidewalk, when shots began to be 
heard. I turned into Canal street and went up the street and stood on the neutral ground — 
that is, the grass on Canal street. The police came up from some point on Canal street; 
then there was a general fray, and I thought I had seen enough of it, and I left. Who com- 
menced the firing I cannot say. It was iny impression that there was au unhappy misun- 
derstanding between Lieutenant Governor Voorhees and General Baird respecting the 
employment of the military force. If a corporal's guard had been there the riot would have 
been prevented; but there was not a soldier present. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4109. If a file of soldiers had been there at any time, could not the riot have beeu sup- 
pressed? 

I am inclined to think that it would have been prevented. 

By the Chairman : 

4110. Would there have been any difficulty had forty or fifty citizens united in suppressing 
the riot ? 

I think not; but the military arm has been very strong here, and a few soldiers could 
readily have suppressed it. 



New Orleans, La., December 29, 1866. 
MARTIN VOORHEES sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyer : 
4111. We desire to know from you, Mr. Voorhees, whether before the occurrences of the 
riot on the 30th of July, you carried any letters or notices from Lieutenant Governor Voorhees . 
to General Baird's headquarters; and if so, state what time you carried them and to whom 
they were delivered. 

19 N. o. 



290 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I earned one message from my brother, Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, to General Laird 
on the 30th of July. It was between ten and half-past ten in the morning. It was a letter, 
which I read, informing General Baird that rumors were afloat that the colored population 
Aver;' collecting in the third and fourth districts, with a view of marching towards the 
Mechanics' Institute. 

4112. "Was that a verbal or written message? 

It was a written message. 

411:'.. Whal time of the day was that? 

It was between ten and half-past ten. I delivered it to a gentleman in the office, who carried 
it to Genera] Baird. The general then came to me and told me that he had given orders to 
have troops sent to the vicinity of the Mechanics' institute; that he was expecting them every 
minute ; that the troops were stationed at the barracks, and that it would take more thau a 
half an hour or three-quarters of an hour before they could reach the spot. 

4114. Was that the end of the interview .' 

I then remarked to General Baird that it was very pressing, because there seemed to be 
some excitement, and that I had no doubt that a squad of federal soldiers in that vicinity 
could prevent all trouble. 

41 15. What was bis reply ? 

He replied nothing, except that he had given the order and was expecting the troops. 

4116. Did you carry any other message to General Baird afterwards .' 

i es, sir; 1 carried one between 12 and 1 o'clock. There was some tiring- going on. We 
could hear them from our office, and my brother despatched me with another message to 
Genera] Baird, telling him that the riot had broken out, and pressing him for these troops. 
General Baird made me the same answer — "I am expecting the troops. I do not know how 
it is that they are not already there. I have sent word, in great haste, that they should 
be sent." 

4117. Was that all that passed between you at any time 1 
Yes, sir 

411^. You are a brother of Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, are you not? 

Yes, sir. 1 remember General Baird made the remark that he did not expect the result 
would have been such; that he did not expect any trouble. That was at the second time 
I brought the message to the general. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 
4110. Were your communications in writing? 
Yes, sir; they were both in writing, and both were published in General Baird's report 

4120. Did you tell him what time the convention met at your first interview ! 

No, sir; but it was published in all the papers that it was to be at 12 o'clock, but I think 
it was not mentioned at our interview. 

4120^. Did he say anything about its being at 6 o'clock? 

No, sir; he only said that he had sent an order for the troops, and was expecting them 
•every moment 

4121. At what time did you say the first interview took place? 

The first was between 10 and half-past 10 o'clock; the second was between 11 and 12 
o'clock. We could hear the shots from our office, at 104 Canal street, which is four blocks 
from the Mechanics' Institute. It was when we heard scattering shots that my brother 
despatched me to General Laird with a letter. 



NEW Orleaxs, La., December 29, 1866. 
J. H. GREGORY, called at the requestof a committee of citizens, to state any facts with 
which he might be acquainted concerning matters under investigation by the committee, 
connected with the riotous proceedings on the 30th of July, being- duly sworn sworn, testified 

as follows: 

By Mr. Bovr.i; : 

4122. Do you reside in New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir. 

4123. I low long have you resided here 7 
I have been here fourteen months. 

4124. In what business are you engaged ? 
I am a printer. 

412"). Where did you reside before you came here ' 
In Columbus, Georgia, and at Mobil", Alabama. 

4126. In what office are you employed here 1 
I am in the Times office. 

4127. If you know anything in relation to any facts connected with the riot of the 30th of 
July, go on and state them. 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES SYME. 291 

On the morning of the 30th I was going to my business, passing through Commercial 
Place, about fifteen to twenty minutes past nine; I noticed two gentlemen standing together, 
engaged in a very excited conversation. I did not know either of them. One of them, the 
larger of the two, said, " We have everything arranged, and within five minutes after the 
signal is given, every judge, mayor, sheriff, and constable will be hurled from their 6 
Said he, " Damn them, we will have none but loyal men to govern the city." I went. 
s the street and asked a person whom I knew if lie could identify these gentlemen. 
Said he, " That is John Henderson." said I, " He is calculated to disturb the peace, and 1 
think I will have him arrested." He replied, "I do not think I would, he is so noted for 
being a fool that I don't think they would pay any attention to it." I said, "I shall go to 
Mayor Monroe," and I went to his office and waited five minutes to see him, on purpose to 
lodge a complaint against this gentleman. I then went to my place of business. 1 remained 
there till 1 o'clock, determined not to go near the Mechanics' Institute, thus obeying Mayor 
Monroe's proclamation. As soon as possible I cameacross Canal street, to the corner of Chartres 
street. I was standing at the corner when a colored person came running down the street, 
and met three other colored persons, to whom he made signs and motions, and they hallooed, 
'■ Where, where?" and he pointed in the direction of the Mechanics' Institute. It attracted 
my attention the more because they ran in the direction of the Mechanics' Institute. After 
that I noticed he met some other colored persons, to whom he made the same signs. He seemed 
to be making- the signs with his hand on his shoulder and breast. Soon after the police 
force of the second district came up, and I lost sight of him. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

4128. Were you not in the rebel service 1 

No, sir ; I was a civilian most of the time. I was in the Confederate States during the war, 
and availed myself of General Grant's proclamation, and came through before the war was 
over. 



New Orleans, La., December 29, 1866. 
JAMES SYME, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as being in 
possession of facts relating to the riot that would be of value in this investigation, being 
duly sworn, testified as follows : 

By Mr. BoYER : 

4129. Please to state any facts of which you have knowledge relating to the riot which took 
place here on the 30th of July last. 

I have resided in New Orleans for about eighteen years; I live on Canal street, near 
Bourbon street; I am a British subject ; I am not a citizen of this country. 
0- 4130. Are you engaged in business here ? 

Yes, sir ; and have been for eighteen years, 

4131. In what business are you engagi 

In the wholesale and retail drug business. My place of business is at 139 Canal street, 
two doors from Bourbon. I do not know why I should have been subpoenaed at all. I was 
not in the street on the day of the riot, and saw nothing of it, except hearing the firing. 
Three or four days previous to the riot I saw the procession of colored people march up 
Canal, and along St. Charles street, in a torch-light procession, and as a looker-on I notice. 1 
the violence of the crowd or procession. I thought myself that their conduct was very 
insulting to the white people standing at the corner of the street. Their conduct was violent, 
and it appeared to me. threatening. This was about three or four days previous to the con-' 
vention meeting and the riot. As to the riot itself I can testify to nothing. 

4132. How many persons were in the procession you speak of? 
A very considerable number ; a long procession with torch-lights. 

4133. Were there as many as a hundred? 

I think I was told that there were some two hundred or three hundred. 

4134. Did they carry banners ? 

Yes, sir; they carried the United States flag, and each man, or a great many, carried 
torches. I was standing at the corner of Carondelet street and St. Charles street, and there 
stood by me several white citizens, and it seemed to us that the conduct of the procession 
was very insulting. 

4135. Describe more particularly what their conduct was? 

It consisted in cheers and jeers, and waving their torches, and threatening looks ; this was 
their conduct as it seemed to me. 

413G. Were they marching upon the sidewalk or in the middle of the street ' 

In the middle of the street. 

4137. What seemed to he the object of the procession? 

Some colored troops, I believe, had been disbanded; there had been a meeting, I under- 
stand, at the Mechanics' Institute, and speeches had been delivered of a somewhat violent 
character, so I am told ; I was not there, so I cannot say positively. 



292 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

4138. Ou what clay of the week Avas this? 

I think it was on the Friday or Saturday preceding: the convention. 

4139. At what time of the night was it that you saw the procession? 
At about half past ten. 

4140. Were they making much noise? 
Yes, sir; a great deal. 

4141. Did anybody disturb the procession? 

No, sir; it seemed to me as they came up the street that their conduct was very defiant; 
they were waving their hats, cheering, and showing symptoms of defiance; that was the 
impression made upon my mind. 

414'.*. Do you remember any of the words they used? 

No, sir ; it was particularly cheering and hallooing ; I think there were no words used. 

By the Chairman: 

4143. Had you not some goods seized on the charge of sending drugs into the confederate ■ 
lines .' 

Yes, sir. 

4144. At what time was that ? 
In August, 1862. 

4145. Who had control of the city then? 
Genera] Butler. 

414(5. What amount of property was taken? 

A large amount of property was taken, calculated to be about $80,000 in gold; we calcu- 
lated that it would he worth more than that. 

4147. Your property was seized upon the charge of sending drugs into the confederate 
lines, was it not ? 

Which charges we have, I think, without doubt, disproved. 

4148. You have commenced a suit against the United States government for damages sus- 
tained by you in this seizure, have you not? 

Yes, sir ; let me explain. There was a commission ordered here on account of my being 
a British subject; I appealed to the British minister in regard to my claim, that these goods 
were seized under false representations, for I never did send goods into the confederate lines 
during the occupation of the city here. The commission in their report exonerated me from 
all the charges. The commission was appointed by General Banks; they examined into the 
whole of the testimony, and they unanimously reported that these charges preferred by 
General Butler were without foundation. 

4149. You were sent to prison, were you not? 
Yes, sir; to Fort Pickens. 

4150. At what time was this? 
I was arrested in August. 

4151. What was the precise charge? % 
That of acting in complicity with certain parties named in the document, in sending goods 

beyond the federal lines. The commission was called at the request or solicitation of the 
British minister, and was ordered by the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward. This commission 
was appointed to investigate, and they reported, exonerating me from all the charges of having 
sold or sent goods to these parties. 

415 - 2. Did you ever make any declaration towards naturalization? 

I clearly proved that I had never become a citizen of the United States and had never voted. 



New Orleans, La., December 29, 1866. 
MOSES GREENWOOD, called at the request of a committee of citizens to state any 
facts with which he might be acquainted concerning matters under investigation by the com- 
mittee connected with the riotous proceedings of July 30th, being duly sworn, testified as 
follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4153. Are you a resident of New Orleans? 
Yes, sir. 

4154. How long have you lived here? 
I have resided here twenty-six years. 

4155. Are you engaged in business here? 
I am. 

4156. In what business? 

I am a commission merchant and cotton factoX 

4157. Are you acquainted with any circumstances attending the riot of the 30th of July 
ast? If so, please state them. 

On or about the night of the 14th of July, my room was very near what is known as David- 



TESTIMONY OF MOSES GREENWOOD. 293 

son's row, on Carondelet street, and there was in a room, on the opposite side of the street, 
a meeting of gentlemen. The window's of the room were all open, and I was sitting so mar, 
in my own room, that I heard everj thing that was passing. Mr. Waples was addressing- the 
parties assembled there, in plain sight of me. He is a gentleman that 1 have known for 

many years, lie attends the same church as myself. His address was in regard to the 
meeting of the (-(invention, urging the parties present to vigorous action. The governor had 
issued an order, he said, which was signed by the secretary of state, for an election in the 
different parishes, not represented in the convention of J 804 ; that it was desirable that the 
members of the convention should he present, and whether they were legally or illegally 
present it would make but little difference; that he had assurances from Washington that 
Congress would legalize and sanction the actions of the convention, whether the members were 
legally or illegally elected. That it was important that all those citizens of Louisiana who 
had sympathy with, or had aided or abetted, or had assisted the confederate government 
should cease to be citizens or enjoy the franchise; that all those freedmen who had been set 
free in the State, together with the loyal inhabitants, should only be' entitled to the franchise 
and should control the government of the State of Louisiana, and that the convention must 
be held ; and that he had assurance that the commander of the department would protect and 
sustain the convention. 

4158. At what place did this occur? 

In Davidson's row, about No. 114 Carondelet street. 

4159. Of whom was the audience composed? 

It was impossible for me to tell ; I saw several, but not to recognise them. Mr. Waples I 
distinctly recognized. 

41(50. Were you in a position to hear what was said ? 
Distinctly. 

4161. How were these remarks received by the audience? 

They appeared to be very earnest, indeed. Mr. Waples spoke with a good deal of zeal am 
energy. He is a man who speaks with much modulation of voice, and very distinctly, an 
his remarks were made with a good deal of evident excitement as to the importance of th 
assembling of the convention, and that the representatives of the State should be assembled; 
and assured them that the Congress of the United States would legalize the action of the 
convention. 

4162. Describe, if you please, a little more clearly, what your situation was when the 
speaking was going on, S3 as to show what opportunity you had for hearing distinctly ? 

I was sitting in a chair in my own gallery. 

4163. What do you term your gallery ? 

The balcoDy or porch in front of the house. It is on the second floor. All our buildings, 
or nearly so, are built with galleries, where we sit in summer evenings. I was sitting there, 
smoking a cigar. The meeting was directly across the street. 

4164. Were the windows open ? 
» Yes, sir. 

4165. How wide is the street? 

I suppose it is fifty or sixty feet. 

4166. Do you know whether Mr. Waples was a member of the convention that assembled 
on the 3Uth of July ? 

I do not. 

4167. Do you know anything in reference to the riot? 

On the day of the riot I saw from the gallery of my office many of the police and many 
other parties — the rabble in the streets. The riot occurred two squares from my office. I 
saw Mr. Michael Halm when he was brought from Common into Carondelet street and put into 
a carriage opposite my office. There were two policemen and a chief who brought him out 
and lifted him into a carriage. The rabble appeared to be very earnest in endeavoring either 
to mutilate or kill Mr. Halm. The chief, and his officers, with drawn pistols, kept the crowd 
back, and got him into the carriage to send him to some place of safety, to the City Hail. 
Mr. Hahn insisted that the chief should go with him ; that his life was iu his hands. The 
chief finally got in. The crowd was about the carriage, and the chief and one of his officers 
each had a pistol pointing out of the carriage, one at the back and one in front, to protect 
Mr. Hahn. He was then taken off; the crowd did not follow. I saw many negroes that 
were taken by the officers and citizens to the City Hall, and some of them were wounded. I 
was not in the street near the Mechanics' Institute, nor in the street where the crowd was; 
I was in the gallery of my office in the second story. I distinctly heard Mr. Michael Hahn 
say to the chief of police that his life was in his hands. He said, "My life is in danger, and 
I insist upon your going with me," and the chief went. 

4168. Is that all you saw ? 
That is, substantially, ail I saw. 

By Mr. Shellabakger : 

4169. Are you sure that you heard Mr. Waples say that the governor had issued orders for 
the election in the parishes that were not represented in the convention ; are you sure that 
you heard him say that ? 



294 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I think I .'tin not mistaken; although he said the secretary of state had not signed it, he 
said that the governor would sustain the convention. 

4170. Did Be say that the governor had issued orders for the election ? 

He said that he had issued orders for the election in the parishes which were not repre- 
sented in the convention of 1864 ; although it was not signed by the secretary of state. 

4 17"J. How near to the l4thof July was it that the meeting of which you speak took place? 

I think it could not have been more than one day. 

4173. How do you fix the date ? 

From every circumstance attending it, and from my conversation with citizens, and with 
regard to the time that elapsed before the convention assembled — about two weeks. 

4174. Who else was present at that meeting besides Mr. Waples? Name some other men. 
I have .stated that the other members who were in the room I could not recognize. I saw 

Mr. Waples distinctly. He was standing up; the rest were sitting down. I saw the heads 
of many more. 

417"). How many ? 

From six to twelve. 

417<>. What time in the evening was it? 

Probably about nine o'clock. 

4177. What day in the week was it? 

1 think on Wednesday night. 

4175. How wide is Carondelet street? 

I do not know exactly ; I think about fifty or sixty feet. 

By the Chairman : 

4179. You say you saw the men that were taking Governor Hahn when he was with Mr. 
Adams. 

Yes, sir ; I saw the rabble. 

1 1 80. Did you see any one put their hands on Governor Halm ? 

I could not name them. 

4181. If I were to name them, could you tell that you saw them ? 

No, sir; I think not ; my attention was called to Mr. Halm and his critical position, and 
to the chief of police who got him off. 

4 1 f*2. Do you know Mr. Monroe ? 

Yes, sir. 

4 1 83. Did you see him there ? 
I did not. 

4184. Were you near enough to Mr. Hahn to see distinctly who it was that accompanied 
him ? 

If it was any citizen that I am familiar with I should have recognized him. There was a 
great deal of noise, and my attention was particularly called across the street to Mr. Hahn, 
and to his being put into the carriage. Mr. Hahn was without his hat, and without his 
crutch or cane, that he usually has. He came between two officers, and got into the carriage 
opposite my office. 

•1 185. Were you here during the war? 

A portion of the time. 

1 186. Where were yon when you were not here? 

In Alabama. 

41*7. In the confederate service ? 

No, sir. I rendered assistance at the hospital, and was on the committee to provide for 
widows and orphans, and did what I could in the cause of humanity and charity. 

1 188. Were you here when General Butler came? 

Yes, sir. 

4 189. Did you take the oath of allegiance? 

No, sir. 

4190. Did you register your name as an enemy of the United States? 
Yes, sir ; under protest. 

4191. Did you remain in the city? 
\ es, sir. 

4192. How long did you remain ? 

Till the 11th day of May, 1863. General Butler came here in 1862. 

4193. Then you took no part in the confederate service ! 

No, sir. I rendered every assistance in my power to assist the widows, the orphans, and 
the wounded, but never contributed money or service for any other purpose. I was on the 
committee appointed by the governor of this State for the relief of the widows, orphans, and 
the sick. 



TESTIMONY OF GEORGE S. LACEY. 295 

New Orleans, La., December 29, HG6. 
HENRY FLORENCE, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as I 
knowledge of facts deemed of importance in this investigation, being duly sworn, testified 

as follows : 

By the CHAIRMAN : 

4194. What is your age? 
I am sixty. 

4195. How long have you resided in this city ? 
Forty-two j c ars. 

•1 196. What is you occupation ? 

1 have held various positions in the community; I have been in commercial pursuits and 
iu the exchange business. 

4197. What is yoiu' present occupation? 

1 am now one of the directors of the New Orleans and Jackson railroad; I am one of the 
oldest directors. 

1 198. Were you iu the city on the 30th of July? 

Yes, sir. 

4199. Did you have occasion to .see the slaughter that was done on that day J 

I had not much opportunity of seeing, but if you will allow me I will stale how I was 
situated. I was called ou by Major Green, who is the chief engineer of the commissioner of 
levee, to go to his office to get some information from him. The office he then occupied was 
in the Mechanics' Institute, in the basement story. As I had leisure, I went round with him, 
and if my memory serves me correctly, it was near 12 o'clock in the day. I saw a large as- 
semblage of colored persons with clubs, sticks, &c, iu their hands, hut I paid no attention 
to it, and went into the office of Major Green. Iu the course of conversation there I heard 
the discharge of pistols; as soon as I heard that I endeavored to get out, but when I got to 
the hall which led to Phillipi street I found the avenue of the hall perfectly crowded, 
and pistols were being discharged. I considered it unsafe and retired into the room, and told 
Major Green he had better barricade the doors ; that it was much safer for us to remain in 
the room than attempt to get out under the circumstances. We barricaded the door and re- 
mained in the room. There were pistols fired through both sides of the. building, passing 
through the glass, and I told Major Green that I was going to take such and such a position 
to avoid anything of the kind. Neither of us had any arms, as we did not expect any diffi- 
culty at all. We remained iu that building I presume two and a half hours, till things qui- 
eted. I could see persons, both colored and white, dropping down from the second-story of 
the building; and I heard all the noise and the discharge of pistols, which sounded very 
rapidly, like musketry, but I could not see who the people were. There were two or three 
negroes that jumped through the wiudows, and I told them "just get right under these 
desks," the desks of the senate. They appeared to be perfectly frantic, and I told them to 
conceal themselves and lie down for safety, because the police or others might follow them 
and shoot in promiscuously, and that I might be shot by accident. After things quieted 
down policemen came into the room and asked if there were any persons in there ; I said, 
"Here are three ; you had better take charge of them for protection." I would have been ar- 
rested had they not known me as an old citizen ; they said to me, " You can go." The po- 
lice then took charge of the men and took them to the lock-up and protected them. 

4200. Did you follow them ' 

No, sir ; the police were to protect them from injury ; I saw that they took them out, and 
I have not seen them since ; if I were to see them again I should recognize them. That is 
all that I saw, sir. 



New Orleans, La., December 29, 1 
GEORGE S. LACEY, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as having 
knowledge of facts concerning the action of July 30 which ought to be communicated, being 
duly sworn, testified as follows : 

By the Chairman : 

4201. What is your age? 

I am forty-six. 

1202. How long have jou resided in New Orleans ? 

Since 1854. 

4203. What is your occupation? 
I am an attorney at law. 

4204. Have you been practicing in the courts here since 1854 ? 

I have, with the exception of 1862, 1.S63, and a portiou of 1804. The courts were closed, 
and during that time I did not practice. 

4205. How were you engaged during those years ? 



29 G NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I was engaged in doing nothing, with the exception of a small portion of the time when 
I was attached to the confederate army. I was in the confederate army, although I must 
say it was against my wishes. I held the position of lieutenant colonel in the forces organized 
under the laws of the State for sixty days; I was in the confederate service, and remained 
in that service until the arrival of the troops under General Butler; my regiment was dis- 
banded at that time. 

4206. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? 
I was. 

4207. Did vtiii see any of the acts of violence committed on that day? 

I did not ; I heard of some little excitement about the city on that day, but I did not think 
it would amount to what it did, or that it would amount to anything particular; I did not 
leave my office until 12 m. that day. In going from my office to Canal street I saw there was 
some excitement in the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute; I crossed Canal street and went 
to the lower part of the city, and it was three or four in the afternoon before I returned. I 
wish to state, as 1 have said frankly, that I was connected with the confederate army; that 
I was placed there without my consent, and without my wishes being consulted; that my 
principles were opposed to this excitement, and to the attempted secession of the State. I 
have been a Union man throughout, and have been known to be such in this community. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4208. Is public sentiment in this community of such a character at this time as that the 
people may be relied upon for obedience to the government and the laws .' 

I think that the great masses of the people in this community and in this State are loyally 
arid faithfully disposed, and I think there are some- turbulent persons in the community that 
would make difficulty if that would advance their interests, but they are very few. The 
great masses of the people, and the better class of the people, p.nd those that have standing, 
are loyally and quietly disposed. I have never seen any indications that lead me to think 
otherw ise, although I have been known to have been a Union man from the commencement, and 
throughout. 

4209. Are your Union sentiments any hindrance to you in your business 1 
No, sir. 

4:210. Nor in society ? 

No, sir ; I have received the same amount of business, and the same cordiality of treat- 
ment, and I know of no difference in the people of the State but what existed before the war. 
That is my observation. 

By Mr. Smellabarger: 

421 1. Whatever military service you did render was rendered to the confederacy ? 
Yes, sir; 1 was in a regiment attached to the confederate service. 



New Orleans, La., December 29, 1866. 
WM. P. BENTON, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as having 
knowledge of facts concerning the causes that led to the riot on the 30th of July, being duly 

sworn, testitied as follows: 

By the Chairman: 
4212. What is your occupation ? 

I was a lawyer before the war ; a soldier during the war, and am a collector of internal 
revenue now. 

4213 How loug have you lived in New Orleans? 

I have been here since September, 18(54 ; I came here with the thirteenth army corps, after 
the capture of Vieksburg. 

42! I. In what service were you during the war 1 

Under the star-spangled banner. 

4215. In what capacity ? 

Went in as a private; made captain the first day; in a week was elected colonel, and 
before 1 left the service was promoted to brigadier general. 

4210. When did you leave the service ' 

The "24(11 of July, after the war was over. 

4:217. Have you personal knowledge of any circumstances which took place on the 30th 
of July, during the riot? 

Yes, sir. 

4218. Go on and state all the particulars within your knowledge. 

As collector of internal revenue I was in the habit of making deposits in two of the banks 
of the city. On the day of the riot I had been up making my deposits, and in coming back, 
near the First Louisiana National Bank, I heard some boys hallooing, and saw a policeman 
running. 1 went to the corner of Carondelet and minded with the crowd of excited 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM P. BENTON. 297 

citizens. T went to Carondelet street to see General Heron, with whom I had an ono-ao-e- 
ment, and I told him I thought there would be trouble on the street. Thai was some time 
between eleven and orje o'clock; I think about mid-day. General Heren invited General 
Blain, from Kansas, who was here, to go down to Canal street and get a lunch. While the 
lunch was preparing, the riot commenced. As we were there, we thought it safer to stay 
than go out. The firing seemed like a general engagement. At first there were a few scat- 
tering shots, after which the firing seemed to become almost continuous. We went out on 
the balcony, but General Heren called me away; he said I would get shot. I came in, but 
looked out several times. We ate our lunch, but went out once or twice to the front. I saw 
them bring Dr. Dostie out of the crowd. They put him into a two-wheeled vehicle, and a 
policeman jumped in by the side of him. lie was bloody, and apparently dead, lie said 
something to the crowd, which I did not hear, but something which seemed to satisfy the 
crowd, for they hallooed and cheered, and they seemed to be entirely satisfied. They tlien 
drove off. We went back, and remained a short time, when Colonel Blain was anxious to 
get out of the restaurant; finally I was persuaded to go too, and started down Canal street. 
When we got pretty near to Baronne street I saw a colored man, in shirt and pantaloons, 
running down the middle of the street, and there was a mob on both sides, throwing stones 
at him, and finally some one hit him on the head and he fell. But before this there were a 
number of shots fired at him, and some of the bullets came over where we were. We turned 
round and walked back to Knapp's, a dentist's office, and we inquired if there was not a way 
to get back to the custom-house, without encountering the crowd. We went through the 
dentist's office, and from there back to the custom-house. We found groups of colored peo- 
ple standing along the street, and I cautioned them to go home, but most of tlum did not 
seem to heed my caution. On Custom-house street everything was quiet. I went to the 
office and found we had collected $31,011(1 that day; rather a large collection. The riot was 
more bloody and desperate than any I have ever seen, but it was confined to a very limited 
section of the city. In a general engagement, when a man throws up his hands, he is taken 
as a prisoner, unharmed ; here they shot him. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4219. Are you sufficiently acquainted with the public feeling here to throw light upon the 
investigation of this committee? 

I did not attend any of the preliminary public meetings, and I have only heard occasional 
conversations in the street, and conversations that were intruded upon me. 

4220. Was the riot the result of any ill-feeling in the community, or was it confined to a 
comparatively few of a certain class of the citizens ? Please give us your opinion on the 
subject. 

For a week or ten days before the meeting of that convention, people would be collected 
round the custom-house in groups, talking about changing everything that existed here. 
They talked to me, as a federal officer, very confidentially. I also found that there was a. 
deep and bitter feeling among another class of the citizens against this convention, and that 
speech of Dr. Dostie, made in front of the City Hall, excited against him and his party a deep 
and hostile feeling on the part of the citizens. I think this belief was entertained by nine 
out of every ten of this city, that if they went on there would be a general uprising of the 
negroes, and that their wives and children would be murdered in their beds; but I believe 
they were mistaken about that. 

4221. From your acquaintance with public sentiment here, is there, in your opinion, any 
settled disposition to resist the government of the United States ? 

I think, sir, they have had enough fighting. 

4222. State whether the public sentiment or feeling here is favorable to the government 
of the United States, and is subordinated to the laws, or not. 

I do not believe that the public sentiment here loves our government — that is, that they 
are steadfast and loyal all the time. They respect the government because they cannot help 
it. They respect its grandeur and power. They are anxious to forget the past, and desire 
to come in and behave themselves. 

422:3. If they were let in, and,obtained their representation in Congress and their former 
status in the Union, would they behave themselves, in your opinion? 

I think that those who went into the war would be the last to go in again, and that for two 
reasons : first, because they got very roughly handled ; secondly, because they were honest 
enough to tight for what they honestly believed in. 

4224. Do you think that those men that took an active and earnest part in behalf of the 
confederacy might now be trusted in their professed allegiance to the government ? I refer to 
the men of intelligence and influence particularly. 

I think the brave men could. 

4225. Which are in the majority, the brave men or the cowards ? 

I think the majority of them fought well; I thought at Vicksburg they would never sur- 
render. 

4226. Can a Union man in this community command its respect; and are his rights 
respected in the courts and elsewhere? 

Yes, sir. There may be juries empanelled here, as well as elsewhere, who will allow their 



298 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

prejudices to overrule their judgment, and there may be judges here that are not just. The 
majority, the overwhelming majority of this community, were secessionists, and it has been 
considered a greater honor to a man to have been in the confederate army than to have been 
in the Union army. 

4227. Do they make a distinction between those who were in the Union army north, and 
those who resided here and were in the Union army ? 

I think they do, sir, in their social circles. I have noticed this peculiarity in the people of 
New Orleans ; I think the great mass of influential people here prefer northern officers who 
have served in the Union army, and fought them, to southern officers and loyalists who were 
in the Union army. I think, too, they usually discriminate between the officers of the 
west and the New England States. They prefer a northern man who fought them, to a 
southern man who would not help them. 

4228. Do you think that southern men, such, for instance, as General Hays, can be 
trusted in their allegiance to the government? 

I know General Mays, and I think that he is a brave, gallant, and honest man. He was 
a good rebel — I mean he was a bad rebel, and I think if he said he would be a good Union 
man, he would he one. 

4229. Which do you think would produce the most harmonizing and happy effect upon the 
public mind here — a liberal and generous policy on the part of the government, or the 
contrary ! 

In war I am in favor of making it bitter and bloody ; in peace I am in favor of a policy 
exactly the converse of that. 

4230. Which would be the wiser policy towards these people — magnanimity, or revenge? 
In my judgment, decidedly the former. 

By the Chairman : 

4231. Do you mean to say that you think that the men who have been fighting against 
us for four years, because they have beeu vanquished, should have the control of affairs 
here in Louisiana? 

No, sir. 

4232. You don't mean that ? 
No, sir. 

4233. Do you mean that the leading active rebels who instigated the rebellion should 
be permitted to take part in governing the State or country ? 

I can sum up my belief in a few words: I believe in universal amnesty and universal 
suffrage. 

4234. What if universal suffrage is not secured; would it be safe to leave affairs in 
Louisiana in the hands of the men that are now controlling it ? 

I believe there would be little to govern ; but it would result in the exclusion of all loyal 
southern men and officers and men of the Union army from any public position. I think 
they have had enough of this fighting, and they -will never renew it again, unless they get 
help north of Mason and Dixon's line. 

By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

423."). What, if anything, ought to be done by the government in its restoration policy in 
the way of discouraging future rebellions, and making treason odious and dangerous? 

I never was a statesman, but I think we should all attempt to find out what is best to be 
done. I do not fully believe in the constitutional amendment. I think in respect to the negroes 
who took up arms and ('ought like men, as they did, that you can no longer enslave that 
race; that, having done that, they have vindicated their right of suffrage, and it is bound 
to come, sooner or later. Any arrangement short of that will be productive of more 
trouble .than if you adopted it at the start. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

423(1. I understood you to say that if this State was ever restored to its position in the 
Union it would result in the exclusion of all loyal people from public office. Did I under- 
stand you correctly '. 

Yes, sir. 

4237. What do you mean by "loyal people" in that connection ? 

I mean that the majority of the people south of .Mason and Dixon's line were in favor of 
secession, and when these people come to vote they will vote for their friends as against 
these they regard as their enemies. 

4238. In the use of the term " loyal," in that connection, do you mean to imply that the 
majority would net be loyal in their obedience to the government now .' 

I use the term "loyal," as applied during the war. Those men who adhered to the star- 
spangled banner in the south, and those who fought for it in the north, would hav-e no 
hope of office, because the overwhelming majority are against them here. This is the 
secret i,| General Hays's popularity in New Orleans; because they know he was brave 
and steadfast to the confederate cause. 

1239. In that respect do the southern people differ from any gallant and generous people? 



TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH F. DICK. 299 

I would not think so well of them as I do, if, after having sent their men oil' into the war, 
and that war proving unpopular, they deserted them now. 

42-iH Do ill,, majority here profess good faith to the government at this time ' 

Yes, sir. 

4241. And in thai sense, then, arc loyal .' 

Yes, for the reason 1 gave, that they have bad a sufficiency of the war. 

42 k.'. Mr. Shellabarger has asked your opinion with reference to "making treason 
odious," and the "punishment of treason," so as hereafter to make such offences dan- 
gerous; do you not think that the South has been pretty well punished as its stands .' 

I think they have been very thoroughly punished. 

By the Chairman : 

424:?. I understand you to say that you would not think so well of the South if they should 
cast off their friends when the result of the war was unfavorable; I want you to say what 
you would think of a government which, after controlling such a rebellion as this, would 
leave the loyal people who had stood by it during the war without protection? 

I should think equally bad of the government. I think that the people who urged men 
into a cause and sent them to the front to take tl^e hardships of the war, and when that war 
proved unsuccessful to desert thorn — I would look upon that as treacherous, and would not 
respect them. So with the government that should desert its loyal citizens and friends for 
the protection of those who fought against them ; that I would regard as equally treacherous. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4244. What would you think of a government that would disfranchise and punish as 
treacherous those who were in a situation among an insurgent people in which the govern- 
ment could not extend to them its protection >. 

I think this is the greatest, and grandest, and best government in the world; it has been 
triumphantly vindicated, and it can now afford to be magnanimous. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

4245. Do you mean by that answer to say that the experience of this or any other govern- 
ment has taught us that a government can afford to let treason go unpunished, and fail to 
discriminate between treason and loyalty? 

There is an old adage to the effect that "molasses will catch more flies than vinegar." 
42 Ui. Would it not be claimed from your answer that this government can be magnani- 
mous at the expense of justice, and afford to let treason go unpunished ? 

No, sir ; I mean justice tempered with mercy, discriminating all the time in favor of loyalty 
as against treason. 



New Orleans, December 29, 1868. 

JOSEPH F. DICK, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens to state such 
facts within his knowledge as, in his judgment, ought to be communicated to the committee, 
concerning the riots of July 30th, being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

I was born and partially raised in this community. I now hold the position of deputy 
clerk of one of the courts. I know of no facts connected with the riots, unless it was seeing 
the excitement as I was passing by. There were other facts more or less connected with it, 
going back to a couple of weeks prior, that, perhaps, I ought to state. I had two conversa- 
tions with Mr. Henderson, one of the victims of the riot, which led me to anticipate some- 
thing of the kind. I was a passenger with him on board the steamer Camelia, coming over 
from Biloxi. He being a member of the bar, I, as connected with the courts, had become ac- 
quainted with him. I had a conversation with Mr. Roselius also, or rather, overheard a con 
versation between Mr. Roselius and Mr. Henderson at the supper-table in regard to the reas 
sembling of the convention. Mr. Henderson seemed to be very much excited in regard to 
it, as he usually was under all circumstances when engaged in political conversation. He 
spoke of the meeting of this convention, and said it would meet. As to the exact words he 
used, I now forget; but he said the convention would meet; that they were backed by the 
military authorities ; and that no power on earth would stop them from meeting. I told him 
I thought it was a very strange position ; that I thought the convention was extinct ; that 
its functions had been fulfilled ; and that there was no ,more necessity for its meeting. He 
gave me to understand that things had turned up which made it proper to reassemble the 
convention, and that the military authorities won- going to assist them. I told him I thought 
it Ai- a revolutionary movement. He replied, "It is a revolutionary movement, but we are 
inirevolutionary times." I said it would surely create disturbance. He replied that he did 
not anticipate anything else. I told him that my idea was, that with the position President 
Johnson bad taken in regard to the affairs of the country, he would prevent it if there was 
any possible chance. He asserted that President Johnson would not dare to prevent it ; that 
it was more thau he could do, and he would not attempt it. 



300 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. Boyer: 
4217. Was tins the same Mr. Henderson that was killed the day of the riot? 
Yes, sir. 

4248. If there had been a meeting of these men only for the purpose of expressing their 

opinions, without any further action from what you know of the sentiments and feelings of 
this community, would they likely have been disturbed .' 

I think not, and for this reason : I think steps were taken (I was told so by Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhees a day or two previous) in order to allow the convention to meet; but the 
first overt act they attempted to do, they were to he arrested — something of that kind. That 
is what I understood was being" done in order to allow them to meet peaceably. 

4249. How long before the day of the riot was that communication made to you? 

It must have been within a week. As to whether it was within two or three days, I could 
not tell. It must have been during the week. 

4250. Have you been about this State a good deal, and have you become acquainted with 
the sentiments and feelings of the community ? 

Yes, sir. 

4251. Is there any disposition here at present to rebel against the government of the United 
States ? 

I think not. 

4252. State whether or not there is any desire on the part of the people here to cultivate 
close and friendly relations with the government of the United States? 

I think the public in general are particularly anxious to accomplish that purpose. 

4253. If the State of Louisiana were admitted to representation in Congress, and restored 
to her former position in the Union, would it produce a good or bad effect upon the public 
feeling of this community ? 

It would undoubtedly produce a good effect. 

4254. In ease a war were to take place between the United States and some foreign nation, 
on which side would the people of this State be disposed to fight, on the side of the United 
States or on the side of the enemy ? 

I have no doubt the people in general would side with the United States. A slight por- 
tion of the community would, I think, hodd back, under the present state of affairs. 

4255. What effect would a generous and liberal policy upon the part of the United States 
have upon those whom you suppose now would be disposed to hold back? 

They would accept it, I think, in the same friendly way it would be offered, in good faith. 

4256. In such a case as that, could these persons be relied upon ? 
I think so. 

4257. Is there any difficulty or danger in persons expressing their political opinions freely 
in this community ? 

At present, no, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

4258. Are you a member of the Hays's brigade? 
No, sir. 

425^ k Were you ever in the rebel service ? 

No, sir ; I was in a regiment called the confederate regiment, which was merely a militia 
regiment of the State. 

4259. That svas a loyal regiment, I suppose ? 

As to its loyalty or disloyalty, I think it was very nearly equally divided. A great many 
of the members of the regiment sympathized with the rebellion, and many of our Union men 
were members of it. 

4260. When was it organized? 
After the breaking out of the war. 

4261. Under the law of Louisiana, as a member of the confederacy? 

I think not. I think it was under an old law ; but I paid very little attention to it. I con- 
sidered myself somewhat a disinterested party, and it did not matter to me whether it was 
State or confederate; I joined it in order to escape other military service or duty. 

4262. Were its officers required to take an oath of office? 
I think so. 

1263. What government did they swear to support as officers? 
1 think the confederate government. 
4261. Were you one of the officers ? 
No, sir. 

4265. You then did belong to a military organization, sworn to support the rebel govern- 
ment ? 

The officers, I think, were sworn, but I never heard the oath administered, I am imder 
that impression. ▼ 

4266. You were a Union man before the war? 

Yes, sir, and always have been a Union man, and my family also. 

1267. You expressed a desire during the war to have the United States Avhip the rebels? 

I did not. 



TESTIMONY OF W. P. KELLOGG. 301 

4268. What did you think on that subject ? 

I kept aloof from politics altogether. I lived a retired life, and rarely ever spoke of politics 
or the war. % 

4269. Is it your opinion that in restoring Louisiana to her rights of representation, the gov- 
ernment of the United States ought to prevent from voting and holding office the great mass 
of men who remained loyal, and confine the right to vote and to hold office to the mass of 
those who were rebels during the war ? 

By no means ! 

4 - J70. Are not the great mass of those who did remain loyal to the government during the 
war in Louisiana the colored people of the State? 

That I could not tell. 

4271. Are not the great mass of those who were rebels during the war the white people, 
who now alone hold the right to vote ? 

Not alone ; of course not. 

4 - J7"J. Is not the right to vote confined to the white people of Louisiana now" ? 

Yes, sir. 

4273. And also the right to hold office? 

Yes, sir. 

4'274. Are not the white people of Louisiana those who composed the rebellious State? 

Yes, sir. 

4275. And you, in restoring Louisiana, would confine the right to vote still to the white 
people ? 

I expressed no such sentiment. 

4276. What is your sentiment upon that subject ? 

As to my political sentiments, whether the franchise should be given to white and black, 
I do not know whether I am compelled now to answer. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4277. Unless you have some special objection, perhaps it would be better for you to 
answer that question, although I do not myself see its materiality. 

If the question is not insisted upon I prefer not to answer it. 



New Orleans, December 29, 1866. 

W. P. KELLOGG, a witness called at the request of the committee of citizens as one 
having in his possession facts concerning matters about which the committee are inquiring, 
and which ought to be stated, was duly sworn, and testified as follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4278. State your residence and occupation, 

I have resided in New Orleans something over eighteen months. I am collector of the port, 

4279. Were you in the city on the 30th of. July .' 

I left here on three months' leave of absence the 30th of June, and did not return until the 
30th of October. 

4280. Have you held any other office than the one you now hold ? 

Not in this community. I was formerly chief justice of Nebraska Territory, appointed by 
Mr. Lincoln in 1861, a few days after his inauguration. 

4282. Since your residence in Louisiana have you mingled freely with the people of the 
State? 

Yes, sir; I have been among them considerably. 'Still I have been compelled to give the 
duties of my office my personal attention to such an extent, excepting on evenings and 
sabbath days, and occasions when I met the Chamber of Commerce under such circumstances, 
that I have not mixed with the people very much. Of course I have occasion to meet all 
classes of people in the position that I occupy. 

4283. State to the committee what, in your opinion, is the disposition of the people of this 
community generally towards the government of the United States. 

So far as I can judge, the people of this community who are property-holders, and respon- 
sible men, have a great desire to perpetuate good government, and secure peace and tran- 
quillity, and as soon as possible occupy their former relations with the other States of the 
Union. So far as their sentiment towards the government is concerned, there are, unques- 
tionably, a great many men here totally irresponsible, and whom I have never considered as 
fair representatives of the law-abiding people of the State, who are undoubtedly hostile, 
violent, and outspoken, but I have never found any difficulty in getting along with any ojf 
them, and I do not think any one living here quietly and attending to his own business has 
had any difficulty — so long as he continued to attend to his own affairs, and did not mix in 
political controversies, private or public. I do not mean to say that persons of political sen- 
timents objectionable here would be treated with the same hospitality, but I mean that they 
would have no difficulty in getting along, socially or otherwise. I ought to say, that while 



302 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I have been treated here very considerately and kindly by the mercantile people, and by all 
classes whom I have met, 1 attribute it in a very great degree to the fact that 1 have stood 
aloof from all political discussions. I have never mixed in any of the controversies of the 
•lay here. I have, as I think will be admitted by every one, given the duties of my ot 
my personal attention to such an extent that I have seldom been absent from the office two 
consi cutive hours on any business day from nine o'clock until three, four, or five. 

4264, Are the persons to whom you have referred as people getting along without diffi- 
culty, these who have resided here for a short time, and generally from the north? 

A great many of them are 'Vein the north. I think I have in my office thirty-two clerks, 
and that sixteen of these have been officers in the federal army from the north. I ought also 
to stare, if it is proper, that I should have met with difficulty in my position in appointing 
so many from the north, had it not been that 1113' personal relations here have been of so 
friendly a character. 1 have invariably impressed it upon those with whom I have conversed 
on the subject, that the effect would be more favorable, both in respect to the law-making 
powers and the administration, if 1 was allowed to have my own way in regard to these ap- 
pointments ; and I have therefore been very careful, in all the appointments made, that the 
persons appointed should be of unquestionable loyalty, and if they had served in the Union 
army it was better still. 

4285. And in pursuing this course you have met with no hostility or molestation? 

I think there has never been one word of complaint in respect to my course in this city 
from any prominent Union man on either side, radical or conservative. I do not know 
whether the fact is commendable or otherwise; but it happens to be so. 

4286. If the State of Louisiana were admitted to representation in Congress, and restored 
to her former position in the Union, what would lie the effect of the policy upon the public 
mind of this community? Would it develop hostility to the general government, or would 
it be calculated to increase the friendship and confidence felt lor it .' 

It is a grave question, and one that I have not deliberated enough upon to give an answer 
such as would be satisfactory to my own mind. Still, my impressions have for some time 
been, and are still, that if the State were admitted to practical relations in the Union, and 
upon the same footing as before the war, (I speak now of Louisiana alone, and New Orleans 
is essentially Louisiana,) there is a sufficient element here, represented by such men as Judge 
Eoselius, Randall Hunt, and many others of the same class of men, to succeed in keeping' 
everything- quiet, and maintaining good government and a tranquil condition of things. I 
do think that one great reason why there has been so much ill-feeling, and the influence of 
these men apparently so little felt, is, that it has been counteracted by an influence and an 
element represented by a class of men I call political adventurers, who would never have 
come to the surface but for the extraordinary course of affairs in the last three or four years ; 
violent men ; men of ultra radical views, but men who have such an unfortunate manner 
of expressing their views as to arouse an opposition that would not be otherwise manifested. 
I think these men ought not to take any prominent part in guiding the course of affairs in 
the State. 

4287. What do these men profess to be? 

Very lean;,- of them profess to be what are called "radicals ;" but I do not regard them as 
representing, to any extent, the radical men of the north. I rather regard them as political 
adventurers; as men who have taken the peculiar views held by them politically for the 
purpose of personal aggrandizement; men who have no more hive of the Union really at 
heart than many others who have been outspoken secessionists. That is the opinion I have 
been compelled to come tn from my observation since I have lived in this community, and I 
am satisfied the statement I have given is a truthful one. 

4288. Was that class ef men mixed up ill the convention of the 30th of July? 

They w-re not all that class of men. My naval officer was a member of the convention — 
on of Governor Wells— and I regard him as a very exemplary man. I do net think he 
was a violent man, and ! would regard him as an exception to the class 1 have described, 
although he professes to he of the same radical faith held by them. But i;i respect to that 
matter I have always enjoined ii open my employes not to he outspoken in political matters. 
I can better manage the duties of my office if that rule is regarded en the part of the employes. 
I had two or three men in my employ who were members of the convention, 1 believe. I 
think one or two, and perhaps three inspectors, were members, and I laid a clerk who was 
seen tary ef the convention. 

4289. Were they present at the meeting of the convention on the 30th of July ? 

I think I heard my deputy say that Mr. Neelis, the secretary ef the convention, had 
received some intimation that there would he trouble, and that lie remained away. '! 
was a negro man in mv employ, by the name of George, who was there and was shot. He 
had been away from the office for some fifty or sixty days, when I met him one day and he 
told me what had happened. I found then that, in accordance with the regulations of the 
Office, having been absent fourteen days, he hail been dropped. 

4290. State whether, in your opinion, there is any difficulty in men of all shades of political 
opinions discussing- their sentiments publicly, in a proper way. in this community; and, by a 
proper way, I mean a temperate, reasonable manner. 



TESTIMONY OF W. P. KELLOGG. 303 

So far as persona] violence is concerned 1 am satisfied they can do so. I | met 

to express their opinions now around bar-rooms and on the corners of the streets, & c, 
they would run great risk, and perhaps, in many instances, be assailed by violent langua 
but nothing beyond that. I do not know that a worse condition of things exists in 
respect here than in any other city where party spirit runs high. I know of some men who 
are very sensitive upon this point ; such as a confederate soldier, for instance, who has lost an 
arm or i a very near friend. They are very restive, and cannot bear to hear such 

sharp discussion, and evince more sensitiveness than a northern man or a northern copper- 
head, for instance, would be likely to do. But I do not apprehend there is at Ity in 
moderate discussion here or anywhere. 

V.y the Chairman. 
4291. For what purpose did you come to live in this city? 
To hold the position 1 now hold. 
1292. Under whose appointment do you hold it now .' 
Under Mr. Johnson's; 1 was appointed by Mr. Lincoln. 

4293. When were you confirmed by the Senate? 
In February, 1866. 

4294. Then it was upon Mr. Johnson's nomination ? 
I believe he sent my name to the .Senate. - 

4295. You say that when you got here, after your visit to the north, you found a negro, 
formerly in your employ, who had gone to the convention and had been wounded. Was 
that the first you had known of his being wounded? 

Yes, sir; I had only just returned. 

4296. Did you inquire how he was wounded ? 

Oh, yes ; I met him on the street and stopped and shook hands with him. I asked him how 
he was getting along. He said he was mixed up in the riot ; that he went there to the Me- 
chanics' Institute, and was about the door when the firing commenced ; that some one tired at 
him and he ran. He could not tell me who it was; he thought it was a man with black 
whiskers. 

4297. You found that he had been dropped from the roll ? 
Yes, sir. 

4298. ! las he so remained ever since, or have you taken him up again ? 

He has not been on duty since. He has never applied, so far as 1 remember. 

4299. You spoke of having thirty- two clerks in your office, sixteen of whom had been in 
the United States service. Were the others in the confederate service .' 

I do not think I have one clerk, or ever had one in my office, who was in the confederate 
service. 

4300. How many employes have you got altogether' 
I believe something over two hundred ; I cannot say. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

4301. You have in substance testified that you believe the President's views and policy, it 
carried out, would be useful in developing and encouraging loyalty in Louisiana, and in re- 
storing it to a proper condition and harmony with the government? 

No, sir, I did not say so; at least, I did not mean to say so. That would require a defin- 
ing of w hat I regard as his policy. 

4302. Do you think if Louisiana were immediately restored to representation in Congress 
it would be a good thing to do .' 

I think I said, in substance, that if Louisiana were admitted at the present time, the ele- 
ments represented by such men as Hunt, Roselius, and others, would be able to control the 
people of Louisiana. 

4303. Eoselius, Hunt, and the others to whom you refer, were Union men during the war. 
opposed to the rebellion, were they not ? 

I so understand them to have been. 

4304. And you believe that those who remained loyal to the government during the war, 
and refused to aid in the rebellion, would, under the present constitution and laws, have the 
majority and control the State? 

1 think it quite probable that that element predominates. So far as the voting is con- 
cerned at elections held, that element which has been heretofore considered as antagonistic 
to the government has controlled the people of the State. But I mean to be understood as 
saying in view of the fact that there are a sufficient number of men like Roselius and 
Eandall Hunt, large property-holders, who have a material interest in the prosperity and 
well-being of the community, who could, if the State were admitted to representation under 
the present circumstances, control the community and maintain good order. 

4305. Under the present constitution and laws, then, you are in favor of having the State- 
restored to representation in Congress, although, if I understand your last answer, you think 
the late confederates would have the majority? Do I understand you rightly in that regard? 

I think that at an election held under the. present order of things, those who have been 
arrayed heretofore against the Union, and are still against the Union, would have a majority. 



304 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

4306. Under that same constitution and law would not a vast majority of those who were 
friends of the government during the war be excluded from voting and holding office? 

I do not think they would he excluded from voting. I think it quite probable there would 
be a majority of votes against them, and consequently they would be excluded from holding 
office. 

4307. So that the only material portion of the people of Louisiana who remained loyal to 
the government during the war, the colored people, under your plan of restoration, and under 
the present government, would be totally excluded from political power, would they not? 

I think the larger portion of those who remained steadfast to the government during the 
rebellion were colored. 1 do not think at present, perhaps for years, that the negro popula- 
tion would be allowed to vote or hold office. 

4308. Is not a large proportion of the population of New Orleans intelligent and educated 
men of more or less African blood ? 

I believe there are a great many intelligent and educated men in New Orleans who have 
negro blood in their veins, and, I might add, who are property-holders and tax-payers. 

4309. Do you think the government of the United States ought to take any steps, so far 
as the people of Louisiana are concerned, to punish those lately engaged in treason against 
the United States, or to make treason odious ? . 

I have always believed they ought. 

4310. Now, then, please state what steps the government ought to take towards the people 
of Louisiana to that end. 

I believe the government have taken steps which I cordially approve to that end, in the 
abolition of slavery, and in very many other measures of legislation. 

4311. To what other measures do you refer ? 

I will state, if it is proper to state, that I would have very much preferred to have had some 
consideration of this matter; I am simply expressing political opinions as they occur to me. 

4312. What I desired to know was, what other things the government have done in the 
way of making treason odious, besides abolishing slavery, and which you approve, as you 
have said ? 

I believe they have been punished, (if I may use that expression,) in being excluded from 
federal offices. The test oath, as it is administered, excludes them from office under the pains 
and penalties of perjury. 

4313. And you are in favor of keeping up the test oath ? 

I am for the present. If I had my way I should be in favor of the constitutional amend- 
ment, substantially as proposed. I should prefer, however, since you ask me my political 
opinions, to see universal amnesty and universal suffrage adopted by the people of the entire 
south. 

4314. Would you, in the restoration policy you would have the government adopt, restore 
all the late rebels to the powers of the government without making any discriminations 
against treason or against those who have been engaged in treason ? 

If you require my political opinion in reference to that, I can only say that I have been in- 
clined, as a matter of justice to all concerned, to favor that portion of the constitutional 
amendment which, in my judgment, settles that question in the ratio of representation 
adopted. 

4315. Do you favor that ? 

Yes, sir : 1 do favor that ; I have favored it always. I do not think, however, it is neces- 
sary, if universal amnesty ami universal suffrage could be adopted. At the same time I would 
confess tha' a difficulty, in my mind, exists in incorporating such a provision into the Con- 
stitution. H' the people would accede to it voluntarily I believe it would he better. I think 
it is a grave question whether these conditions can he imposed upon a State in the Union ; in 
other words, whether they have not a rightto determine that question of franchise themselves. 

4316. Suppose you can have universal suffrage, then would you extend the right to return 
to Congress to Jeff. Davis and the other leaders of the rebellion ? 

I cannot sic how they could return while the test oath is upon the statute-book. 

4317. And you would keep that there.' 

I have said I would for the present. I think it would have a salutary effect. 

4318. How long: would you continue it .' 

Were I a legislator I would be governed by circumstances. If I believed it would be no 
detriment to the people, and that it could be safely dispensed with, I would dispense with it; 
but not otherwise. As I said, I would be governed by circumstances. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

4319. As a supplement to the political catechism you have just gone through with, I will 
simply ask you whether, in your opinion, a generous and liberal policy on the part of the 
government towards these people would not be productive of more beneficial results than a 
contrary policy ? 

I have always believed so, as a general rule. 



TESTIMONY OF MILES TAYLOR. 305 

New Orleans, December 29, 1866. 
MILKS TAYLOR, a witness whose name was given by a committee of citizens, stating 
that he can give the committee information as to the causes which led to the, riot, and us to 

the loyalty of the people of Louisiana, was sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

4320. Ave yen a resident of New Orleans? 

Yes, sir; I have resided here since February, 1864. Prior to 1355, however, I resided 
here many years. 

4321. Did you at any time represent a portion of Louisiana in the Congress of the United 
States ! 

I .lid. 

4322. In which Congress? 

I was a member of Congress from 1855 to 186L 

4323. Are you engaged in any business here at present? 

I am a member of the bar. and have been practicing my profession since 1864. 

4!W4. Have you any personal knowledge of the transactions of the riot? 

None whatever; I was not present. 

4325. The committee desire to ask your opinion in reference to the slate of public feeling 
and the sentiment here with regard to the government of the United States ; whether the 
disposition of the people towards the government is favorable or unfavorable. State to the 
committee your knowledge upon that subject. 

My position is one, of course, that makes me meet a great many persons, but I have taken 
no part whatever in anything connected with public affairs. 1 have' limited my attention 
entirely to my business, as the unfortunate occurrences of the previous years had deprived me 
of most of the property I before possessed, so that I was in necessitous circumstances; and 
I have ever since devoted myself entirely to the practice of law, and have taken no part 
whatever in any of the movements that have been going on; and I am probably therefore as 
little informed as any person would be of anything which led immediately to the occurrences 
of July 30th. Of course my position enables me to speak with respect to a large portion of 
the people. I was a planter before these troubles began. I have had most of my associa- 
tions with a great number of those persons who were formerly engaged in planting, with 
professional men, and with members of the mercantile community. My conviction, or 
my impression was, that most of our people were indisposed to countenance anything 
that looked towards or contemplated a breaking up«or disturbance of the relations between 
them and the United States government for a long time, and I think they are as much 
so since the termination of the recent troubles as they were prior to those difficulties. 
There was au anxious desire among our citizens — I mean those who had anything at stake 
in the matter, those who had property, those who were engaged in business — for the return 
of perfect peace and repose, a disposition to obey the laws, a disposition not to be critical in 
relation to measures that were adopted in respect to us. They were very desirous that there 
should be a state of perfect peace, in the hope it would terminate in a renewal of the old 
relations among our people. That has been my observation, and it is my conviction still 
that this is the sentiment of the masses of ourpeople. I speak of those whom I have been in 
the habit of associating with, and those who were my former associates, those whom I have 
met ordinarily in the transaction of business. Of course I speak of the general temper of 
the community. You are aw r are, as a matter of course, that in all communities, at all times, 
there are dissatisfied individuals. I have no doubt that such exist among us ; but I have no 
personal knowledge upon that subject, because, as I said, I have attended no public meet- 
ings, and have had no connection with any of those engaged in any of the public affairs of 
the country since I returned to the city to practice law in 1864. 

43 - 2b\ From your intercourse with your clients and those persons you meet in the course 
of your business, and in your social relations, have you seen anything to indicate that the 
disposition of the people of this community is hostile to the government, or that they are 
anxious for an opportunity to rebel against it? 

No, sir: I have not. I am perfectly satisfied that no such feeling exists in the masses of 
this community. That there may be exceptions I believe ; but I have no personal knowledge 
on the subject. In the whole course of my intercourse with my acquaintances I have not 
heard one express any other wish since the termination of the war than that there should be 
a return to the old relations that formerly existed between the different sections, of the 
country: that there should be a restoration of perfect harmony. I will go further. I do 
believe the masses of our people — I speak of those who are engaged in the ordinary concerns 
of life — have now a more ardent desire for a return of such a condition of things as will give 
them a certainty of peace and quiet and repose, a condition wdiich will enable them to prose- 
cute successfully their various industrial pursuits, than I ever knew at any time prior to the 
breaking out of these unfortunate difficulties. You must remember that the people of 
Loiusiana, in common with the people of the other southern States, have suffered very 
greatly. Those who had property, those who had business concerns, I believe without an 
exception, so far as my knowledge goes, have the most ardent desire that there should be an 
end of everything that looks like differences, or that would be calculated to lead to disturb- 
20 N o 



306 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

ances of any character. They are anxious that at the most early day possible the irritations 
that have existed, and still exist, may be quieted and disappear. 

4327. State from your experience in the courts of this State whether justice is fairly 
administered between persons of all descriptions. 

I hai e no experience except in the district courts and in the courts of the United States, as 
I have never in my life, but on one or two occasions, pone into any of the criminal courts. 

4328. State what your knowledge is, so far as your experience goes, of the courts in which 
you practice. 

With respect to the district court and courts of the United States, so far as my observation 
goes, the decisions of the judges have been rendered entirely without any reference to the 
position or connections of the parties. 

4329. If the Slate of Louisiana were restored to her former position in the Union, and 
allowed representation in Congress, what would be the effect upon the public mind here, 
good or bad ' 

My impression is — for I can only give you my impression — that the first year after the ter- 
minal inn of the war there was an expectation on the part of our people that at a very early 
day the old relations between the States would be re-established, and there was, I think, an 
ardent desire that that should take place. I have no doubt, however, that the delay has pro- 
duced a feeling of disquiet and discontentment in the minds of a great many of our people; 
but I think a very considerable portion of our people have not been in the slightest degree 
affected, because there is a certain amount of intelligence among our population, and the pe- 
culiar position in which the country was placed is understood by those who have intelligence. 
There is a consciousness, as a matter of course, thai a restoration of the old relations would 
necessarily have to he a work of time — that there might be obstacles— that difficulties might 
intervene 'which would cause delay. I believe the masses of the people still have precisely 
the same feeling which they had last year, and that the restoration of these relations — the es- 
tablishment of the original relations between the States, their representation in both branches 
of Congress— would be attended with the best effects. 

4330. Are Union men safe in this community as respects persons and property ? 

I believe they are as safe in this community in person and in property as in any other por- 
tion of the United States. 

4331. Are they safe in the expression of their opinions? 
Unquestionably they are. 

4332. Can they successfully prosecute, their professions and callings ? 

I think they can. At least I know of no exception. I have some friends that are engaged 
in the practice of the law, and they are meeting with very tolerable success, who came here 
from the north after the military occupation of the city. I have made their acquaintance 
since I returned to the practice of the law. 

4333. Are you a Union man yourself? 

I was opposed to secession. The position which I occupied was such that it had the ef- 
fect of breaking tip, in a very great degree, the relations which formerly existed between me 
and my old friends, the southern members of Congress. After the disruption took place, I 
returned home I visited this city but twice before the fall of the city, and took no part in 
any of the affairs of the day. I had uo connection with any of the movements of the day, 
but remained quietly at home, attending to my own affairs. But when such a condition of 
things existed that it was necessary for me to resume the practice of my profession tor the 
support of my family, I returned to this city, and engaged in the practice of the law early in 
1864. 

By the Chairman: 

4334. You believed it was wrong to take the part which was taken by the State of Louis- 
iana? 

I was opposed to it; did all in my power, as an individual, to prevent any movements in 
the direction of secession. I remonstrated with my brethren and my associates. 

4335. You thought it was treasonable upou the part of the men who engaged in the work, 
did yen net .' 

I do not know that I thought it was treasonable, lor my attention was not directed to that 
subject. 1 thought it was improper in the highest degree, and I therefore opposed it. 

4336. Be kind enough to say whether, in your opinion as a lawyer, it was or was not trea- 
sonable? -IT,,. T T 

I have never definitely settled that in my own mind. 1 thought it was wrong, and I op- 

4337. Was it not more than wrong? Was it not criminal and wicked iu the leading men ? 
It is difficult for one, and more especially when he himself entertained political views in 

one direction, to judge ofthe character of opposite political views. I declared myself opposed 
to the whole' movement. I went no further than that. I considered my position a very 
peculiar one. Probably it left rue under more restraint than most other persons. I was not 
Tjorn lii the south. I was born in the north. I came here, it is true, at a very early period and 
began life. I simply had the feeling that the movement was improper, and did all in my 
power to prevent it. But if the majority of the people who have extended to me their friend- 



TESTIMONY OF MILES TAYLOR. 307 

ship ami confidence, and had sent me their representative to Congress, if they had determined 
to move in a particular direction, I could only return home, attend to my affairs, and be silent. 
I could not array myself against my old friends. Therefore I never examined the question, 
because I was satisfied in my own mind that I had done what I felt to be my duty in doing 
all in my power in opposition to the movement. 

4338, Was it not your judgment, when the rebellion was closed by the surrender of the 
armies of the confederacy, that the rebel leaders, those who were active in instigating and 
conducting the rebellion, would be punished .' 

I cannot say I believed there would be anything of that kind. 

4339. Do you not believe that something of that kind should occur? 

As a matter of policy, I should have doubted its wisdom ; and as to its justice, I should, 
have grave doubts. 

4310. Then you are not prepared to say that their acts were treasonable, or that, having 
failed in overthrowing- the government, their conduct deserves punishment? 

It is a subject that I never discuss, even with myself, owing to the peculiar position I oc- 
cupy. I placed myself in opposition to the movement at a time when, of course, no one 
could tell what would be the result. It has had, as I said, the effect of separating me from 
my old friends; and I never went beyond that. 

4341. Is it not true that, during the rebellion, there was one class of persons of the people 
of Louisiana — that is to say, the colored people — who were loyal to the government of the 
United States ? 

I have no knowledge upon that subject. I cannot tell ; I only know the condition of 
things that existed in practice. ■ For instance, I was a planter; on my place there were up- 
wards of one hundred persons who were then slaves. My place was within six miles of the 
town of Donaldsonville, which, alter the occupation of the city, was occupied by the na- 
tional troops again and again for many months. During the whole of that time the people 
of my place could at any time have gone within the lines of the army. There was nothing 
to prevent their visiting Donaldsonville, but not one of them left my plantation to my knowl- 
edge. At any rate, they were always there in the day time when I was about, in the ordi- 
nary manner carrying on the ordinary labors of the field in the same manner they had 
always done. 

4342. From your knowledge of the state of facts respecting that class of people, is that the 
only answer that you think it right to give to the question ? 

I know that on many plantations a great many of the negroes left .and went within the 
lines of the federal troops. I think myself, so far as my knowledge goes, that they thought 
very little on that subject. Of courseT never heard any expression on the subject. I have 
no doubt, however, that, as a general thing, they all of them looked forward to the advent 
of the national troops as a tiling that was to be beneficial to themselves, and that they were 
thus disposed to go to the officers and the federal authorities. But whether they canvassed 
these things among themselves I have not the slightest idea. I have no doubt they did, but 
I have no personal knowledge of it, for I never heard any expressions on the subject. The 
relations between them and myself were always the most kindly. 

4343. Do you believe the control of the government ot Louisiana ought tobeislaced in the 
hands of the same men who fought against the government? 

I do not; I think the control of the government of Louisiana, like the government of any 
State, should be placed in the hands, not of any particular class, but in the hands of all those 
people who are now disposed to be subject to the laws, and who have the capacity to engage 
in the business of life — who have the disposition to forget what is past, and to become loyal 
and patriotic members of the community, no matter what class they belong to. 

4344. Then you think some steps should be taken to ascertain the qualifications and char- 
acter of the persons who took part in conducting the affairs of the State during the rebellion, 
before they are permitted now to have a voice in the control of the government of the State ? 

If it were a matter we were called upon to decide, I do not think I should look to tike past ; 
I should look only to the present, and to the future. 

4345. And that you would do, although it might result in leaving the control of the State 
in the hands of the same men who have arrayed themselves in hostility to the government? 

The [iiestion of secession in this State was carried, if carried at all, by a very small ma- 
jority. 1 have no idea as to precisely where the political power would fall. The opinion which 
I expressed grows out of the abstract views I have in relation to what constitutes a republican 
system of government. I believe that those persons who have a fair reputation in life, who have 
ordinary intelligence, such as would enable them to decide ordinary questions presented to 
them for decision, and who at the same time take upon themselves the obligation of alle- 
giance to the government, should be permitted to take part in it. 

434(3. Suppose these men happen to be colored men? 

If they had the intelligence, for one, I should have no objection to their exercising the 
right of suffrage. The only criterion that I think should be regarded would be intelligence; 
but I think the masses of the colored people, in my view, have not the intelligence or the 
intellectual training that would fit them for the exercise of the right of suffrage. For myself, 
I have long since arrived at the conclusion that if snch a measure was adopted, I should have 
no disposition to say anything on the subject. My own conviction is, that, as a class, they 



308 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

are not to-day possessed of the intellectual training that would fit them to exercise the elec- 
tive franchise ; but this is only my individual opinion. I have no prejudice on the subject of 
color. 

By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

4347. Did I understand you correctly, that you had, up to the commencement of the war, 
done al! you could to prevent secession in Louisiana . ? 

I said that, in the political contests that took place prior to that time, I was opposed to se- 
cession, and that so far as my own individual efforts went in my intercourse with my friends, 
I remonstrated, as a matter of course, against that movement. 

4348. You maintained that course, both as a representative and as an individual, up to the 
time of the beginning of hostilities? 

When the (State withdrew, I withdrew from Congress. 

4349. Did you make a farewell speech in Congress? 
I did. 

4350. Did you utter your sentiments in that body as you have now expressed them? 
Yes, sir 

4351. That speech was of course reported, and is to be found in the Globe? 
It is to be found in the Congressional Globe ; yes, sir. 

4352. Was that speech in opposition to the secession of Louisiana? 

No, sir. Secession had then taken place. It was an accomplished fact. But, as I said 
before that, I had taken the view that the course was wrong, and had done all in my power 
to oppose it. When it had taken place, owing to the position which X occupied, I conceived 
it was in consonance with my individual duty not to take any part against my friends. 

4353. Did you in that farewell sp ech, which you say contained your sentiments, favor 
fighting the United States? 

I stilted what my conviction was, that if an attempt at coercion was made it would result 
in a great war. I expressed the hope, however, that the difficulties would be terminated by 
an arrangement which would put an end to such a contest. 

4354. In other words, you hoped the government would be permanently divided, and that 
it would make no effort to preserve its integrity? 

I caunot say that. I, for one, had a conviction then, and I have it still, that if there had 
been no military contest, and no attack made which had terminated in war, before two years 
had passed by the Union would be re-established; because I think that the evils which 
would follow a disruption of the Union would be felt, and felt very sensibly, at a very early 
day, and that the action of the majorities in the southern States had been taken in ignorance 
of what woirld be the necessary result ; that the evils and inconveniences which would have 
grown out of a separation of the States would have been sensibly felt, and that in the course 
of a year or two, by the action of majorities, the government would have been re-established. 

4355. Let me ask you whether the expressed determination, not only of Mason, Slidell, 
and Benjamin, Senators from the State of Louisiana iu the Senate of the United States, as 
well as members in the House from Louisiana, was not that the separation should be final 
and perpetual, and that that perpetual. separation you meant to mainlaiu, if necessary, by war J 

If you will look at the remarks I made at that time, you will find (though I have not seen 
the Globe for years) that when I took leave of the House I expressed the wish and hope, 
and at that time. I had a, very strong belief, that we should again meet there. 

4356. Did that expression that you would again meet there refer to a successful confederacy 
or a restored Union? 

It was that the difficulties would have passed away, and that we would have again become 
a united people. 



New Orleans, December 29, 1866. 
THADDEUS P. MOTT, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens for the 
purpose of stating such facts as were within his knowledge concerning the proceedings of 
July 30th, and other matters under investigation, was sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

4357. Do you know anything in relation to the riot which occurred on the 30th of July last 
in this city, either of the facts which led to it or the circumstances which took place at the 
time'' If so, please state what you know on the subject. 

I can state about the circumstances that took place the day of the riot. I was not a wit- 
ness of the meeting before the riot. 1 was a witness of the procession which passed through 
the streets in the course of that day. 

4358. .State what you know in regard to that, procession? 

.Early on the morning of July 3Uth I left my room and proceeded through Canal street to 
near Dryades, on which the Mechanics' Institute is situated ; while there, several shots were 
fired in Dryades street. This was about half past nine or ten o'clock, I should think ; I am 
not sure as to the time. The crowd came rushing through Canal street. I turned myself 



TESTIMONY OF THADDEUS P. MOTT. 309 

and got out of the way of the firing, for I did not know to what extent it would be earned. 
Shortly after these proceedings on Canal and Drvades streets, when the firing had stopped, 1 
started to go away, when I met Colonel Adams, chief of police, with whom I was acquainted. 
The mayor, if I mistake not, was standing two or three feet from us. At that time the crowd 
had increased on Dryados street, near the Mechanics' Institute; there were very few white 
citizens in it, and I saw but one or two policemen. We had been standing for say five min- 
utes, when the shooting recommenced ; the shots, as I supposed from the direction they seemed 
to take, must have come from the building of the Mechanics' Institute 1 . There was nobody 
outside that I saw firing at all. The chief of police then said that if it went ou he would have 
to call his whole police force out. The mayor told him he had better do it at once. He said 
he would bring one or two men dowu and arrest those parties, and that might quiet the 
affair. lie started for that purpose with someone in citizens' clothes ; I do not know who he 
was, though I believe one of his employes. I then walked through Canal street to St. 
Charles, and met a man who came running dowu, and said they had commenced tiring from 
the building, and the doors of the building were locked. Colonel Adams then ordered. the 
police from the different districts to be brought up, so that in case of further disturbance they 
could In' used to suppress it. We went back to the Mechanics' Institute. The front door 
was closed. At that time there were at least five shots fired from the windows in our direc- 
tion. I asked Colonel Adams if he was armed; he said no, that he wished no arms. He 
then sent some police to open the doors and arrest those inside. The firing from the steps of 
the Mechanics' Institute at that time was very heavy. 
4359. Against whom was it directed? 

Agaiust the police who had orders to open the doors. They broke open the doors ; but 
soon retreatei, the firing being too heavy, and most of them being armed only with clubs. 
The second charge took place, with the same result. I started with the chief of police to go 
up stairs. They were firing down stairs as we went in. Who it was I cannot say. We 
then went up, and came around in the rear of the building, and found some of the police 
trying to get in there. Before this second attempt of getting in the chief of police was 
struck. Some negroes made a rush at him, and lie was struck on the back of the neck with 
something that looked like a paling of a fence. I know it staggered him for a moment. 
The man run away, I suppose: I did not see him arrested. On going around in the rear of 
the building, as we were directly in the rear and going towards it, there was a shot passed 
immediately in front of us, and flattened agaiust the wall on the opposite side of the way. 
It was a rifle-shot, as it appeared to me, or it may have come from a large pistol. In look- 
ing in the direction it came from, there was a negro right at the wind >w from whence the 
shot came. He had some weapon in his hand, which I thought was a rifle. Colonel 
Adams thought it was pistol. Then some shots came from the other side, firing towards the 
negro, who speedily disappeared. I know both came nearer to me than I care about. The 
chief of police then gave orders for the police to get in by the rear. While we were stand- 
ing there several shots were fired from the. back of the building. I then weut around in 
front of the building. By that time the police had gone up stairs, and entered the conven- 
tion chamber. The orders of the chief of police were that all should then stop firing. There 
were some shots, however, tired from the hack stairs as we went into the convention build- 
ing. When there I saw some negroes (two, I think) lying on the floor, wounded — at any 
rate they were lying very quiet. When we entered the hall of the conventiou after the 
doors had been opened, I saw several who had been shot inside. Many were wounded, and 
I believe two or three dead. I saw Colonel Adams himself strike one of his own policemen 
for ill-using a man. They said it was the same negro who had struck the chief of police on 
the back of the neck. I do not think it was possible for any one to have risked his life 
more thoroughly thau Colonel Adams did, in trying to protect those who had been arrested 
from violence. I saw him interpose his own body several times to protect citizens against 
the crowd who were attacking them. 1 saw him take Governor Hahn out, and interpose 
between him and those who were trying to shoot him. He took him down to the station- 
house or headquarters. I went down with him, and came back. When I arrived at the 
building again, it was reported that King Cutler had not been found. Colonel Adams said if 
these citizens got hold of Mr. King Cutler they might injure him. We then went up in 
the loft, and hunted there to find Mr. Cutler. We at last succeeded in finding him, and Mr. 
Adams ordered a sergeant to take his police and protect him, and bring him to the police 
headquarters, which they did, against the attempts of half a dozen citizens to kill him. 
They were very much excited. After that the military took possession. Colonel Adams 
gave orders to take the dead away, to send the wounded to the hospital, and directed carts 
to be brought around for that purpose. He ordered the police to allow nobody to go into 
the building. We then went back to the police headquarters, and sat dowu there for about 
half an hour. After that, when we went out, the military had possession of the streets. 
This was about four o'clock in the afternoon. He then weut around with me to General 
Kautz's headquarters, and told them he would like to visit the different stations of the city 
and give orders to the night policemen. General Kautz gave him permission, and sent his 
chief quartermaster with him. I accompanied them to every part of the city, and found 
everything perfectly quiet. I remained with Colonel Adams until after twelve o'clock that 
night. There were no more disturbances whatever. The military had full possession of the 



310 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

city. The police were on their patrols. That is all the knowledge I lwe in regard to the 
riot. 

4360. Did you, before the riot took place, learn of any preparation being made for it by any 
class of people 1 

1 suspected that there v, as going to be some disturbance. On the Saturday previous to the 
riot I met Colonel De Witt Clinton, of General Sheridan's staff, speaking to Colonel Adams, 
chief of police. I asked him if there was likely to be any disturbance. He said he was afraid 
there might, but be thought, however, it would pass over without much trouble. This was 
after the speeches that had been made at the City Hall. The negroes were excited, as they 
always will he if any one does anything to excite them. They are the most harmless people 
in the world unless they are led on. They were going through the streets, man}- of them 
more or less under the influence of whiskey, but I did not believe that anything serious was 
apprehended. 

4361. Did you hear anything said as to what they expected would happen that day? 
No, sir: nothing of any importance except what I have stated. 

4362. What occasion was there for your being with the chief of police as much as you have 
stated ' 

I met the colonel that morning; he was an old friend of mine, and I went with him as 
much from curiosity as from any other reasons, to see what was going on. I had been nearly 
all my life in the military service, and I wanted to see what this was going to be like. I had 
seen a great many reports of riots in France, but I had never witnessed one, and I wanted to 
see for myself what was being done. 

By the CHAIRMAN : 

43(13. You are a colonel? 

Yes, sir, in the United States service. I was a captain in the regular army until 1863. 

4364. Was your commission taken from you? 

No, sir. 

436.3. How did you cease to be in the United States service 1 

My command was taken from me. 

4366. Did you not say a moment ago that it was not ? 

I got my commission bach again. It was not approved by the President. It was returned. 

4367. It was taken from you because of a trial? 
Yes, sir. 

4368. You were cashiered ? 

No, sir, I was dismissed from the service by a court-martial, in consequence of charges 
brought against me. They were referred, of course, to the President, who revoked the sen- 
tence. I was restored to my commission, and my resignation accepted. I have the papers 
still to show for it. 

4369. How long was that commission taken from you before it was restored .' 

About two years, I think; but as soon as it was brought to the notice of the authorities. 

4370. During that time you went into the confederate lines ? 
I was in the confederate lines. 

437 1 . J low long after you were dismissed did you go there ? 

Several months alter. 

4372. When you were within the confederate lines what occupation did you pursue? 

I was residing there quietly. 

4:i73. Why did you go there to reside; had you been previously residing there? 

I went there to reside. I had previously resided in Alabama for a time. 

4374. In what part of the confederate lines did you go? 

In southeast Loui nana. 

437o. What part did you lake in tin' confederate service ? 

I staid there more as a looker on than as anything else. I took no particular part in any 
battles or anything of that kind. 

43,76. What part did you take' ! 

I wtis a resident within the confederate lines at Covington, Louisiana. 

43)77. What did you do in aid of the confederate cause I 

Nothing, except to reside among them. 

437 s . Did you never take up arms in any way in aid of the confederate cause ? 

I took up arms to keep the peace. We fought against jayhawkers, as they were termed. 

437'J. Vou know what I mean. The question is whether you took arms or took any part 
in the confederate sen ice .' 

Not in the confederate service. 

4380. Were those men you call the jayhawkers fighting for the rebels or against them? 
Tiny were deserters on both sides, fighting and plundering wherever they went. 

4381. What was your business while there ! 
I bought and sold different things 

1382. Dili you remain there until action was had upon your dismissal by the President? 

No, sir ; it was bad after I came hack here. 

4383. At what time was that reversal of your dismissal made? 



TESTIMONY OF THADDEUS P. MOTT. 311 

I have the papers. I think a little over a year ago. 

4384. Since the death of President Lincoln or before ? 

It was in 1865. I am not sure whether before or since the death of President Lincoln. I 
think, probably, it was before. The matter was examined by Judge Holt, and it was de- 
cided i" be clearly a ease of injustice. 

4385. What was the charge against you? 

I was in the Teelie country. I was charged with destroying property belonging to a citi- 
zen of the United States. I had refused, as commander of the outpost, to allow cotton spec- 
ulators to pass my line. I had gone several miles beyond my lines one day. There was a 
house belonging to a major in the rebel service then occupied by an old woman. She told 
me she was going' to move within the lines the next day. After we started to go away the 
house was set mi tire. I ordered my men to use the-water that was there to put out the fire, 
which they were endeavoring to do when they were attacked by a party of confederates 
called Yeilnw-iaakets. I had told my men to mount their horses. It was a mere shanty of 
two rooms. We mounted and rode one hundred and eight miles, fighting all the way. It 
was for this, and for refusing cotton speculators to pass my lines on the pass of a general, 
that he undertook to ruin my name. I protested against the court-martial, which was com- 
posed of men known to be opposed to me, and as soon as their action was brought to the 
notice of the authorities here the sentence was revoked. 

43o'6\ What participation did you have while within the confederate lines in running the 
blockade ? 
1 ran the blockade when I left here ; that is all. 

4387. And while you were transacting business there what part in the business of blockade 
running did you take ? 

None, unless to buy the necessaries of life from blockade runners. 

4388. You kept a store ! 

Not a store. I bought and sold various thing 

4389. You bought from the blockade runners? 

I bought nothing from them but provisions, clothing, and whiskey. 

4390. How long did you keep that establishment, selling goods purchased from blockade 
runners .' 

Several months. 

4391. Do you remember to have claimed after the surrender that you were a paroled 
prisoner 1 

I do. 

4392. Is it true that you were a paroled prisoner? 

I did say so. I said I was a paroled prisoner. When I came over I went to the proper 
officer and got my parole, as many others did, not knowing what might be done. 

4393. You claimed, of course, to be a paroled confederate prisoner? 

I did, as many other citizens did who had not been in the army. , 

4394. You say that the policemen you saw on that day were armed with clubs ? 

Yes, sir; they had the regular policemen's clubs or batons. Afterwards I saw a great 
many of them armed with pistols. It was on the first charge to get the doors open that I 
saw them armed with clubs. 

4395. Yon do not remember to have seen them shooting any negroes? 

After they got inside they returned the fire of the negroes. I cannot say whether they 
killed any negroes or not. 

4396. You saw a good many negroes shot? 
I suppose I saw about twenty negroes shot. 

4397. But you have no reason from what you saw to suppose it was done by the police? 
I do not know ; it was done by them or by citizens. 1 know the negroes were fired at in 

answer to firing which came from them, or from the convention room, whoever was there. 

4398. So far as you could judge, did there appear to be an armed force up stairs in the 
hall? 

Yes, sir; there was a mob well armed, as far as I could judge from the shots that came 
from there. 

-1399. They came pretty thick from the windows, did they ? 

Yes, sir; and from down the stairs. I do not suppose I saw more than ten or twelve shots 
fired from the windows. 

4400. You saw some parties shooting from the windows ? 

Yes, sir; I saw one negro certainly, and I saw the smoke of the firing from the outside. 

4-101. When the police first went up stairs they could not get into the room, could they? 

Not when they first went up stairs. The convention room was shut when I first went up 
there. We entered the convention hall from the back part of the building. 

4402. Did you go into the room ? 
I did. 

4403. Was there a good deal of firing there by men connected with the convention ? 
At the time I got there the firing had ceased. 

4404. How about those who had left the room ; did they seem to be firing? 

They seemed to have been pretty much all arrested. I saw a great many negroes, one 



312 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

after another, marched to the lock-up, and I saw many policemen protecting them from the 

Cl'o\\ (J. 

4405. You have endeavored to do full justice to the police, have you not? 
I was not a member of the police; I was merely a looker-on. 

4406. So far as you could judge, this riot was occasioned hy armed negroes? 
I do not blame the negroes at all in regard to it. 

4407. 1 did not ask you whether you blamed them. 

It was occasioned by whoever fired the shots. I saw negroes firing. 

By Mr. BOYER: 

4408. Where were you born? 
In the city of New York. 

4409. Were you a resident of the sorfth at the time the war broke out? 
I was not. 

4410. You became so afterwards? 

Yes, sir; and I was a resident previous to that — from 1850. I was in the city of New 
York at the time the war commenced. 

4411. Previous to that, how long had you resided in the south ? 
Off and on since 1850. 

By Mr. Shellararger : 

4412. Did the citizens of the south who were not engaged in the rebel service at the time 
of the surrender, generally get paroles as prisoners of war for their protection? 

A great many did. I was in Covington, Louisiana, at the time. We thought it safer to 
get paroles, and 1 did as the majority did— men who had never been in the confederate ser- 
vice at all. It was an out of the way place. We did not know the terms of the surrender, 
and we thought it was safer for self-protection, and therefore obtained paroles. 



New Orleans, December 29, 186G. 

M. B. BRADY, a witness whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as being 
able to give information as to the causes which led to the riot, and as to the condition of af- 
fairs in Louisiana, sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyf.r : 

4413. How long have you lived in New Orleans ? 
Fourteen or fifteen years. 

4414. "What is your occupation 1 
I am a commission merchant. 

441T>. Slate any facts within your knowledge as to the causes that led to the riot on the 
30th of July, and any circumstances or occurrences of that day. 

The immediate cause of the riot I believe was the speeches made on the Friday preceding 
the meeting of the convention. On that night a meeting was held opposite the Mechanics' 
Institute, in the street. A platform had been erected, and speakers addressed the multitude 
from the platform. The assemblage was chiefly composed of negroes. The speakers ad- 
vised the negroes to insist upon their rights, and if they did not get them, to make the streets 
of New Orleans run witli the blood of the rebels, and other language of similar character. 
One of them insisted that the rebels should be put down at any cost ; that they were hell- 
born and hell-bound scoundrels, (I think that was the expression,) and that the streets must 
run with their blood unless the rights of the negroes were secured. 

441G. What speakers did you hear make use of such language? 

A man by the name of Dostie, the last speaker, used that language. I do not know any- 
thing personally of those who preceded him; I have forgotten their names. I recollect I 
heard their names at the time as they were called by the multitude. 

4417. What kind of a crowd were assembled there? 

Several hundred negroes, and perhaps thousands. The street was pretty well crowded. 
It was about eight or nine o'clock when it began, and the meeting lasted till ten or half-past 
ten. The multitude became excited as the speakers addressed them from the platform, and 
would respond "we will," "we Mill," to those speakers who advised them to come to the 
hall Monday morning. 

4418. What hall .' 

The Mechanics' Hall, opposite to where the speeches were made. They advised the negroes 
to come there Monday morning, that they were to have a meeting of the convention, or some- 
thing of that sort ; to come armed, and they wanted no cowards to come. In connection with 
that language one of the speakers, the last one. cursed the people, the rebels, I suppose he 
meant, as G — d d — d, and in the same connection said they were "hell-born and hell-bound.' 

4419. Had the platform been erected for the purpose of speaking from it? 



TESTIMONY OF M. B. BRADY. 313 

O, yes, sir; they commenced its erection about dinner time, and had it completed in timo 
for their assemblage. 

4420. Was the meeting altogether in the public street > 

I understood there, was speaking inside the hall. I did not see or hear that. The meeting 
I have reference to was immediately in front, of the ball. 

4421. Is that place in a central, public part of the city? 
Iu the very heart of the city. 

4422. Is the street much travelled? 

It is chiefly composed of private residences. That public building was erected some years 
ago, and has occasionally attracted large multitudes of people at concerts, halls, &c. It was 
recently rented to the State as a temporary hall for the legislature. 

44'23! Is it a closely built street, that part of it 1 

Oneltide is closely built, the other is not as closely, because the Medical College occupies 
nearly one-half the square. That is a public building, and has a lot around it. 

4424. How did the crowd respond to the sentiments of the speakers on that occasion? 
They cheered and said, " We will, we will." 

4425. Was that in response to the invitation to come to the Mechanics' Hall, and come 
armed ? 

All the speeches and invitations were responded to prettymuch as Ihave said; they would 
cry out, "We will, we will! " 

By the Chairman : 

442<!. Where did you live before coming to New Orleans ? 
In Louisville, Kentucky. 

4427. The meeting at which you were present was held on Friday evening in front of the 
Mechanics' Institute, as I understand ; how long were you there ? 

My residence is directly opposite. I was standing in my second-story gallery, immediately 
opposite the building. 

4428. Yen do not know the name of a single person who spoke except Doctor Dostie, whom 
you mentioned ? 

Mr. Henderson spoke, and a preacher whose name I have forgotten. As I remarked, I did 
not know any gentleman there personally, but after one had spoken the multitude would call 
another name, and another would be presented and introduced. 
' 44-JU. Who was it said the streets of New Orleans would run with blood? 

Dostie. 

4430. Can you remember his language ? 

Yes, sir ; I remember it very distinctly, because it was the occasion of a general expression 
of horror among the spectators in my immediate vicinity. 

4431. Have you stated it as nearly as you can recollect ? 

Yes, sir ; that portion of it I have given verbatim as it was delivered. 
4132. Who was it that said anything about coming on Monday armed? 
I think it was 1 >ostie who invited them to come on Monday, and to come armed, and he 
wanted no cowards in the crowd to come. 

4433. In what part of the speech was it that he spoke about blood running in New Orleans ? 
It was towards the conclusion, but not the conclusion. 

4434. Did you take any part in the rebellion ? 

I do not know that I did. I was at first iu favor of some method of settling the difficulties 
resulting from the election of Lincoln, other than war. After the war had begun I was a 
southern man. and co-operated with my people. 

4435. In what way? 

By my aid, money, and sympathy. 

4436. How otherwise, if at all ? 

I do not know that I did otherwise, not that I remember. 

4437. Did you take a pretty active part in the defence of the city against the federals ? 
Yes, about as active as almost everybody did at that time. 

4438. By coutiihutions of money ? 
Yes, sir. 

4431). You remember when Lee surrendered his army? 
Yes, sir. 

4440. What did you say at that time about that, and about the effect of it? 
I cannot remember what I said. 

4441. How did you feel ? 

I was in Texas at the time. I do not recollect what I said. I suppose, with everybody else 
in the south, I regretted it; that was my feeling at least. 

4442. That is to say, you would have preferred that the confederacy should have prevailed ? 
Yes, sir. 

4443. You were sorry that the government had succeeded ? 

As I said before, when this thing began, I went into it reluctantly. After the fighting 
commenced I sympathized with the southern people in the struggle. 

4444. Have not you continued your sympathy with the southern people ? 



314 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Witness. In what respect ? « 

The Chairman. Iu all respects. 

I sympathize with them in their exclusion from Congress very much. 

444"). Is there anything else in which you do nol sympathize with them? 

I regret very much that the peace concluded has not been made definite and final by a 
complete restoration of the Union. That is desired by every southern man; there is no man 
of my acquaintance who 'Iocs not wish heartily for the complete restoration of the country 
and for the readmission of State representation at Washington city. Nobody that I know 
has any further idea of continuing or renewing the war. 

4446. You did not wish it at the time of tin' surrender? 

At the time of the surrender my opinions upon that subject, in common with everybody 
else in the South up to that time, were in favor of the South succeeding, but were then* sur- 
rendered. 

4447. What do you mean by surrendering your opinions ? 
My political opinions. 

444"\ What do you include among your political opinions that you surrendered > 

As a question of abstract right, I think the States had a right to remedy their grievances 
by withdrawal from the Union. At the time and at the beginning of the war, I did not think 
that mode of redress was wise or proper. I was opposed to a violent solution of the question, 
and thought it could be solved in some other way. Still, as a matter of abstract opinion, I 
thought a State had the right to withdraw from the confederation. 

444'J. Then you have surrendered that opinion? 

Abstractly I have not, bitt as a practical question it is not worth discussing, because I 
believe it will never be tested again, and nobody in our country desires to discuss it. For 
that reason I am opposed to any violent agitation of the question. 

4450. But you still continue to believe it may rightfully be done, as a matter of opinion-? 
I believe, as I said before, as an abstract question of ethics, that a State would have the 

right of seceding under the Constitution. I believe it was one of the reserved rights in the 
Constitution. But I did not believe the southern people took the most proper method of 
redressing their wrongs, and was opposed to a violent solution of the question. 

4451. Were you here when General Twiggs was received in New Orleans ? 

I do not remember whether I was present on that occasion or not. I was absent occa- 
sionally, on business, in the country. 
445'2. What proportion of the people in Louisiana united in the rebellion ? 
A majority. 

4453. You mean by that a majority of white people? 

Oh, yes, sir ; at that time the slave population had no voice. 

4454. Then a majority of the white people united in the act of secession? 
Yes, sir. 

4455. Is not the control of the State substantially in the hands of that same majority 
to-day ? 

I will answer that question by. stating a few facts. The vote submitted to the people on 
the subject of secession proved that if a majority was not actually opposed to it, the ma- 
jority in favor of secession was very small. It was charged here by what we call co-opera- 
tionists, that a majority of the people were opposed to secession. 

445(i. Hut they all went into it when secession was declared? 

Almost everybody. 

4457. Now, 1 ask you again, whether the control of the State of Louisiana, in its governor 
and its local governments, is not in the hands of that same majority who were secessionists? 

The executive portion of the State government and the judiciary are in tin- hands of the 
opponents of secession. The executive of the State was elected by a majority of the peo- 
ple of Louisiana expressly on the ground that he was a. Union man. The ju liciary are all 
of them strong Union men, although .some of them wen' secessionists. Judge Howell was 
a confederate judge, and held office as such, I believe, until a late period iu the war ; and 
many others only abandoned the South when her cause became desperate. 

4458. I 'pon your oath have you stated what you believe to lie the truth in regard to the 
controlling power in the State of Louisiana .' 

1 have given my response as well as 1 could, and stated my reasons for it. 

4459. And you believe the answer you have made is a truthful answer I 

Every fact I have slated is on my oath, and 1 believe to be true. I believe a majority of 
the people elected Governor Wells because he was a Union man. I believe that our people 
abandoned the whole cause of secession at the close of the war, and wish peace and quiet 
restored. That is my answer. 

4460. You claim yourself to be a Union man ? 
Yes, sir. 

440 J. What do you mean by that? 

I am in favor of the Union of the States, of the equality of the States, .of a representation 
of all the Stales; and I am opposed to anything like dissension, violence, or agitation. 
4462. Iu your judgment has Louisiana ever been out of the Union? 



TESTIMONY OF M. B. BRADY. 315 

That is a constitutional question, that I scarcely feel prepared now to answer. It has 
been discussed a great deal in and out of the newspapers. 

-1 163. Was it not your judgment on the surrender of Lee's army that the State of Louis- 
iana had a right at once to be received again into the old Union, and her representatives ad- 
mitted at uiicc into Congress ■' 

Yes, sir; As soon as the war was over, and peace restored, it was my conviction, and is 
yet, that the State was entitled to representation in Congress. 

4464. But the control of the affairs of the State would have been in that case in the pos- 
n of the same men who had been fighting for four years against the government .' 

A large portion of the people of the State, as I said before, were opposed to secession, and 
voted against it. In fact it was a question whether a majority voted for it at all, for the 
vote w as never made public. 

4465. But the controlling power was managed so that with or without a majority they 
had their own way, did they not, in the matter of secession? 

Certainly, the secessionists controlled the action of the State. 

4466. And upon the surrender would not the same power and control have remained in 
the State I 

The same persons who survived the war are still here, I suppose, but I understand them 
to have accepted the issue of the war — that they are no longer secessionists, and no longer in 
favor of violence. 

4467. You speak of having yourself surrendered certain opinions, practically, but that 
your feeling is just as decidedly now in sympathy with the South as it ever was I 

My sympathies are, of course, with my section; we want re-admission to representation in 
Congress*, and we think we are entitled to it ; we pay our taxes, we bear our portion of the 
public burdens, we are peaceable, we deport ourselves properly, and we think we have a 
right to representation. That is the opinion of every man in this country, except, perhaps, 
those who for hope of reward have petitioned Congress to adopt another course, aud some of 
the most prominent men who are now insisting on the exclusion of the State were at one time 
violent secessionists. We were all pretty much of the same opinion then, but every man 
now wants peace and order. We wisli to repair our own fortunes, and politics is almost 
absolutely excluded from our social circles. 

4468. buring the existence ot the rebellion is it not true that in Louisana, so far as you 
know, the colored men were really loyal to the Union and remained so throughout the war? 

In the vicinity of the federal armies, as they advanced into their neighborhood, that was 
the fact ; outside the vicinity or neighborhood of the federal armies I think the reverse was 
the fact — that the negro population sympathized with their white owners. 

4469. That is to say, until the power of the government had reached far enough to protect 
them 1 

As I said before, as the army advanced the negroes, perhaps generally, sympathized with 
the federal government, but iu many cases they were forced away from their masters, and 
when they had the opportunity, in many cases, they returned. In the vicinity of the federal 
camps your question can generally be answered in the affirmative, that the negro population 
were anxious for their liberation, and wished the success of the federal forces. In the absence 
of these forces, so far as my observation extended, they generally expressed themselves as 
their masters felt ; whether that was policy on their part or a true expression of their senti- 
ments 1 do not know. 

4470. That state of things changed as soon as the army came in sight, so far as you know ? 
Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4471. Do you mean to be understood as saying that a mere sight of the army affected the 
opinions and feelings of the negro population, or what the army did, and what was done in 
connection with it ? 

The sight of the army inspired the negro with the certainty or hope that he would work no 
more — being naturally adverse to continuous labor. So far as my knowledge of his charac- 
ter goes, his idea of happiness is to do nothing; and that Utopian idea inspired all of them 
on the approach of the federal army. They wished the success of the federal army simply 
with the hope of not being obliged to work. I think that was the governing principle more 
in many cases than any idea of a change of masters. They expected to be idle and have a 
good time generally, and that hope was held out to them by many soldiers and camp-follow- 
ers. The officers of the army generally told the negroes that whoever was their master, 
they would be compelled to work; but camp-followers and men who were governed more by 
impulse than by truth, liberality, and fairness, did a great deal to demoralize them. 

By the CHAIRMAN : 

4472. You do not think that any of the men who participated in the rebellion should be 
disfranchised ? 

Well, that involves an elaborate discussion which I do not feel capable at this time of 
entering into. 



316 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

447H. Yon know what you think, do yon not ? 

I do know, exactly; I think they ought not to be disfranchised ; their armies have sur- 
rendered and have returned to their peaceful avocations; they are utterly opposed to any 
further violence; there is no man within the whole circle of my acquaintance who would 
encourage for a moment any attempt at an insurrection again. 

4474. And it is your opinion that those who have been engaged for four years in an attempt 
to destroy the government ought not to he punished ! 

Those who conducted themselvrs according to the laws of war, who behaved themselves 
as gentlemen and Christians, who committed no acts of malignity and violence, I think are 
entitled to the terms of their surrender. If a person abused his trust or power I have no ob- 
jection to seeing him punished either by execution or otherwise. 

447o. You believe that the government should withdraw its' military forces from here and 
leave the people of Louisiana to regulate their affairs here as they have done before? 

I think it ought to be done ; they can do no good whatever. There is no use for them that 
I know of. The courts are administering justice, I believe, very fairly. 



New Orleans, La., December 29, 1866. 
JOSEPH H. OGLESBY a witness presented at the request of a committee of citizens as 
having information important to be communicated, sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Buyer: 

4476. State where you reside. 

In New Orleans. My residence in New Orleans has been altogether about twenty-five 
years, but I did not reside here after 1857 until 1863. 

4477. Are you engaged in business here ? 

Yes, sir; in the western produce commission business. 

4478. You are in the habit of meeting and conversing with the people of this community, 
I suppose, are you not ? 

In matters of business ; yes, sir. 

4479. If you have any opinion in reference to the public sentiment or feeling here as re- 
spects obedience to the government, please inform the committee whether, in your opinion, 
the people are now disposed to give in their allegiance to the government in good faith or not. 

That is a pretty difficult question for me to answer. My intercourse is chiefly of a com- 
mercial character. While I believe the people of this community would accept the situation 
in good faith, I do not believe there is a love for the federal government or the old Union 
among them. I believe they will accept the condition of things. That is my experience 
among the merchants, and I do not associate with any other class here. 

448U. Would they seek a future opportunity, in your opinion, to rebel against the govern- 
ment ? 

I do not think these I meet in business would be disposed in that way at all. It is well for 
me to state that I have no acquaintance at all outside of commercial circles here. Socially 
I meet none of them. I am known here generally as a Union man, and Union men and 
Union families are not much iu society here except among themselves. In my acquaints 
with the people, my intercourse in the past few years has, as I have said, been altogether with 
merchants engaged in trade. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

4481. Why is it that there is so little intercourse between Union families and rebels here? 

They do not appear to desire it, and we, on the other side, no not care about enforcing it. 
Socially we have no intercourse' at all. 

■\ 182. They accept the situation, you say .' 

That is just the idea I have, and the only way I can put it. 

4483. Now, if they could see a good chance for the success of their southern cause, as they 
call it, and their leaders should call upon them to renew their opposition to the government, 
either by assisting the enemy in case of foreign war, or otherwise, do you think they would 
be likely to do it? 

In reference to those with whom I associate, I do not think they would, and I only speak 
from what I learn in general conversation about the past. They express entire satisfaction 
with the state of things as it exists. In other words, they are inclined to accept matters now 
and make the best of it. But I do not believe, among our southern people here, there is any 
real love for the Union or the government. I speak of only those with whom I associate, 
and a great many of those I meet in the commercial community are returned confederates. 
They have been in arms, but, as a general thing, I find they are pretty well satisfied with 
the experiment, and not inclined to renew it. 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN LAWSON LEWIS. 317 

New Orleans, La.. December 29, 18G6. 
JOHN LAWSON LEWIS, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens to 
give information concerning the riot and the loyalty of the people of Louisiana, sworn and 
examined. 

By Mr. BoYER: 

4484. Where do you reside ? 

In New Orleans." I have resided here ahout sixty years. 

4485. How old are you .' 
Sixty-six last March. 

4 186. Arc you engaged in business ' 

I am at present deputy sheriff of the supreme court of Louisiana, under General Hays. 
I have been sheriff, myself, of the parish formerly. 

4487. Have, you opportunities of knowing the sentiments and feelings of the community 
in general in reference to national matters? 

I have had the opportunity of a very long residence here, and have not been away at all, 
except for about three years. I was away, after the city was taken possession of by the 
federal troops, in Mssissippi. Like a good many others, I retired from the city when it was 
taken. 

4488. When did you come back? 

I came back some two or three months after the surrender of the confederate armies. 

4489. What, in your opinion, are the feelings and sentiments of the people of this State 
at present towards the federal government; are they disposed to give it their allegiance in 
good faith or not .' 

I believe so. I believe every man in the confederate army, officers and soldiers, young 
and old, grieved when our cause failed. We thought we were right, but we came back 
with as good faith as ever honest men exercised. But I must confess that we have been 
disappointed, and that a great deal of ill-blood and ill-feeling has arisen since then. 

4490. Do you think there exists among the people of this community any disposition to 
renew the war ! 

No, sir; nothing of the kind. 

4491. If Louisiana were admitted to representation in Congress and restored to her former 
position in the Union, what effect would that have upon the feelings and sentiments of the 
people ? Would it incline them toward the government or otherwise ? 

1 think it would incline them towards the government ; but it is a great misfortune it had 
not been done a little earlier. I think it would quiet the people; it would tend to allay their 
feelings. 

449;J. Do you think in that case the good order and peace of the community might be 
preserved ? 

I have very little doubt of that. If you will allow me to qualify my remarks, I will say 
that there are certain classes of men who, when this movement was first made and secession 
took place, out-Heroded Herod, were rabid secessionists, and afterwards, when the difficul- 
ties came upon the country and we were invaded and New Orleans taken possession of, these 
men did not act with those who went buna fide into the war. They remained here and be- 
came our worst enemies. In my opinion they have caused all the difficulties that now exist 
which require troops here to keep us down. They are here to protect a mere handful of men 
who have testified against us, and who are our worst enemies. That is my opinion. 

44'.):). If the troops were withdrawn, would these men be permitted to remain? 

They would be permitted to remain here, but they would be despised. We would never 
associate with them. 

4494. Would that feeling exist towards them because of their having been for the Union? 
No, sir ; but because of their having deceived us. After professing originally to be our 

friends, they lacked the courage bravely to take up arms for us, and after the city was taken 
they lacked the courage to take up anus against us. They need not have any fear of vio- 
lence if the troops were withdrawn. We should not quarrel with them, but we would not 
associate with them. We do not and we never will. 

4495. Is it not that class of persons who were originally secessionists and now claim to be 
Union men that you refuse to associate with ? 

Only those. There is no such feeling against men who have been in the Union army ; they 
hold high positions here. I meet them and associate with them every day. I have a very 
high opinion of many of them They have my respect, and I believe I have thi ir . 

449ti. How is it in regard to southern men who opposed secession and who refused after- 
wards to support the rebellion ? 

They are among our best citizens. I could name Rosier, Roselius. and Bullitt, who was 
our former marshal. I meet him every day, and associate with them. I respect him for his 
opinion, and I respect all those gentlemen such as I have named. I meet them every day, 
socially and otherwise. I would no more think of doing any of them an injury than I would 
one of the old citizens who were with me in arms during the war. 

4497. Were these men, who you say were formerly secessionists and now profess to be 



318 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Union men, men who held any standing in society before the war? "Were they not banished 
from society 1 

I do not know of any who were actually banished from society. I do not believe there was 
anything of that kind since I have been here. Many gentlemen exiled themselves volunta- 
rily when the confederate officers and soldiers of the army returned here. There never was 
any violence exercised towards them, and I do not know of any gentlemen whoare banished. 
At the commencement of the rebellion there were individuals who had to flee the country 
from the excitement of the times, but since the surrender of the army there has never been a 
man to my knowledge who has been banished on account of public or private oppression. 

4493. Are men in this community safe in the expression of their opinions? 

I believe so, candidly. To answer your question more fully, there is a class of men here 
who never had any position before the war, but who now make themselves notorious. As in 
all revolutions, men who are the dregs of society come to the surface. These are the men 
who profess to have become radicals, such men as King Cutler, Hiestand, and Halm. 1 was 
a major general of the State of Louisiana, and organized the militia of the State. I recollect 
at the time of the breaking out of this war these men were the most rabid secessionists, were 
making speeches, presenting flags, and were very much excited in favor of secession. 

4499. Will you name any of those persons who made speeches encouraging the rebellion? 
Michael Hahn, the ex-governor of the State, I have seen presenting a flag and making a 

speech. If you will look at the files of the newspapers of that day you will find these speeches 
reported. 

450U. How about Mr. Cutler ? 

Mr. Cutler was a good deal like Mr. Halm. In those days, he was in the habit of making 
violent secession speeches. 

4501. Will you name any other of that description* 
Mr. Hiestand was another.' 

4502. Was he a confederate.? 

Yes, sir ; when the movement first commenced, he was encouraging the young men to go 
into the movement ; and that was the conduct of Halm and many others which my memory 
scarcely serves me to enumerate. I recollect these gentlemen well from the fact that they 
occupy prominent positions now. 

4508. What position does Hiestand occupy? 

He is in the north, as I understand, representing that this city is unsafe for him. 

4504. Do you think it would be unsafe for him, if he were to come back ? 

I do not believe there is a man in the city of New Orleans who would trouble Mr. Hiestand 
if he would return. We want good citizens to come here — quiet men — and I do not believe 
any quiet man, under any circumstances, would be molested. There are gentlemen I found 
here when I came back, and I do not believe anybody molests them. I respect them, and I 
think they are treated with respect. 

By the Chairman : 

4505. How long have you held the office you now hold ? 
Since May last, when Mr. Hays was elected. 

4500. Do you think it is a misfortune that Louisiana has not, before this time, been re- 
ceivt d back into the Union? 

I think if it had been done at the time when those men who belonged to the army came 
back and took the oath in good faith, as I did, we would have made better citizens than we 
ever were before. 

4507. What difference would it have made, then or now, in your judgment ? 

We thin!., we havenot been treated fairly. In all frankness we surrendered and came back 
in good faith, and we have been keptout and denied representation in Congress. Many of us 
think, with the conscript revolutionary fathers of the republic, that while we are of the same 
family, without representation, they have no right to tax us. 

450S. You speak of the frankness of your surrender. You surrendered because you could 
not help it, did you not ? 

We surrendered as the last resort. It was the ultimatum. 

4509. Is it your judgment thai Louisiana should have been immediately received back, just 
as she was before the war .'" 

Not immediately ; but we were under the expectation that as soon as we surrendered the 
country would be again united, and we again take our position under the Constitution as a 
part of the Union. 

4510. And thai is the course you think ought to have been pursued? 
That is my opinion. 

451 J. That is to say, after carrying on a war for four years against the government, as 
soon as you were defeated and compelled to surrender, you think you ought to have been 
permitted to resume your old places in the government .' 

I do not see why we should not, if we were in good faith. That was the case when we 
warred against Great Britain ; as soon as Great Britain found us strong enough to resist her 
power she acknowledged us as an independent nation. 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN LAWSON LEWIS. 319 

4512. What, then, would prevent the same kind of persons from doing the same acts, and 
becoming rebellious again hereafter? 

There is nothing to prevent rebellions under our system of government. 

4513. Frankly, do yon not think it would be rather an encouragement for (he repetition 
of the experiment, if, after such a serious war as we have just gone through, the States in 
rebellion, upon being conquered, should be at once received back, and the generals, 
officers, and leading men who have been using all their efforts to destroy the government, 
reinstated in their old position? 

That depends entirely upon their good faith. If they came back in good faith after being 
conquered. I think they should have been received in good faith. If they are not to be 
trusted now. liow long' is this condition of things to last? If it is to last forever, let us 
understand it. I think the people who fought the battles of the confederacy have come 
back in good faith ; that is my impression. I do not believe there is a man in the city of 
New Orleans who understands the population here better than I do ; and, except as to a 
certain class who are to be found in every community as outlaws, I believe the people are 
acting in entire good faith. 

4514. I should like to know what your judgment is as to that period of probation which 
ought to be allowed. You say you do not think, immediately upon the surrender, they 
should have been received back to the Union ? 

I said this : That if the power which conquered us believed we were in good faith we 
should be received immediately and without tiny probation ; by delaying it I think sourness 
and bad feeling have been engendered. I believe the very day we surreudered we were 
more disposed than at the present time to come back in perfect frankness and settle down 
as good citizens. In fact, among our people now there are a great many who have an 
idea that we have been deceived and disappointed in coming back into the Union. There 
is a broad-spread opinion of that kind throughout the community here. People believe that 
we have been disappointed in getting our rights and our representation. For instance, we 
had a State government established, we elected members of Congress and senators, and they 
have never been received in Congress; although they have been knocking at the doors of 
Congress, they have not been received. If they had been received, we would have been 
just as good citizens now as the people of Louisiana were ten years before the war; and I 
believe this was a good Union State then, and has not been a bad Union State since, except 
after 1860. 

4515. Was it any crime to take up arms against the government of the United States, in 
your opinion? 

I wiil answer by saying that, at the commencement of this thing, I was a co-operationist, 
and not a secessionist. I believed in State rights. I believe it is the right of auy people. 
That we as a people had the right to take up arms when we thought we were oppressed. 
When any people are oppressed, no matter under what government, no matter whether a 
monarchy or a republic, whenever any people, as a people, consider their rights trampled 
upon, it is their inherent right to do as our lathers didjin 177G — to take up arms against the 
oppressing power. 

4516. As you did in 1861? 

Yes, sir ; and we believed we had that right. 

4517. Yon believe now that you were right ! 

Yes, sir ; but we submitted our right to the arbitrament of war, and we were unsuccessful. 

4518. And now you think you ought to take the same offices you held before? 

No, sir. I think when we came back in good faith we should have received our political 
rights and been admitted to representation. Your federal power appoints whom it pleases to 
offices ; but let us have our own rights. 

4519. That is the prevailing opinion in Louisiana you think? 

That is my opinion, and I presume it is the general opinion. I do not speak for the public. 
My limited sphere is the city of New Orleans since I came back here. 1 believe that is the 
opinion of those who went into the revolution. 

4520. When you say revolution you mean rebellion ? 

Yes, sir, rebellion. It is merely a difference of terms. But I believe our people are just 
as loyai now as they ever were. I do not believe there is any disposition to oppress anybody 
coming among us. 

4521. You are styled general. I suppose you got your title in the confederate service? 
No, sir. I never held the confederate commission. When the rebellion broke out I was 

major general of militia in the State of Louisiana. Previous to that — since 1840 or 1841 — I 
had been a major general of the first division. The State was divided into divisions. The 
legislature, in 1862, abolished this system, and appointed a major general of the State, and 
the balance were brigadier generals. I was elected by the legislature major general of the State 
of Louisiana, and was ordered by the governor, about that time, to organize the militia of 
the State. It was my mission to organize the militia. After the city of New Orleans fell, 
the government of the State was removed to Opelousas, and I went with it. After that the 
whole system was changed; the militia system was abolished by an act of the confederate 
congress, and every man in the militia was declared to be in the confederate army. 

4522. What rank did you hold in the confederate service? 



320 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I never held any. I was a volunteer aid of General Gregg 1 after the militia of the State 
had been abolished. 

4523. Yon did not yourself, then, engage in any fighting? 

I was a volunteer aid, and was in several battles. .1 was wounded at Mansfield. 

4534. Where were you when the surrender took place ? 

I was on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. 

4525. Upon what service ? 

I was appointed by Governor Allen to visit the hospitals, to relieve the wounded and sick 
soldiers, not only the confederate, but Union soldiers, wherever I found them in the hospitals. 

4526. You fought through the war until the surrender in April, 1865, and have held office as 
sheriff since May, 1866 .' 

I have ; as deputy sheriff. I went out with niy State when she went. As I have stated, 
I never held any commission in the confederate service. The only commission I ever held 
was one from Governor Allen as visitor of hospitals, with rank and pay of colonel of cavalry, 
to go around and relieve the sick and wounded. 

4527. You spoke of "our worst enemies" in one of your answers. Do you recollect using 
that expression .' 

Yes, sir, I do. 

4528. Whom do you mean ? 

1 mean many persons who have left the city, gone away, and are now making all this hub- 
bub about their safety They were men who went into the rebellion like everybody else. 
Some of them were Union men, but very few ; nearly all of them were just as much secession- 
ists as the rest of us, and now they are endeavoring to create for themselves a kind of reputa- 
tion by maligning us. 

4529. Who do you mean by "us ?" 

The people of the State, the returned confederates ; those who remain in the State. 

4530. There were men who were loyal to the government and the flag all the while, were 
there not? 

Yes, sir; I meet them every day. Some of them were here during the whole war. Some 
of them were members in every convention — were in the secession convention and voted 
against secession. I name, for instance, Mr. Rosier, who is a loyal man I can respect. 

4531. Then there are men who were true to the old flag during the whole of the rebellion 
that you have some respect for ? 

Yes, sir ; those men I have the highest respect for. I meet them every day socially, and 
Ave are just as good friends to-day as we were before the rebellion. Such men as the three I 
have mentioned — Roselius, Rosier, Bullitt, and others. I have seen Bullitt standing up for' 
the Union when it was a dangerous thing to do in this community, at the beginning of the 
war, and yet nobody molested him. He was always consistent. I admire him for that. 

4532. Do you not think it would be the duty of the government to take care of and pro- 
tect the men who have stood by it during this rebellion? 

There is no doubt about it. 

4533. Let me ask you if there is not a large class of men in Louisiana who did just that 
thing from the beginning to the end? 

No, sir; not a very large class ; a very few. 

4531. How was it in regard to the colored men? 

The Witness. Do you mean the slaves ? 

The CHAIRMAN. 1 include all the colored people of the State, as far as your knowledge 
extends. Were they not friends of the Union .' 

The slaves naturally were. The effect of the war was to change their status. 

4535. How in reference to those who were not slaves / 

They were with us. I myself reviewed a regiment of colored men in the city of New Or- 
leans, and they were ready to fight for us if we had brought them into requisition. 

4.">3li. You cannot nana- any of those who did light for you, can you ? 

We did not have any slave population in our army. 

4537. Were not these same men organized when General Butler took command, and en- 
rolled in the United States service? 

I do not know that. I left the city the 25th of April, 1SG2. I was acting under com- 
mand of General Lovell, and was ordered by him to leave with my command. The colored 
men did not go with us. Those occupying the inferior position of slaves it was natural 
should sympathize with the men who set them free. They have all their rights with us now, 
except voting. Many of them own property. They do not sit on juries, but the colored 
people here have just as good rights in our courts as any of us. 



New ORLEANS, La., December 31, 1866. 
Major General JOSEPH A. MOWER^sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRM \n : 

4538. State, if you please, what was your military position here on the 30th of July, and 
what it is now. 



TESTIMONY OF GENERAL JOSEPH A. MOWER. 321 

My rank was brevet brigadier general in tbe army at that time. I was not on duty then, 
but had just returned from Texas. I am now commanding the district of Louisiana, and am 
assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. 

45;!!'. Where were you on the 30th of July '.' 

I was in this city. I was rooming at the corner of Baronne and Canal streets, near the 
scene of the riot and massacre. 

4.". .{(.). State what facts came within your observation in connection with the riot. 

I was sitting in my room on the morning of the 30th. Probably iibout ten or eleven 
o'clock I heard a drum and fife on Canal street. I did not go down, however. In a few 
minutes I heard about a half dozen pistol-shots. I then went down. There had been a 
street rumor that there would be difficulty that day. I went immediately into the street. 
At the corner of Dryades and Canal streets there was a large crowd collected. I saw two 
negroes who escaped from the crowd, and ran across Canal street, followed by policemen 
and citizens. One of them I saw shot down ; the other was being fired at, and, running 
diagonally across Canal street, he went out of my view. What became of him I do not 
know. I then walked around to General Sheridan's headquarters, and there met General 
Baird. I told him there was a riot going on. He seemed surprised, and said he must hurry 
up the troops. 

4541. At what time was that? 

I cannot say. It may have been 12 o'clock. I think it was between 11 and 12. That 
is all I saw of the riot, I think, at that time. I afterwards went around the city some with 
a brother of General Sheridan. We rode around in a carriage to the St. Charles Hotel. 
From that point we could see up Common street towards the Mechanics' Institute. The 
shooting was still going on, and we saw negroes running. One of them came towards the 
St. Charles Hotel. What became of him I do uot know: I went back to General Baird's 
headquarters. That is all I saw of the riot. I saw some of the wounded afterwards at the 
station-houses. 

4542. Did you ascertain how many were killed and wounded altogether ? 

We have it in our record, but I could not state the number now. I forget it. I believe 
there were no policemen or citizens killed, with the exception of one young man by the name 
of Cenas. I mean on the side of the policemen and mob. 

4543. How did young Cenas come to his death ? 

By accident, it was reported at the time. I know it only by report. Report said it was 
by a policeman. 

4544. Were you president of a military board ? If so, please state when you were so 
appointed, and how long you were in session. 

I was appointed immediately after the riot. I cannot state the date. I was appointed by 
General Baird as president of the commission. We were in session about a month. 

4545. Did you make a report of your action ? 
We did. 

4546. Have you since that time remained in New Orleans ? 

No, sir ; not altogether. I have been absent about twenty days since then. 

4547. From the facts that have come within your observation, and from your knowledge 
of the condition of things on the 30th of July, state whether you have had occasion to change 
the judgment you formed and expressed in your report, or whether you remain of the same 
mind. 

I remain of the same opinion. My opinion is strengthened, if anything. 

4548. Martial law was declared the day of the riot ? 

By General Baird ; yes, sir. ' 

4549. In your judgment was that or not necessary ? 

I should not hesitate at all to say that it was necessary — that is, that the using of military 
force was necessary. The declaration of martial law was merely a technicality. It may be 
proper to state that General Sheridan, after he came back, expressed the opinion that the 
declaration of martial law was unnecessary ; that it already existed, and that under it the 
troops could be brought into requisition at any time. 

4550. You have had occasion to know the condition of feeling here among the people ? 
Yes, sir ; I know it very well in this city, and I made a tour up to Shreveport at one 

time. 

4551. State to the committee what the result of your observation is upon that point. 

Up to the time of the elections there was a feeling of hostility to the government. The 
appearance of the American flag in the street was treated with ridicule by certain parties. 
Officers in passing through the streets would frequently hear '' Yankees" spoken of. I have 
heard frequently crowds in the city when I was approaching begin to talk about damned 
Yankee officers. That, however, was before the elections. We have heard nothing of it 
since. The state of discontent and dissatisfaction in the north of the State around Shreve- 
port, and at points between here and there, was very great. I speak principally from my 
observation of passengers on the boat. I was at Shreveport for several days, and learned 
the condition of feeling about there. There was a great deal of open dissatisfaction, discon- 
tent, and contempt lor the government expressed. 

21 N o 



322 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

4552. Would it be safe to Withdraw the military and the. Freedmen's Bureau from the State 
and leave Union men here to such treatment as they would receive ? 

In my opinion — and I state it under oath as my opinion — Union nienwouldnot be safe here 
in their property or in their lives. 

4553. And that judgment you have come to from your observation ? 
Yes, sir ; here and around here. 

4:354. Please state as fully as you can the facts within your knowledge. 

I can speak only of the general talk as 1 pass along the streets, as I stated ; since the election 
there has not been so much of it. Before that we would hear loyal men denounced in the 
streets, and Union officers denounced. The general talk was such as I have described. 

4555. Do you know anything of the character of the men who fill places of trust here at 
this time in the city and (State? 

1 do not know much about the antecedents of any of these persons, and cannot state from 
my own knowledge. I know by report what is said of Mayor Monroe ; but I could not state 
anything except what I have so heard. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

4556. Where is Shreveport, to which you made the visit of which you speak ? 
In the northwestern part of the State. 

455?. How long were you there on your visit? 

I was probably three days there, and then I went from there to the country in the vicinity. 
I was gone from here about three weeks. 

4558. Did you go there in your official capacity ? 

I did; in my then official capacity. I was sent there by General Sheridan, to ascertain 
whether it would be necessary to have troops remain at certain points beyond there in Texas. 

4559. Then on what business were you engaged during the three days you were at Shreve- 
j 

Nothing special. 

4560. Was there any military force there? 
There was ; yes, sir. 

4561. In what capacity were you acting at that time? 

As I remarked, I was sent there to ascertain whether it was necessary to have troops at 
certain points in Texas beyond there. 

4562. Can you name any persons here whom you have heard, since the close of the war, ex- 
press sentiments of hostility to or contempt for the United States government .' 

I cannot name them. They are strangers to me. They are persons I take no notice of, 
but tee as I. go- along the streets. These remarks were very common before the elections, 
and were heard by every officer. 

4503. Do you speak from personal observation? 

I do, as I have stated distinctly. I have heard these remarks made myself. 

4564. How often? 

Every day almost; sometimes two or three times a day then ; not so often recently. 

4565. How recently have you heard it? 

As 1 said before, not since the elections, that I recollect. 

4566. Do you know any person of standing or respectability in the community, who, since 
the war, has expressed himself in terms of hostility towards the United States government, 
within i our personal knowledge? 

I cannot myself speak of them by name, simply from the fact that there is very little social 
inU" tweeu officers and citizens. 

4507. You do not mingle, then, much among the business men or other classes in this 
community, do you .' 

No, sir, 1 do not. 

By Mr. SHELL ABARGER : 

450:. What is the treatment to which Union officers are subjected, socially, by the people 
lure .' 

1 cannot say myself in regard to that, because I have made no attempt to mix with them. 
I could only speak of what others know in regard to that. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 1866. 
S. M. KINGSTON sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

4569. How long have you lived in New Orleans ? 
Eight years. 

4570. What has been your occupation? 

My occupation for the last thirty-six years has been a minister of the gospel, and occasionally 
planting and trading, as I found the circumstances of my health and that of my family neces 



TESTIMONY OF S. M. KINGSTON. 323 

sary to call me out of my regular work. I itinerated over the south thirteen years in my 
better days. 

4571. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 

I was at the United .States hospital, four miles above here. 

4572. You know nothing, then, of the proceedings here on the 30th? 

I know nothing of the individual facts of that day ; but, perhaps, with all the facts outside 
aud around, coming up to that day, I have been as familiar as any one else. 

4573. State what you know in regard to them, and as to the feeling of the people and the 
condition of affairs. 

I pass around a good deal ; to many I am not known ; to some I am known ; and the gen- 
eral expression is, that one of two parties has to go to the wall ; but there is a certain class of 
clever, good men, who want that thing quieted and put down; but outside of I hose clever, 
good men who are trying to bring the thing right, the expression is that those southern 
traitors must go to the wall; that there can be no conciliation with southern traitors; for 
them they can have no sympathy or affection. By "southern traitor" I mean a man who, 
whether from Alabama, Mississippi, or Texas, &c, identified himself with the United States 
at an early day, took a commission and identified himself as a Union man — such men cannot 
get work or employment. The people here say to each other, " Don't fight them, don't pun- 
ish them directly, unless there's an outbreak on their part, and they invade our rights and 
principles, but let them pass along. Proscribe them among yourselves ; let them go without 
work or without employment ; it is natural we should love our own, and only our own, and 
they must pass without sympathy, without work, without business, and without money." 
And many of these men are suffering from that very cause, under the pressure of these people 
who are in position, and who were placed there from the best motives; they were placed 
there themselves through good feeling, but that kindness they have experienced does not in- 
fluence them as it should, and bring them to feel like one with the Union people of the south* 
In place of its bringing them to kindness and good feeling, it is increasing their hostility and 
bitterness and hatred. They oppose us to break us down, and it is natural with them. 
This was their feeling, and they said, "If this convention meet it will be an expression of the 
feeling among Union people, and it must be put down ; it must be put down." Papers "said 
that if they met, or something to that effect, there ought to be a dumping of the offal of the 
city into the river ; aud again, if that convention met it would be no longer a question whether 
the dry bones of that convention could live ; the question would be that the bones could not 
live, as in the valley of dry bones ; the dry bones of that assembly could not live. 

4574. How long before the 30th did you leave the city 1 
I left the city in June, I think. 

4575. So far as you have had means of judging, is that the prevailing feeling which vou 
have described ? 

That is the prevailing feeling outside of a certain class, the intelligent, clever men, who 
are struggling to get that state of feeling away. I will not say there is not anything in them 
but what they openly profess and say, but that is the way they act : " let him go ; let him 
live if he can, but without help." There is that proscription, and the determination tt> follow 
it up; whereas, if love and kindness could overcome that prejudice, it would be easy to get 
along, and I have no doubt our loved President intended it to operate that way, but we con- 
servative «ien are finding ourselves mistaken. We all wished it ; we desired it; we took 
them by the hand ; we were glad to see them ; were glad to bury the hatchet with them and 
embrace them ; but, "No! Standoff! I am a southern man ; didn't you join your fortune 
with the North ? Your proclivities and attachments are to that people." Our acquaintances 
who have known us for years pass us by on the very same side of the street ; they never did 
so before, and have no cause on earth to do it now, but that is the usual feeling towards 
southern original Union men; for we put in that word here, original Union men." There is 
a vast deal of difference between the Union men- of four aud five years ago, and those calling 
themselves Union men now. 

4r>?fi. So far as you can judge, the effect of placing power iu the hands of those returned 
confederates has been to make them more defiant ' 

"Give us the State," they said, "give us the State, and we'll work into everything ; when 
we've got that, we can get along." 

4577. What would be the effect if the military were entirely withdrawn, and matters 
allowed to take their own course ? 

The Union men of the south would suffer immensely; the white people would suffer more 
than the negroes from this exclusiveness in society; some of them have got so bitter that 
they say they will teach it to their children, arid that it must be drunk in from their mother's 
breast, but we know how that will be with the rising generation. 

4578. How long have you been a minister? 
Thirty-six years. 

4f>79. Are you in the conference? 

No, sir; I united myself with the Methodist Episcopal church. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4580. Did you reside in New Orleans during the war ? 



324 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS 

Yes, sir, here and in the vicinity; my family were here part of the time; I was out with 
my regiment part of the time. 

4581. What regiment were you connected with 7 
First Louisiana volunteers. 

4582. On which side ? 

On the side of the United States. I believe I was the first minister in the south who took 
a commission in the United States army, and the first minister who took a commission with 
the first regiment raised under General Butler. 

4583. You say that the southern people do not tolerate what they call southern traitors ? 

I do not call them southern people, because we claim to be as much southern people as 
they are; 1 am speaking of those who have placed themselves in opposition to the United 
States government all the time, and who talked in this way; still who have been restored to 
favor by the pardoning power and kind feeling of the United States government. 

4584. Do you mean all those who took part in the rebellion against the government? 
Not all of them ; the majority of them. 

4585. Are you preaching now .' 

No, sir, not regularly; my congregation is companies or regiments of colored troops 
wherever I can find them. 

4586. Had you a regular congregation before the war? 

No, sir ; I was a local minister who preached on the Sabbath when there was an opening. 

4587. What were you at the breaking out of the war? 

I was a local minister in this city. I had no charge, but was attending to my family; 
looking after its interests in a pecuniary point of view. At the breaking out of the war I 
lived in Texas. I had been planting, and in consequence of the severe drought in Texas I 
brought my colored people here, as I thought I could do better, and I hired them out. 

4588. Then it was the drought and not the rebels that drove you out of Texas .' 

I do not complain of coming here as a refugee ; I was living here when the war broke out. 

4589. Are there not many of those who lately served in the confederate army getting along 
badly too? 

That is true; but everything is being done for them that can be done, by night and by 
day; by fairs and by charity, by money, by wooden legs and arms, by sympathy, kindness, 
and ltve, until a man feels that he has some kindness and sympathy, something, to bear him 
up; but, sir, we have nothing, we have nothing, sir, but to suffer, and a weight, sir, a 
weight which is terrible to carry. 

4590. Have many of those you refer to removed from the State? 

Quite a number, sir ; and they are saying every day, "if we cannot have something done 
for us to make us feel that we have souls in us, and that we took the proper side when we 
went into the war, we cannot stay here; in this country we cannot stay under the present 
treatment." That is the daily expression. 

4591. Is not a part of the difficulty owing to the fact that men of that class are not content 
to share the offices with the late confederates, but want to govern the State entirely by 
themselves ? 

No, sir; all the people of this communily are intolerant of what they call southern traitors. 

4592. Is it not those who first joined the confederacy and afterwards deserted it, to whom 
they are particularly opposed ? 

No, sir; there may be a little more bitterness there, but it extends to every man who was 
southern man and who identified himself with the United States army ; they all rank in 
the same class. 

4593. Are there many men of that kind here? 

There is an immense number ; I mean of men who went into the United States army at the 
beginning and staid by the United States throughout the war. I think the great majority 
of "the Louisiana regiment, that wire nearly decimated at Port Hudson, weie good loyal 
men. 

4594. Was there more than one regiment? 

There were two infantry and one cavalry regiments raised lure under General Butler. 

4595. Were they composed of prominent residents of this city ] 

Many of them wero hero laboring for their living; some of them had not been here very 
long; there were a great many Germans and Irish among them. 

4596. Are there not a good many of this kind of men living here now who have returned 
to their old places of residence since the war is over ! I mean those you speak of as having 
volunteered in the army of the United States. 

Yes, sir; quite a number of this very regiment. 

4597. They are all making a living, are they not ? 
Nq, sir. 

4598. How do they manage to get along? 
They are getting along badly. 

4599. Do you know of none who are successful in business? 

I hardly know of one that is not complaining of feeling greatly embarrassed in his sur- 
roundings, and oppressed, compared to what he was before the war. 
4000. Are you not getting along pretty well ? 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN P. MOSTEM AT. 325 

Allow me, sir, to answer that question upon my honor. I could control the. services, he- 
fore the war, of twenty-five valuable slaves in the right of my wife and her children, which 
her own lather had entailed upon her. She was raised in ease and affluence in Tennessee; she 
is half sister to the lion. A. 0. P. Nicholson, of Tennessee, who was Andy Johnson's colleague 

at the ti of the secession; and to-day I am compelled to apply to the United States for 

rations to live, and I do not know where to go ; I could not go through this country any- 
where but I should find the same feeling. 

4601. Did you sympathize with the movement which assembled tho convention of 1864 
and the 30th of July last 7 

I could sympathize with anything that would settle the state of feeling. I thought, if they 
could get tiie matter in some way before the United States authorities, and get them to look into 
it with nerve, that probably the thing would come round. I did not know that that was 
going to do it, or what would do it. 

4602. Did you help ? 

No, sir : I do not meddle in these matters ; I am not a politician, and give no help to these 
things. *■ 

4603. Is it part of tho difficulty that these people want the negroes to vote, and the late 
rebels to be disfranchised ? 

They want the late rebels disfranchised. To take up every man with a crutch, and every 
man who was a confederate soldier, and turn every one else out, which appears to be the case 
all round, that, I say, is a one-sided matter altogether. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 1866. 
JOHN P. MONTEMAT sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

4604. What is your age ? 
Thirty-three years. 

4605. Were you a member of the convention ? 
I was, sir. 

4606. From what district ? 
The fifth representative district. 

4607. Were you at the Institute on the 30th of July ? 
I was not, sir. 

4608. Why were you not there ? 

I did not go because I understood there would be some trouble. On the evening of the 
day previous, I was told by a friend of mine, a sergeant of police, that the police were in- 
structed to meet at their station-houses well prepared, and he thought it would be better for me 
not to go, as there would be some trouble; that at the first alarm to be given they were to 
run to the Mechanics' Institute. The alarm was given about twelve o'clock the next day. 

4609. Did he say anything else that you remember? 

Yes, sir ; that they were to arrest the members of the convention, in case they would not 
surrender, and that kept me from going. 

4610. Are you a member of the city council here at the present time? 
Yes, sir. 

4611. Where were you on tho 30th of July ? 
At my office. I staid there all the time. 

4612. Where is that .' 

On St. Peter street, near Old Levee and Chartres streets. 

4613. How far from the Institute? 
One-fourth of a mile. 

4614. Did you see any acts of violence on that day ? 

No, sir. I saw a great many people brought to the station-houses wounded. I saw Dr. 
Dostie when he was brought there, and many others whom I did not know. When Dostie 
was brought I went and looked at him. He was brought in a carriage. 

4(116. Did you see any wagons bringing wounded there? 

Yes, sir ; I saw several wagons. 

4617. Did you see how they were lying in the wagons ? 

They were lying on their backs, and the police were on the wagons 

I3y Mr. Shellararger: 

4618. What is your occupation? 
Attorney-at-law. 



326 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

NEW ORLEANS, La., December 31, 1866. 
E. "VV. TODD sworn ami examined. 

By the Chairman : 

4619. Are you related to Mr. Todd, assistant sergeant-at-anns ? 
Yes, sir; S. M. Todd is my father. 

4620. What position did he fill on the 30th«f July? 
Assistant sergeant-at-arms, I think, but am not certain. 
4(i"2l. How old are you .' 

I shall he eighteen on my next birth-day. 

4622. What are you doing > 

Nothing in particular at the present time. 

4623. How were you occupied on the 30th of July? 
I was going to Soulie's commercial college. 

4624. Do you know whether any extra police were called in on the 30th of July? 

Yes, sir ; I do. About eleven o'clock Mr. Souli6 came tons and told us to go home; 
that there was to be a riot ; that Harry Hays, the sheriff, had sworn in 500 deputy sheriffs, 
and the mayor had sworn in some 700 or 800 policemen, and that they were going to kill all 
who were at the Institute who were members of the conventiou or friendly to it. He told us 
to go home and stay there. 

4625. Did you go to the Institute ? 

Knowing my father would be there, I went to get him away. 
4t)20. Did you get him away ? 

Yes, sir ; about two or three minutes before the firing commenced. We had not got more 
than two and a half squares when it began. 

4627. Did Mr. Soulie tell you how he knew about this riot ? 

He said he kuew it, but did not say how. It was the talk on the street. 

4628. What is Mr. Soulie .' 

He was in the confederate army. I think he was in the Crescent regiment. He was lieu- 
tenant colonel. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

4629. Who were present when he said this ? 

I do not know who were there at the time ; he said it in the presence of the. whole school. 

4630. Are there different classes In that school ? 
No, sir. 

4631. The entire school, then, was present at the time? 
Yes, sir. 

4632. About how many young men ? 

About ten or twelve young men from eighteen to twenty-three ; the rest are from that 
down to eight or ten. I suppose there were about forty in all. 

4633. Where was that school ? 

At the corner of St. Charles and Common. It is over Lyons's clothing store. 

By Mr. Buyer : 

4634. What was the occasion of Mr. Soulie's giving that information to the scholars ? 
He did not wish them to lie there, as they might get hurt. 

4635. Give Mr. Soulie's very words, as near as you can recollect them. 

He came into the room, stood up, and said : "Boys, all of you go home, for there's going 
to be a riot here to-day. I don't want you about the streets to get hurt. I dismiss school 
for that purpose. Mr. Hays has sworn in some 500 deputies, ami the mayor has sworn in 
500 to 700 special policemen for that purpose. They mean to take the Mechanics' Institute 
to-day. They are not going to have any more such carrying on as they have had here." 
These are about the words he used. 

4636. Can you name any boy as old as yourself who heard this ? 

I do not know whether they paid any attention to it or not. 1 did not talk to them after- 
wards. 

4637. Was nothing said among the scholars afterwards about it 1 

No, sir. I was uneasy about my father, and I went immediately for him. 

4638. How many were in the school at that time .' 

I should think about thirty-five, hut I cannot tell the number exactly. 

4639. Can you name any boy who stood near you when Mr. Soulie uttered that language? 
I know the name of one who sat directly at my right. His name is Manning. 

4640. How old is he ? « 
Not more than sixteen. 

4641. Did he say anything about it afterwards? 

1 asked him if he was going to stay there, and ho said he was going home. That is all I 
ecollect. 



TESTIMONY OF T. WROTNOWSKI. 327 

NEW ORLEANS, La., December 31, 1866. 
T. WROTNOWSKI sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

4642. What is your age ? 
Sixty-live. 

4643. Where do you live ? 
I reside in New Orleans. 

4644. How long have you resided here ? 

About four years. Before that I lived at Baton Rouge. 
1 145. 1 >o you hold any office at this time ? 

No, sir ; the last office I held was secretary under Governor Hahn and under Governor 
Wells. I left iny office one year ago. 

4646. Were you in the city on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

46 17 . Were you a member of the convention ? 
No, sir ; T was not. 

4648. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute? 
Yes, sir; but not up stairs. 

4649. At what time did you go there on the 30th of July ? 

'About half-past eleven I walked to Canal street to go to the Institute. I met some of my 
friends who remarked that this was the morning of the convention, and asked me if I was going 
theiv ; I said that I was ; we went to .the corner of Dryades ; on the corner we stopped with 
Dr. Howell and some others, and on the Institute corner, above Locust, there were many young 
people, and on the side where we were two hundred or three hundred young men. We stopped 
on the corner and I asked who they were. Dr. Howell said he did not know them, but they 
must be "new-comers " We call the confederates " new-comers." While we were talking 
there was a striking of the bell. JJe remarked that it was some alarm. We then walked one 
square towards the Mechanics' Institute, and by t he door I saw more people ; they were ne- 
groes, women and children; and on the other side of the street some white people. We were 
there some ten or fifteen miuxites when I heard the noise of an approaching procession. It con- 
sisted of some negroes with a flag and one drum ; they were coming from the street opposite Dry- 
ades street, through Canal street towards the Mechanics' Institute. I remarked to those about 
me that this was not the proper time for a procession. When the procession passed Canal 
street the head of it was at Dryades and the rear on the near side of Canal street. It was so 
long that it took up the whole width of Canal street. Just at this time some one fired into 
the blacks ; it was a white man, and I think he was a policeman, although I am not sure. 
This was the first shot, and I both saw it and beard it. 

4650. What had the black people done to make him shoot ? 

I do not know ; I saw the blacks pass Canal street, and while they were passing'the shot 
was fired into them ; I was standing about tw r o feet above the level of the street and could 
see over the heads of the others. When the negroes had passed about a stone's throw, there 
was a disturbance and a movement was made towards that place where the shot of the po- 
liceman came from, and then a general firing commenced. We then went into the Institute 
building into the office of the governor's private secretary. We remained there a few min- 
utes, the people in the mean time continuing to assemble ; then we went into the governor's 
office ; while there two or three other persons came — Judge Howell and some others ; when 
we were there shots were fired through the windows and several things broken. We tried to 
protect ourselves by some boards in the corners. I was not in the hall of the Institute. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : » 

4651. Did you see anything on that day or on previous days indicating preparation for 
that attack ? 

I knew there was preparation, but not from my own observation. t 

4652. How did you know there was preparation made for the attack ? Tell everything 
that causes you to think so. 

I am bound by my word not to tell you what I know. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4653. When were you elected secretary of State of Louisiana? 

On the 22d of February, 1863, at the same time with General Hahn, when General Shepley 
was military governor. 

4654. What is your occupation now ? 
I am unoccupied ; I have property. 

4655. Did ypu see who fired the first shot in front of the Mechanics' Institute 1 
No, sir ; I saw the first shot on Canal street. 



328 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

NEW ORLEANS, La., December 31, 1866. 
GUSTAVE CONVERTIER sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 
4G56. How old are you 1 
Twenty-seven years. 

4657. Where do you live ? 
I was born and raised here. 

4658. Were you in this city on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

4659. Where were you on the 30th of July ? 

I was coming down to buy some gold. My business is to set diamonds. 
EUGENE STAES was here introduced, and having been duly sworn as interpreter, 
interpreted as follows : 

4660. Did you see on the 30th of July any acts of violence committed? If so, state what 
they were. 

I saw several acts of violence committed on that day. I was in the hall, and there I saw 
negroes frightened and shot at. I also saw persons on Dryades street throwing brick-bats 
at them, and shooting them. I saw many of them run. I also saw Captain Loup. I tried 
to go down and could not, because there was a great crowd that prevented me. I wished 
to go down to assist Captain Loup, but the great crowd of policemen that were shooting 
prevented mo. I came back into the middle of the hall and the doors were closed. The 
police officers came in and opened the doors, shooting in every direction into the room at the 
persons within. They then withdrew, and the doors were fastened, and chairs were placed 
against them. The doors were again opened; they again came into the room. A servant 
ot Colouel Stauffer hung out a white handkerchief, as did several others. The police then 
came in and staid, and we'went out one by one. Those going out were insulted, struck, 
and beaten. When I presented my handkerchief to go do.wn stairs I was shot, receiving 
two bullets in this very paletot, one at the shoulder and one at the elbow. When I got down 
stairs I received a blow on the head and a wound near the temple. I do not know in what 
way. I saw persons taking arms from an engine. I was then struck senseless and taken to 
the court-house, until bailed out by Mr. Macauley, after giving a §1,000 bond. 

4661. What sort of arms were taken from the engine? 
I saw revolvers taken from it. 

4662. What part of the engine were they taken from? 
From a box on the side of it that opens. 

4663. What was done with the arms ? 
They were for firing at persons. 

4664. Were they policemen or citizens that shot you? 

A policeman shot me while I was going down stairs. In the street I cannot say whether 
they were firemen or policemen. 

4665. Whom did you see taking arms from the engine, citizens or policemen? 

I cannot say exactly. They had handkerchiefs round their necks, and all were taking 
arms out of the engine. 

4666. Did you see negroes shot after you came out of the hall ; and, if so, how many ? 
1 was so badly hurt that I could not see. I was covered with blood and almost dying. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

4667. What is your occupation? 
I am a jeweller. 

4663. What is your descent ? ' 

Colored. 



NEW Orleans', La., December 31, 1866. 
ELIZA HOWELL sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

4669. Are you wife of R. R. Howell ? 
Yes, sir, I am. 

4670. Were you at home on the 30th of July, at your house? 
Yes, sir. 

4671. Where do you live ? 
No. 8 Euterpe street. 

46/2. State whether on that Monday General Baird called at your house, at 12 o'clock, 
iul what took place. 

Genera] Baird called just as the clock struck twelve, and asked for Judge Howell. The 
ervant told him the judge was not in. He then sent up to me to learn where he was. I 



TESTIMONY OF EDWARD FILLEUL. 329 

stepped to the stairs, but did not go down, and told him that ho was at the convention. It 
was just twelve o'clock, and that was the hour at which tho convention was to assemble. 

4673. Are you sure that was the hour? 

Yes, sir; I so understood it, and remarked: "It's just twelve now, general, and he must 
be at the convention." 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 18GC. 
EDWARD FILLEUL sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

4674. What is your profession? 
I am an attorney -at-law. 

4675. How long have yon boon attomey-at-law ? 
Since 1848. 

4676. Where have you practiced your profession? 

I was admitted to the bar in Paris, and was raised to the profession. After my probation 
of five years I was admitted to practice. I am a student of the Academy of France. 

4677. When were you admitted to the bar of Louisiana .' 
On the 24th of May, 1848. 

4678. Have you practiced law here ever since 1 
Yes, sir. 

4679. In what courts do you practice? 

In all courts, United States and circuit courts. 

46S0. Were you here during the war ? « 

I was here till the 17th of May, 1863. 

4681. Did you take any part in the rebellion ? 
No, sir; I went with the feelings of* the people. 

4682. Were you in favor of the secession of Louisiana ? 
I can say that I was not. 

4683. You accpuiesced in the determination of the people, did you ? 
Yes, sir. 

4684. Are you well acquainted with the state of feeling in Louisiana towards the govern 
meut of the United States at this time ? 

I believe I am, sir. 

4685. What do you deem would be the best thing for the government of the United States 
to do in regard to Louisiana iu the matter of providing for the safety of the Union and loyal 
people ? 

I believe that a military government should take place here in order to preserve the peace. 
4886. What is it that endangers the peace here and makes a military government necessary ? 
There is a very_ strong hostility to the northern people. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4687. What do you mean by saying that you went with the general sentiments of the 
people during the rebellion ? 

That when secession broke out I went with the State. 

4688. You mean, then, that you were also a secessionist? 

I cannot say positively that I was, but I followed the general sentiment of the people. 

4689. Were you in the army ? 
No, sir. 

4690. Did you contribute to the support of the army? 
I paid contributions out of my own pocket. 

4691. Are you now a Union man ? 
Yes, sir. ' 

4692. Do you think that you are any less reliable as a Union man because you were 
formerly a rebel ? 

No, sir, that is not the reason. I have appreciated tho magnanimity of the United States, 
and I am reconciled to it. I know that a great portion of our people do not realize the 
grandeur of this government ; they want an exhibition of power to bring them to their senses. 
Experience has taught me my folly in resisting the government of the United States. 

4693. Are there not many of your fellow-citizens who, like yourself, favored secession, 
who may now be depended upon as loyal to the government ? 

Yes, sir ; there are a great many who used their influence, both good and bad. 

4694. Were "you a member of the convention of 1864 ? 
No, sir. 

4695. Did you favor its objects ? 

No, sir; I was not a member of the convention of 1864 nor 1866, but I favored their ob- 
jects. 



330 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS.' 

4696. Did you participate in the meetings held immediately previous to the reassembling 
of the convention of July 30 .' 

I did not ; because I took very little part in politics. My business keeps me busy. But 
I have been consulted by many members of the convention, and have given them my opin- 
ion, that, it they were to be arrested, they should give themselves up peaceably. I intended 
to be there as a spectator, and was taken with utter surprise when I Heard of these matters, 
for I can say that these gentlemen were peaceably inclined. I do not wish to enter into dis- 
cussion as to whether their positions were right or wrong; but I know they intended to be 
peaceable, and the colored people were there like children to rejoice upon a holiday. 

4697. You say you had no apprehensions of a riot ? 
No, sir. 

4698. Is it your opinion, derived from your experience as to the peace and good order of 
the community, that a riot would not have been likely to take place ? 

It was such a perfect folly to have dreamed of a riot that it never came into my head. 

4699. You are aware that the objects of the convention were to amend the constitution of 
the State ? 

Yes, sir. 

4700. Did you regard the mode in which they proposed to proceed for that purpose as 
legal and constitutional? 

Perfectly legitimate. I believe it is the right of American citizens to meet in a room to 
make known their views. 

4701. You do not answer my question ; the question was, whether you regard that mode 
of changing the constitution of the State as a constitutional mode ? 

I did, sir; because there was a clause in the adjournment- of the convention of 1864 which 
stated that when the convention adjourned, it would meet at the call of the president. I con- 
sidered then that the convention had not adjourned finally. I do not wish to pass judgment 
as to whether there was a *nistake ; but they intended, I know, to go at it peaceably and 
peacefully. 

4702. Did not the constitution which was adopted by the convention, and ratified by the 
people, provide the mode in which it should be remodelled ? 

When it adjourned, it adjourned at the call of the president. The people also ratified that 
clause. 

4703. Was the resolution part of the constitution ? 

It was an appendage to it, and I considered made part of it. 

4704. Did not that resolution apply only to the contingency of the non-ratification of the 
constitution by the' people ? 

I think not ; I think it made part of the instrument. 

470.J. Was not the public sentiment, whether right or wrong, in this community, very 
much opposed to that mode of proceeding 1 

I shall have to make a distinction in answering that question. We have not a homoge- 
neous population ; our population is composed of four distinct classes, the native-born, the. 
foreign naturalized citizens, of the northern men who have settled among us, and of this new 
element, the free colored people. We have got the native-born, the northern element, and 
we have the foreign element, and we have got a most respectable element, which is tire 
colored population, elevated to franchise, and owning a great portion of our property. No 
doubt the old " Know-Uothing" party was against it, but the new element, the enlightened 
class, and the northern people, were in favor of it. 

470(i. Have you been a candidate for office here? 

I have been an alderman of this city, but that was fifteen or sixteen years ago. I have 
been a candidate for the legislature and was beaten by three votes. 

4707. When was that ! 

It must have been in 1851 or 1852. 

4708. Have you been a candidate for office since then? 

No, sir; I have always made more than sufficient by my profession. 

4709. Then your political sentiments do not stand in the way of your success as a lawyer? 
No, sir; I only want my share of practice, and want to have my standing as a man. 

Union men all stand a chance of losing their case ; we have to be very prudent here. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

4710. You have alluded to the colored population of Louisiana as a most respectable por- 
tion ot the people. As a citizen of Louisiana, what do you deem to be proper about trust- 
ing them with the elective franchise; would it be safe or unsafe; and if unsafe, are there any 
circumstances under which they may be trusted with it ? 

I consider it an imperative necessity they should have the right to vote. 

4711. What proportion of the people of Louisiana are colored, either full-blooded or 
mixed > 

I may be mistaken, as we have no reliable census ; but as far as my experience goes 
they are about equal, but with this exception, that in the most fertile portion the colored race 
far exceed the white. 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES RYBACK. 331 

4712. Were you ever a slaveholder ? 

Yes, sir: a very large one, in my own and my wife's property. 

By Mr. Boyf.r : 

4713. Did you sell them? 

No. sir : they are si ill with mo at my house. 

4714. How many .' 

About seventeen or eighteen of my own ami my wife's, in the interest of my father; we 
owned two hundred and fifty to three hundred. 

4715. Then they were part of your possession ? 
No, sir. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 186G. 
JAMES RYBACK sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

4716. What is your age 1 

Thirty-eight. 

47J7. How long have you lived in New Orleans 1 

About seven or eight years. 1 eame here in 1838. 

4718. What is your occupation? 

I am a merchant. « 

47 1 <J. Were you in the city on the 30th July last ? 

Yes, sir. 

4720. Were you a member of the convention ? 
No, sir. 

4721. During that day was any violence attempted on you? 
No, sir; when the shooting commenced we closed up the store. 

4722. Have you, from your knowledge of the people here, any opinion as to the safety of 
Union men in case the military should be withdrawn ] If so, state what it is. 

I would rather the military would remain here. I think it would not be right for them to be 
withdrawn. There are many people here who do not like me ; they believe that my store is 
a Yankee store, although I have been very long here iu the city, and I never meddle much 
with politics, and I am always engaged in my business; but I know, from outside, that 
there are many here in the city who, if the military were withdrawn, would make it the 
worse for me. I do not know how it would be, but this is my opinion. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

4723. Did you ever sell Lincoln medals ? 

It was not I who sold Lincoln medals; it was a boy in my employ; but I was in danger 
from it. I am very thankful that I am here now, and if I had not been protected by the 
officers I should have been hung. They were smashing things down in the summer season, 
but I eame back from Saratoga for the winter season. My establishment is but a small one. 
and the young man who had charge of my store while I was away, found it very well to 
sell medals, though it was none of my business to sell either Lincoln or any other medals; 
but he bought them and sold them. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4724. When was that? 

Before Lincoln was elected the first time; in the afternoon, after dinner, on returning to 
my store, I found a crowd, and, when I got there, they cried: "Here he is, here he is; hang 
lun.." I think that was in 1861. 

4725. They did not proceed to hang you ? 
Yes, sir. 

4726. Did they produce a rope ? 

Yes, sir, they did ; but three officers protected me. 

4727. Then no harm came of it ? 

No, sir, except that they smashed some things in my shop ; but that was before the war; 
it was before Lincoln was elected, or about that time. 

372H. Was it not about the time when he was inaugurated 1 

I do not know ; 1 think he was elected, and the people I know were expecting the inaugural' 
speech from the I'resident, and that did not suit the people here in the south. 



332 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New Orleans, La., December 31, 18G6. 
JULES DESALLE8' (colored) sworn and examined. 
J. F. Mollere sworn as interpreter. 
By the CHAIRMAN : 

4729. Where do you live ? 
In New Orleans. 

4730. How long have yon lived here? , 
All my life ; I was born here. 

5731. Were you here on the 30th of July last? 
Yes, sir. 

4732. Were you injured on that day ? 
Yes, sir. 

4733. Where were you ? 

Jp the Mechanics' Institute. 

47.51. How were you hurt I 

In the feet. 

47:!."). In what way? 

I jumped out of the window. I was in the act of barricading the door when the police 
shoved the door opeu and commenced tiring into the room, when I jumped out of the window 
of the governor's room ; I thought that I was safe, and after that the police went into the yard 
and entered into a small room where I was; they shot into the windows, when the curtains 
caught on fire, then I jumped down; there was a party that snapped a pistol at me ; with 
that the police seized hold of me and took me to the calaboose, kicking me as I went. 

47:>t>. Do you know the policeman that shot at you? 

It was not a police officer; it was a citizen that shot at mo, and I know him well. 

4737. What is his name? 

It is a man named Nelson ; he goes to the cock-pit every Sunday ; I saw him last Sunday. 

By Mr. Shicllabarger : 

4738. Do'you know of any preparation for the mob made by the police or by citizens ? 
Yes, sir. I live close to the station of the third district, and I saw them (the policemen) 

during the whole night previous to the 30th, in a room close to the third district station : but 
I do not know what their designs or intentions were. I saw them all assembled in the hath 
While I was in the hall I wanted to surrender ; I saw Dr. Dostie and Mr. Horton, and 
Mr. Lecroix, who were trying to surrender but could not ; that is why I preferred jumping 
out the window. 

4730. What were the police doing when they were trying to surrender? 

The police told them to surrender and come to them ; and Mr. Dostie and Mr. Lecroix sur- 
rendered, when the police immediately fired at them. 

4740. Did the negroes go there for the purpose of fighting, or do you know if they were 
prepared to fight .' 

I cannot say that they went there for the purpose of fighting. I know one hundred that were 
in the Institute, and I only know of two that were armed. The only defence they used was the 
chairs that were inside of the hall. 

4741. Were you in the procession that carried the flag? 

1 was not ; when the procession arrived I was inside the Institute, and when I was in fhe 
Institute I heard the firing. The first thing that drew my attention to it was four or five 
bodies that lay outside dead. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4742. What is your occupation? 
I am a cigar-maker. 

4743. What is your descent? 

I am of African descent ; my grandfather is a white man; my father is a man of color; 
and my mother is a cmadroon. 



NEW Orleans, La, December 31, 1866. 
LAWRENCE DUFFY sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

4744. How long have you lived in New Orleans ? 
Between fifteen and sixteen years. 

4745. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir. 

4746. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute .' 



TESTIMONY OF LAWRENCE DUFFY. 333 

Yes. sir. 

'1747. Did you get hurt 7 

Yes, sir. 

4748. In what way ? 

I happened to go in there about eleven o'clock, and remained there until the convention 
took a recess for an hour ; at about a quarter before twelve I returned. At the corner of Canal 
and Dryades there were a number of colored men, and I beard a pistol-shot fired. I happened 
to come up when a colored man was shot; it cut bis pantaloons, but did not hurt bis skin. That 
was the first shot that was tired to my knowledge. In court I heard that colored man say 
that it was a white man that fired the shot, and that the white man went down the street 
towards the river. I made the remark to the colored man that was shot not to make a noise 
about it, as he was not hurt. I then went towards the Mechanics' Institute. I went upstairs, 
and remained there about ten minutes. There, were many persons there at that time. It was 
while I was up there that the shooting commenced in the street. I looked out of the window, 
and saw men in policemen's uniform, with pistols, firing from the middle of the street. A 
number of colored men ran up stairs, and some ran into the hall wounded. The doors of 
the Institute were then closed, and after awhile the police broke the doors in, forcing them open, 
and began to fire on all that were in the building. I could not tell the number of shots fired at 
that time, but I saw two or three men fall from the shots. Then they went down stairs, or 
at least they were pushed down stairs with some broken chairs ; the men broke up chairs 
and drove them down stairs with them. They then closed the doors again, and took all the 
chairs there were and piled against the closed doors. They were down stairs for about ten 
minutes, when a body of them returned and forced open the doors enough to put their pistols 
iu. When they got it open enough, they commenced to fire on those who were at the other 
end of the ball ; and they took the chairs away from the door. The Rev. Dr. Horton went 
with a white handkerchief, over to the railing in the. middle of the room, and begged them 
not to fire, and in doing so he got wounded. I saw him take off his coat when they had 
done firing ; they then went down stairs again. A number of men put white handkerchiefs 
on sticks, out at the windows. I wa^ standing alongside of one man who bad attempted to 
put a white handkerchief out, and he was fired at by a man in police uniform, from the street 
below, and he had to take the stick in. The same thing happened with another man on the 
other side of the hall, who put out an American flag, but was fired at and "had lo take it in. 
Then we saw there was no hope. They came up a number of times, and many persons 
begged for mercy, and begged to be allowed to go down stairs They fired as long as they 
had shots, and then they would go down stairs again. One time a gentleman came up and 
walked to the ceutreof the railing, with a paper in his hand, and some, gentleman from inside 
went up to the railing, and then he told us it was all right, and that we might go down stairs. 
We all got up, the doors were thrown open, and I suppose eight or ten went out. When 
they got out on the stairs, the policemen and a number of men were there, with clubs and 
pistols, and the first that went down were held while they were beaten on the heads. There 
were cluhs in the hands of the night policemen ; I saw them myself. Those that could not 
get out had to return, and we had to throw ourselves down on the floor; it was the only pro- 
tection we had. I saw then that every man that got a chance to go out, if he knew a police- 
man, would go and give himself up to him. I was standing in a corner of the room, with 
Governor Hahn, and I saw a policeman I knew T myself for a number of years. I saw be had 
his pistol in his hand, and was looking towards the men who were lying on the floor at the 
other end of the building. I went up to him and called him by name, and asked him to pro- 
tect me ; his answer was that he did not know whether he would or not. I said, "If I am to 
be killed, I want to be killed down stairs." He took me down, and when I got down at the 
end of the stairs there were three policemen standing — two to the left hand going out on the 
street, and one in the centre at the door. The man that was standing in the centre spoke 
out to the officer that was taking me down to bring me that way quick ; as soon as I was 
brought close enough to him he struck me with a pistol on the face ; I didn't notice him at 
all. After I was struck I fell down by the wall, and after I got that blow I do not know 
what became of me till I was taken to the doctor's office. I received fourteen wounds alto- 

f ether — five in the he'id and one on the. lips, and I was cut on each arm, and I am internally 
urt. Most of them were pistol or club wounds; I got one bullet wound in my head. 

4749. What had you done to make them fight you? 
I do not know, sir. 

475U. What descent are you ? 
I am a native of Ireland. 

4751. Do you know any of the policemen that were shooting there that day? 
No, sir. 

4752. Do you know any of them that were beating the people with clubs ? 
No, sir. 

4753. Do you know any of the men that were committing violence on them that day ? 
No, sir ; I had no chance to know much, as I was in the building, and could not tell what 

was going on in the street till I got out myself. 

4754. Did the members of the convention, or those that took sides with them, show any 
disposition to fight, or did they show a disposition to surrender '? 



334 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

They showed no disposition to fight, even if they wished to. I heard a number of them 
beg 1 for mercy many times ; they threw up their hands and showed white handkerchiefs, and 
their reply was shots as long as the policemen had any in their revolvers. 

4755. How many policemen would it have required to arrest that convention ? 

I believe all in the assembly would have surrendered themselves to any man who repre- 
sented himself to be an officer of the law. 

4756. Do you know what preparation for the slaughter of that day was made by the po- 
licemen or firemen, or both ? 

No, sir, I do not. I heard remarks made on the streets on the 29th. 

4?.">7. Stale what remarks you heard on the 29th. 

I was with a friend of mine, Mr. Cronan, walking up Royal street on the 29th, and we 
met two or three gentleman there; they were talking about the meeting of the conven- 
tion next day, and one of them remarked it would not and could not meet, and that if it did 
there Would be trouble. As they talked on, one asked the other if he was ready and pre- 
pared, and he said yes, he was primed and loaded whenever he was called upon ; that they 
didn't care, they had a commanding general Avith them, and as long as they had they would 
not permit the convention to meet. 

4758. And what did the man say to„whom that remark was made? 

It was made between three or four gentlemen who were there Mr. Cronan said he thought 
'it would be very wrong to interfere with the convention ; the other said he didn't think so ; he 
thought they had a right to rale here now ; that that convention had no business to meet. 
Mr. Cronan and I then left. 

4759. Who were the gentlemen who said the convention should not meet ? 
One of them is a young lawyer, who used to keep an office in Jackson square. 

4760. Was he the one that said he was all ready? 

Yes, sir; that he was already primed and loaded; that is the remark he made. 

4761. Did he say how they had prepared to prevent the convention from meeting? 
Nil, sir ; he did not. 

4762. Is that all you know about it ? • 
Yes, sir. 

4763. Were you examined before General Mower's court ? 

No, sir; I was riot able. They came into the hospital once or twice to take my testimony, 
but the doctor thought it would not be proper. 

4764. How long were you in the hospital 1 

Eighteen days ; but after coming out of the hospital I was laid up again in my own house 
for some weeks. 

By'Mr. Boyer : 

4765. What is your occupation?' 

I am an iron-founder and moulder. I now superintend a foundry here. I served my time 
in this town. 

4766. Did you attend the meetings that were held immediately preceding the convention 
of the 30th of July ! 

Yes, sir, I attended one. 

4767. Did you take an active part in it ? 
No, sir. 

4768. What made you go to the convention? 

I was doing work od a building next to the Institute, and I went up there to see the geu- 
tleman I was putting up work for. As I wanted to see that gentleman I walked in. 

4769. A iter you heard, as you stated, that there was likely to be a difficulty, why did you 
not stay away .' 

I did not think that the convention would be interfered with. I did not believe what those 
gentlemen said. 

4770. You had seen no disturbance of the kind here before, and you thought it was not 
likely to occur then .' 

No, sir, I did not. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 1866. 
JOSEPH RAOUL DELLANDE (colored) sworn and examined. 
J. F. Mollere sworn as interpreter. 

By Mr. Sjiellabarger : 

4771. Where do you live ? 

In Good Children street, New Orleans. 

4772. How long have you been here ? 
1 was bom here. 



TESTIMONY OF ANNIE ELIZA CAMPBELL. 335 

4773. What is your age? 
I am twenty years old. 

4774. Were you in Now Orleans on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

4775. Were you wounded on that day ? 

Yes, sir; 1 received two halls, and was cut in the head. 

4776. State all the facts in reference to it. 

On the 30th of July I went to the Mechanics' Institute as spectator. At 12 o'clock, when 
the convention was assembled, there was not a quorum, and they adjourned. The serjeant- 
at-arms had gone out to obtain the absent members, and during: that time I heard some d 
on the outside; it was -a procession from Canal street. Then 1 heard some pistol shots, and 
saw some colored men run towards the Institute; the police were firing upon them, aud they 
took refuge in front of the lustitute. The police then besieged the Institute, and fired upon 
the people without provocation. This lasted till half past two, till I came out. An officer 
then grabbed me by my breast, by my clothing, and others cried out that I was one of the 
convention, and two police officers fell on me, and commenced beating me with a stick, by 
which my head was cut. Two policemen took me then to carry me to the station, and 
when they had hold of me taking me along, some police officers following behind shot me 
twice behind the head. They took me to the first district police station, and at eight at night I 
was taken from there to the hospital. I went out from the hospital the next clay. I wanted 
to take the numbers of the police officers who assaulted me, but they had turned the ribbon 
of their hats inside out. 

4777. What was on their ribbons ? 
Their numbers. 

4778. Do you know the names of the policemen that had you? 
No, sir. 

4779. Do you know of any preparation that the firemen or police made for that massacre ? 
Personally I do not. 

4780. Did you hear anybody say that there would be any riot before it came off? 
No, sir 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4781. What is your descent? 

My father and mother are both people of color. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

4782. Did you hear the fire-alarm ? 
Yes, sir. 

4783. What was the effect of it? 

After the alarm numbers of "police and firemen assembled there, iu the vicinity of the 
Institute. 

4784. Did they leave any way of escape for those in the building without getting shot? 
No. sir; all the ways, alleys, and balconies round the Institute were occupied by the police 

and the citizens ; from Canal street to Common street the poftce and citizens were in occu- 
pation. 

4785. Had the colored people or the other friends of the convention made any preparation 
to fight that day ? 

No, sir ; there was no preparation on the part of the members of the convention or the men 
of color for any resistance. I am not aware that any "of the police officers or the citizens 
were wounded, while on the other side there were perhaps 150 wounded. 

478G. Judging from the conduct of the police, and the citizens acting with them, did they 
seem desirous of arresting the members of the convention and their friends, or of killing them 1 

It was my opinion that it was the intention of the policemen and the citizens outside to 
murder the members of the convention and their friends. 

4787. Can you read and write in French ? 

I can read and write French and German. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 1866. 
ANNIE ELIZA CAMPBELL, sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

4788. Were you at Mr. Crane's house on the 30th of July ? 
I was, sir. 

4789. Were you there when a message or notice was brought to Mr. Crane ? 
I was, sir. 

4790. Did yort hear any statement made by any of those who had been confederates that 
there was going* to be a slaughter on the 30th of July ? 



336 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I inferred so, from a remark that I heard on the Saturday previous to the riot ; that some- 
thing of the kind was anticipated. 

47U1. What was the remark, and who made it? 

I do not wish to give the name. It was made by a woman. She was speaking of Dr. 
Dostie. She stood with a paper in her hand reading it, when she said it was " the last speech 
he would ever make." | 

4792. On the 30th of July, or afterwards, were you in the hospitals where the wounded 
were carried ? 

Yes, sir, I was ; I spent from Thursday till Saturday morning there, attending upon the 
Rev. Mr. Horton. I also\ visited the colored people. 

4793. Did you have any conversation with Mr. Horton? 

Yes, sir, I did ; although I did not consider him in his right mind. 

4794. In what way were the negroes treated by the parties who put them there ? 
The nurses treated them kindly ; also the doctors, as far as I saw. 

4795. Did you hear from any who died there how their wounds were received ? 
Yes, sir ; and there were a great many colored men there who had been wounded. 
479(3. Can you give us the names of any of them ? 

• No, sir. 

4797. Were .they men who died in the hospital ? 
Two of them died while I was there. 
4793. Did you have any conversation with them ? 
Yes, sir. 

4799. What did they say? 

One of them answered only by shaking his head. The other talked with me and told me 
how he was injured. He said that he did not expect to live ; that the doctor had told him 
that he could not. 

4800. Did he tell you how he came to be hurt ; or mention any of the facts in regard to 
that matter? 

He told me that one policeman shot him and another pounded him severely. 

4801. Did he say the negroes were armed, or speak of having been armed himself? 

I conversed with between seventy and eighty, and half of these told me that they were 
unarmed. One only told me that he was armed, and how he came to be armed. He said he 
was returning home from business, but went to the convention. This man was lying very 
low, but ^do not know whether or not he died. 

4802. You said that you did not wish to give the name of the lady who made the remark 
regarding Doctor Dostie. 

I would rather not. 

4803. Are you afraid to give it ? 

I am not afraid to give it, but I have reasons for declining to do so. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4804. How long was it before the convention that the lady you speak of told you about 
Doctor Dostie's last speech? 

It was the Saturday before trie convention. 

4805. I think it important that you should give the name of the lady. 
I refuse to give you her name. 

4806 You absolutely refuse ? 
Yes, sir. 

4807. Was any body present when the lady made the remark ? 
Yes, sir. 

4808. Who was it ? 

I refuse to give you the name. 

4809. Are you a married lady ? 
No, sir. 

4810. What is your occupation? 

I have none at present. I have been discarded by my rebel friends here, and my copper- 
head friends at the north. 

4811. When did you come from the north ? 
Four years ago this coming March. 

481'2. Have you still any copperhead friends at the north ? 
No, sir ; I can tell a copperhead as soon as I lay eyes on hirn. 

4813. Is not your tongue as much in the way as your Union sentiments ? 
Yes, sir; and I intend it always shall be when in the, right cause 1 

4814. You do not seem to exercise any restraint over it when you think you are in the 
right ? 

Nor do I ever intend to. 



TESTIMONY OF MARTIN SELF. 337 

New Orleans. La., December 31, 1866. 
JOSEPH D. BUCKLEY sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 
4815. What is your age ? 
Thirty-three. 

4811 !. Where do you live ? 
In New Oilcans. 

4817. How long liave you lived here ? 

Nearly all my life. I got leave of absence for three months during the war, and came 
here about a year ago. Previous to the war I had been off for five or six years. I am 
an Irishman by birth, but an adopted American citizen. I was in the naval service of the 
United States. 

4818. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July? 
I was, sir. 

4819. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute before the riot was over, or were you during 
the day ' 

I was at the custom-house, where I am employed during the day, and know nothing about 
the riot except from hearsay. 

4820. Is there any act concerning the riot of that day that came under your eye? 

Only that when I went home to dinner that day, at 3 o'clock, I had to remain there from 
3 till 5, and my mother told me there were three negroes killed in the yard. I saw several 
dead bodies lying around, and there were several marks of pistol-shots in the building. 



New Orleans, December 31, 1866. 
MARTIN SELF (colored) sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

4821. Do you live in New Orleans ? 

Yes, sir; I live here now. I was born in Petersburg, Virginia. 

4822. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July .' 
Yes, sir. 

4823. State where you were on that day, and all that happened to you. 

In the morning, when I first got up, I went and opened my little shop where I was selling 
watermelons. My wife got breakfast, and I started to go up town. I did not know any- 
thing about the riot. I went on, however, down to the post office. When I got to the box 
there was a crowd about, and a young man pushed me away. I asked what was the matter? 
I had never been pushed away from my box before. They said this was a big day, that they 
•were going to have a big riot, and that there was going to be a mob that day. I said I never 
heard anything of it until then. This young man pushed me away from my box two or three 
times, and I left and went home. I told my wife there was something going on in tow r n, but 
1 had to come home without asking for any letter. I continued at my shop until 9 or 10 
o'clock. 

4?<J.>£. At what time did you go to the post office? 

1 went out nine o'clock. About eleven or twelve o'clock the colored people commenced 
running by there. I saw several who lived about there running, and I asked what was the 
matter. They said the colored people had an election down town; that they were just kill- 
ing and slaughtering everybody up. I concluded to shut up my shop and go out and see 
what was the matter. I was told I had better not go, unless I was armed. Between three 
and four o'clock in the evening I was selling watermelons in my shop, when some policemen 
came along and passed right by. They said nothing to me at all, but they went just beyond 
and commenced raising a row. They ran an old woman up stairs, and she was so scared 
that she jumped out of the window and almost broke her leg. After a little while one of them 
came back to the shop where I was. The next four or five of them went into a grocery to 
take a drink. I was standing in the door when a man by the name of Cook came and asked 
what I was doing. I said that I lived there. He pulled out his revolver ami told me not to 
move. The man who owned the place was there and spoke to him in French. I do not 
know what he said. When he spoke to him the policeman blew his whistle, and they all 
came running out and up to where I was. Cook said, this is the nigger, and pulled me out 
of the door, and said, "Fall into ranks." I said I have not done anything. He said he 
had orders to " kill all you niggers any how." I did not think they were going to shoot me 
at all, and I went along quietly with them. When we were on Claiborne street, one of them 
said: " I reckon we had better kill these niggers." The others said yes. They had three 
or four other colored men along at the same time. They shot me first, I being in front, and 
then turned round to shoot somebody else. I started to run ; they jerked a gun and beat me 
and knocked me down. I got up and ran, and they after me, and the rest got away, all 

22 N. o. 



338 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

except one. I know they caught one. They shot me three or four times. There are two 
bullets in me now ; one went into the small of my back, another hit me right in the breast, 
another struck me in the hip. The one that went into my breast is in my body now. The 
doctor said he did not want to cut me up to get it out. When they said "let us shoot these 
niggers," the one in hi nt of me wheeled round and shot me in the breast. 

4824. How near was the first one when lie. shot you? 
I think about as far as across this table from me. 

4825. You fell ? 

I turned round and he shot me in the hip. It seems he did not have but two loads in his 
pistol. Then I was shot again in the small part of the back. The bullet caught in ni}' clothes 
and did not go into ny i ody, but it hurt me worse than any of the others. 

4826. When did you tall ? 

It was when I was trying to get away and the policeman jerked a gun and tried to beat 
me, then I jumped and ran. "When I {rot to another corner I was met by another policeman. 
When he saw me he pulled out his pistol, but did not shoot me. 

4827. Who were the policemen that shot you? 
The name of one was Cook, and the other Sykes. 

4828. What were their first names? 
I do not know their first names. 

4829. Who was it who shot you in the breast ? 
Cook. 

4830. Did Sykes shoot you at all ? 

Yes, sir; he was the one who shot me in the hip. I recollect it well. I looked at him 
very hard, because he had always been speaking to me every time he met me on the street. 
He was stationed on the beat by my house. The policeman I met on the other corner told 
me I had better go to prison with him. I told him I had not done anything. He said no 
matter, I must go to prison. There were others present there who knew me, and said I had 
not been in the riot; that I lived right there. He said he was authorized to take every nig- 
ger who looked as if he had been in a fight to prison. I said I had not been doing any- 
thing, and another man there told him I had not been doing anything. At that time a citi- 
zen ran up and asked what was the matter, and asked the policeman if he wanted any help. 
The policeman said no ; that the man was shot, and he believed he would let him go home. 
The man then asked the policeman how many niggers he had shot that day. The police- 
man told him he had not shot any. The citizen told him he had better take me anyhow; 
that they had orders to shoot all the niggers. The citizen then said something in French 
that I could not understand. 

4831. What did you do? 

After the policeman saw that I was shot, and I had told him that I had not been in the 
riot at all, he took a memorandum book from his pocket and asked my name. I told him. 
He asked if there was a pen and ink at my house. I told him I could get one. He said he 
wanted to put my name down. He went round to the house and wrote my name down. 
The same policeman came back next morning, and said he had lost the paper that had my 
name down, and wanted to get it again. He wrote it down again. 

4832. You say in the morning at about nine o'clock some persons at the post office told 
you there was going to be a riot ; were they boys, or grown-up men ? 

They were colored men who told me about the riot. They were standing off, and asked 
me what was the matter. I do not know win. they were. 

4833. What did the men say who pushed you off? 

They never said anything. There were five or six of them who came up and pushed me 
off, and told me to get out of the way. 

4834. How far were you from the Mechanics' Institute ? 

I lived two miles off; I lived away out of town, back of the parish prison. 

4835. At what time in the day were you shot ? 
It was between three and four o'clock. 

483G. What do you do ? 
I am a steamboat man. 
4837. On what steamboat 1 
I am now on the St. Nicholas. 



New ORLEANS, December 31, 1866. 
ALPHONSE MORELL sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman. 

4838. State your age and residence. 

I am fifty-two years old ; I live in New Orleans ; I am native-born, but have lived aome 
time in California, nine years, and at Mexico dining the war. 

4839. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 



TESTIMONY OF ALPHONSE MORELL. 339 

4840. State anything you saw done on that day of a riotous character. 

I reached the Mechanics' Institute at about eleven o'clock in the morning, in company with 
Michael Halm and Mr. Hawkins. I went to the governor's office. The governor showed 
me a despatch he had received from Washington. After reading that despatch, a few words 
passed between the governor and Michael Halm and Mr. Hawkins, and we went up stairs into 
the hall of the Mechanics' Institute. It was then, if I am not mistaken, about half pasl 
eleven o'clock. There I saw Judge Howell, Rev. Mr. Horton, and a few other gentlemen of 
my acquaintance. While we were talking about one thing or another, a gentleman — who he 
was I do not recollect — went to Mr. Horton and told him that we should take some steps to 
prevent the gathering of the colored men before the Mechanics' Institute, because he was 
afraid some disturbance would occur. Mr. Horton immediately said he would go and order 
them to retire peaceably to their work, which he did, telling them their interests would be 
attended to by the members of the convention. Directly afterwards he came up. The con- 
vention was then called to order and a sergeant-at-arms appointed. He asked me to help 
him take the names of his deputies, and I did so. It was then found that twenty-five mem- 
bers of the convention were present. The sergeant-at-arms was directed to go and get the 
members, in order to have a quorum. While lie was taking the names I heard some noise 
in the street like shouting ; and after that we heard some firing. The firing increased, and 
some of as went to the windows to look about it. Some shots were fired at the windows. 
Mr. R. King Cutler then took the American flag and stood up with the flag in his left hand. 
He told us to shut the windows, and asked those who were armed to go to the left, and those 
who were not to stay on the right — to be quiet — not to be the offenders ; but if we were 
attacked, to defend ourselves. I saw very few going to the left. 

484J . How many? 

I do not know ; I was a little excited ; I do not think there were more than a dozen or fif- 
teen. The firing kept on increasing, and then I heard somebody coming up the steps. The 
left door remained open. About ten or twelve police officers came into the hall, and began 
to fire on us without any provocation. We had then a perfect panic. I have been twice on 
the battle-field, but I never saw anything like the panic we had among us. They fired five 
or six shots, then retreated, and disappeared. In five minutes afterwards they came up 
again — eight or ten of them — and began to shoot. Two of them came right up to us, shot off 
their pistols and knocked some of us down. At that time one of the police officers was 
knocked down and fell right on a man about two feet from me. They retreated again. 
Many persons were wounded. I thought the only chance I had was to run and hide myself 
in the lobby, believing that every one of us would be killed. They came up again the third 
time, shot, and retreated. I then followed them when they were retreating, and had pretty 
nearly reached the lobby, when I heard a voice calling me. It was Mr. Shaw, who asked 
me to let him have the cane I had. He took it, tied his white handkerchief to it, and set it 
up as a white flag. The officers then came up and pointed their pistols at the flag. One of 
them said, "Don't shoot; let us go and get the sergeant." Then two or three of us, Mr. 
Shaw, Mr. Fish, and myself, were there by ourselves. While they were going to get the ser- 
geant two of the police thought they could not wait longer, went into the hall and commenced 
shooting. I saw a colored man, with a chair in one hand and a pistol in the other, rush at 
the police, and shoot at one of them. I saw a policeman put his hand to his head and go 
back into the lobby, and then all the policemen rushed up, and I hid myself on the right 
steps, and when I heard them all go up, I ran out into the street. I did not find more than 
one or two persons I knew until I got to Canal street. That is about all I know in reference 
to the riot. I was not there until the last. 

4842. What do you know about the character of the policemen on that day — who were 
they? 

I will tell you really that, although I am well acquainted with the population of the city, 
I could scarcely recognize a policeman ; I was excited, and perhaps did not notice them if I 
knew them ; but I do not think I can recollect a single one. They took off Mr. Fish and 
Mr. Shaw. 

4843. Do you know generally as to the character of the police ? 

Pretty nearly all of them were in the rebel army. I know that a lieutenant and the chief 
of police were officers in the rebel army. 

4844. Do you know anything about the officers of the city government here, as to what 
kind of men have control of them ? 

Yes, sir ; they are in the control of bad people now. They cannot bear the idea of being 
whipped. All of us who were Union men in the federal army have to bear their animosity. 
I cannot find anything to do here since April. 

4845. Do you know of any preparation for the mob? 

Nothing; if I had known that I would not have gone to the Institute. I heard afterwards 
that everything was arranged. Mr. Crozart told me that he was prevented from going by 
Sergeant Leclerc. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4846. How long have you lived in New Orleans altogether ? 

I have been away from the place altogether about fifteen years. 
4849. During the war of the rebellion, where were you ? 



340 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

I was about eighty days in the rebel army, and the balance of the time here. I was about 
one of the first who took the oath under General Butler. 

4850. 1 >id you volunteer in the rebel army ? 

Yes, sir; but I never tired a shot against the United States army. I got wounded be 
fore I had tired a shot. 

4851. Were you a member of the convention that met on the 30th of July 1 

No, sir ; I had nothing to do with politics during all the time of the rebellion, either in 
favor of the rebellion or against it. 

4852. How came you to go to the Mechanics' Institute hall that day ? 

I met Michael Hahu and he asked me to go to the convention. I went there as a mere 
spectator. 

4853. Were you in favor of the convention ? 

Yes, sir, to overthrow the government that existed here in New Orleans, because I think 
that government was againsl cur interests. 
1854. And how about the State government? 
I do not know so much about that. 

4855. Was it not the intention of the convention to overthrow the government of the 
State, too ? 

I think so, but I do not know. The principal object of the convention was to establish 
free suffrage. 

4856. At what time in the day was it when Mr. Cutler divided the convention, and told 
those who were armed to go in one locality, and those who were not in another? 

It was when we heard the great shouting that was going on ; I should think it was be- 
tween half-past twelve and one o'clock. 

4857. Were those who went over to the left as having arms, white people or colored people, 
or both ? 

1 could not say ; I think a few colored and a few white — not more than twelve or fifteen 
altogether. 

4858. And those twelve or fifteen had arms? 
I presume they had; I did not see them. 

4.^59. But they went on the left, in obedience to Mr. Cutler's directions, as having arms ? 
Yes, sir. 

4860. How long had the firing been going on at that time ? 

The firing outside had been taking place about five minutes before, and was consequently 
going on when the order was given ; some firing in at the windows had also taken place. 
48tSUi|-. Were you arrested on that day .' 
No, sir; I escaped. 



New Orleans, December 31. 1866. 
SAMUEL M. TODD sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

4861. State your age and residence. 

I am forty-six ; I reside here, and have resided here since about the 11th of April, 1864. 

4862. Were you here on the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir. 

4863. If there is anything you know about the furnishing of pistols and arms to the police 
on that day, please state it. 

The pistols I saw furnished were not to the police, but to citizens. 

4804. State what you did see. 

It was some time during the riot, while the firing was going on, I was on Canal street, and 
stepped into a cigar store where 1 had been in the habit of buying tobacco, and got a pipe. 
A man came in there and bought a pistol, and several persons in citizens' dress came in and 
bought cartridges. At that time the riot was going on. 

4865. Siate, if you know anything in regard to badges worn that day, whether ribbons, 
handkerchiefs, or anything else. 

1 saw white handkerchiefs worn around the necks of some of the men ; saw the badge of 
the Washington artillery ; I also saw some blue and red ribbons tied in button holes. 



New Orleans, December 31, 1866. 
SYLVESTER EDWARD PLANCHARD sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRMAN: 

4866. How long have you lived in the city of New Orleans ? 
Forty-two years; 1 was born here. 

4867. Were you in the city on the 30th of July last? 



TESTIMONY OF SYLVESTER EDWARD PLANCHARD. 341 

Yes, sir. 

4868. Did you see any of the riot 1 

\ es, sir; I was in sight of it all. It was about half-past eleven o'clock, I think, I went 
into the Mechanics' Institute with one of my friends. When there, or near there, I saw a 
big crowd go'ing in, of colored and white people. I remarked to my friend, it is no use to 
stay in here; let us go out. He said, "No, let ns stay and see what will he, going on." 
After a while the president came in and called the convention to order. Prayer was made 
by Rev. Mr. Horton, and an adjournment of au hour or more took place. After the ad- 
journment there was a large crowd of colored people and white people outside in the street, 
and inside in the hall. I heard the noise of a drum and music outside. I remarked to my 
friend there would he some trouble outside. Directly I heard -the firing- of pistols out- 
side, and then about a hundred shots were tired. I cannot say whether it was the police or 
colored men, hut there was fighting going on outside. I 'staid in the hall about an hour 
and a half. I then remarked to my friend, let us go out; we are in danger. He said, 
"Do not go out; they will kill you." I said, I will go out; we will all he murdered 
if we stay here. I went out of the doors, and in going down on to the steps I saw 
three or four black men shot dead, and one wounded. Right at the door of the Institute I met 
Jules Le Plant, a planter. He said to me, "Do not go out yet awhile, you will be killed." 
I stood there about five minutes; after that I went on to the sidewalk. The street was 
emptied. There was a great lot of colored people about the corner of Common and Philippi 
streets. I then determined, of my own will, to walk out. While going from the Mechanics' 
Institute to Common street I was walking slowly, when I heard the cry, " Kill him ! kill 
him!" I turned around and saw policemen running after me, near the Medical College. 
When I heard the cry, "Kill him! kill him!" I turned around, and they shot at me about 
fifteen or twenty times. Then I went on to Common street, and in passing by a door it was 
happy for me that I found at the door two children and a woman, w r ho told me to come 
inside. I went into the house and she shut the door. The house was situated on Common 
street, between Baronne and Philippi streets. The policemen and citizens came up there. 
Some of them had white handkerchiefs on the neck. They knocked at the door. The lady 
opened it, and said, "What do you want:''' They said, "You have somebody in here; 
we want to kill the damned son of a bitch, the damned nigger, the damned rascal." The 
lady was afraid, and they came into the house. They took me out by force, flight police 
pointed their pistols at me, called me a damued rascal, and said, " Are you a member of the 
convention; are you armed'" I said "No." They said, "Hold on, we will kill you." 
They then took me by force, and brought me outside. As soon as I got to tie- door they 
pointed their pistols at me. One of them sprung his pistol at my head, right before my face. 
Somebody near, I do not know who, said, "Don't shoot." They then took me artd brought 
me to the police station of the first district. While there they stole from me my gold-headed 
cane. It was never returned to me. When I got to the police station all the police had 
pistols in their hands, on the sidewalk. As they were bringing me in, the recorder of the first 
district, who was there, said, "Get ready, boys." One policeman was then holding me by 
the arm. 

4869. How many policemen were there when he spoke in that way? 
About a hundred. 

4870. Did he tell them wdiat to get ready for? 

No, sir. They brought me inside the police station, took my watch, my spectacles, and 
my pocket : money. I asked them what they took me for; I had committed no crime. I said 
to them, I am a citizen born here. The only answer they gave me was, "Shut up, you 
damned rascal ; shut up, you damned nigger; shut up, you damned son of a bitch." After 
they had searched my person, and taken away all the things upon me, they said, "Put him 
inside among his nigger friends." They then put me inside, where there were about thirty 
men; some wounded, some dying and weltering in their blood, on the floor. I remained 
there until I was released at night by order of General Baird. 

4871. Was there any firing inside of the hall by the police before you left it 
Yes, sir 

4-7-J. Who did they shoot at ? 

At some persons who were there There was a crowd there. They wounded some, and 
killed some, for I saw four black men who were dying. I knew they had something against 
me, because I was the first man employed after General Butler came here. I was em 
ployed as interpreter and translator. 

4-7 :>. Are Union men safe here in New Orleans ? 

No. sir; if the military are withdrawn they will all be killed, unless there is a revolution 
here. 

4-74. How do you know that Union men would not be safe if the military were away ? 

By what I hear in the street every day. 

4-7"). What do you hear every day in the street? 

I hear people say that as soon as they get into power, after the military are away, they 
know what they will do. 

4>7ti. Do you hear that in both languages, French and English? 

Yes, sir, in French and English. 



342 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

4877. What kind of people are they who talk in that way 1 

There are some good men among them, and some decent men; hut they are very careful 
now about talking when they will be heard. The new officers here used to have secret 
clubs before the riot took place, in which they swore they would employ no man in office 
who had been in the service of the United States. I saw the effect of it every day. Mayor 
Monroe would allow nobody to be appointed to office who had been in the service of the 
government. 

4678. What kind of men did Mayor Monroe have on the police on the 30th of July ? 

Three-fourths of them were young men who had been in the war in the confederate army. 
When I was in the cell locked up a special officer of the chief of police who was there said : 
" Do you know that the police are all composed of fine officers who have been four years in 
the war? Nothing can resist them." 

4879. During that riot on the 30th of July did you hear any expressions from the police, 
or from the people who were acting with the police in fighting, about the American flag or 
the government of the United States, saying how they felt towards them ? 

No. sir. They only said to me, "he is a damned Union man; kill him." 

4880. Did you hear any shouting for Jeff. Davis ? 

No, sir. It is a great pity that men like me cannot get a situation. 

4881. Why not? 

Because I am a Union man ; because I was always opposed to them. 
By Mr. Boyer: 

4882. What situation do you want ? 

Anythiug I can get — any office. My name is with the Secretary of War, at Washington. 
I have served the government in Mexico. 

4883. And you think you are. entitled to an office ? 
Yes, sir ; I was born here ; my father was born here. 
4864. Where were you during the war? 

After General Butler left here I went to Havana with my wife, and spent two years there. 
When I got back here I was employed by General Banks. 

4885. Were you in the rebel army ? 
Never, and I am proud of it. 

4886. Of what descent are you ? 
French and Spanish. 

4887. Have you taken any part in favor of the Union government ? 

yes, sir, always. 

4888. Do you attend the public meetings here ? 
Yes, sir, always. 

4889. Do you sympathize with the leaders of the convention ? 

No ; my opinion was this : that if they had a right, let them meet ; if they had not, let 
thriii In- disbanded, and let Congress fix our political business for us. 

4890. You think Congress could fix it ? 
Yes, sir ; I think so. I am sure of it. 

4891. Why cannot the people fix it ? 

Because the people have too many bad feelings towards each other, especially politically. 

4892. Do you speak your mind pretty freely ? 

No, sir, Lever ; because it would be no use in my speaking freely. I speak out to my 
friends. 

4893. What are you doing now ; what is your occupation ? 

Nothing at all. My last occupation was in the custom-house. I was there as a clerk 
until last August ; since then I am out of a situation, and there is no use in making an 
effort to get one. 

4894. Do you think there are no Union men in the custom-house ? 

Yes, sir; they are half Union men and halt' secessionists. There are many federal officers 
employed at the custom-house, and many confederates, too. 

4895. You say you hear people say in the streets that as soon as the military forces are 
removed they will know what to do. Who said so ? 

Some gentleman ; I cannot remember his name. It was last summer, after the riot. 

4896. And you say they have secret clubs. Do you know their secrets ? 

1 mean they have secret clubs, I have never been in there, but members of the club told 
me that nobody could be admitted to their clubs without having served in the confederate 
army. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 1866. 
JAMES DORSEY sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

4897. State your age and residence. 

I was born the 24th of June, 1813. I have lived inNew Orleans since 1849, except one 
year. 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES DORSET. 343 

4898. "What is your occupation ? 

] was a member of the police force, and remained until Mayor Monroe came in, when ho 
discharged all his Yankee police. I got on again at the requesi of my friend Lynch, the 
first of Juno, and remained two months. On the night of the29th of July, at one o'clock, 
Lieutenant Slieehan read an order from the chief of police, stating that we were to come off 
our respective beats at twelve o'clock, and report on Monday morning at nine o'clock, armed, 
and remain at the station-house until the signal, which was to be twelve taps of the bell. 
That was tin- signal tor the riot. The order was signed, (as he read it,) Thomas E. Adams, 
chief of police. 

4899. Did you go there at nine o'clock Monday morning? 
Yes, sir. 

4900. Did all hands meet then ? 

Yes ; all the police force ; the day and night men. 

4901. Were there any arms distributed to them ? 
They all had arms. Some had as many as two pistols. 

4902. Do you know where they got their arms? 

Some of them had their own arms. Others — a good many of them — had new pistols, which 
I saw while in the station-house. I do not know where they got them. 

4903. How long did you stay together at the station-house? 
We remained until the signal-bell was tolled. 

4904. Then what did you do ? 

We got an order to go down to the riot. I do not call it a riot ; I call it a massacre. We 
came clown to the Mechanics' Institute ; as we were going up Baronne street to Dryades, 
about the middle of the block, there were two men standing at the corner of Dryades street, 
who said, " Hurry up, boys ; hurry up, boys ; Dostie is dead and in hell." Those in the 
rear of our force ran on up to the Mechanics' Institute. When we got there we were de- 
tailed to Canal street to keep the citizens back from going up there. After a while I saw 
two or three colored men come out of the Mechanics' Institute. I saw a policeman and men 
in citizens' clothes (I do not call them citizens, but they were dressed in citizens' clothes) 
shooting at the men coming out of the Mechanics' Institute. I walked up on the outside of 
the banquette twice, to see if I could recognize any of them, but I could not. I could not 
get nearer, for we were ordered to keep the citizens back. 

4905. What time was that ? 

It must have been after two o'clock. I am not very certain. 

4906. Had the military got there ? 

I do not know ; it was in the neighborhood of two or three o'clock. 

4907. How many negroes did you see shot ? 
Three. 

4908. How many did you see lying upon the sidewalk? 

O, God, I cannot tell you. I saw three or four furniture, wagons full taken away during 
my stay. They were shooting during the whole time en Canal street and Dryades street — 
police and citizens. 

4909. Were those you saw taken away in wagons dead ? 

Some of them dead, and some not dead. Before the officers came with the wagons I saw 
them lying from Common street to Canal street on both sides. 

4910. How were the wounded treated when they were put into the wagons? 

I do not think anything was done to them except that they were thrown in like sacks of 
corn, the wounded and dead, into the wagons. 

4911. How long did you remain at the station after you met there at nine o'clock in the 
morning ? 

We remained until the signal-bell was tolled. 

4912. About how many policemen were there during that time with you ? 

I cannot tell you exactly how many were there. The order was given for every man to be 
there without fail. 

4913. Did you hear any talking among the police while they were waiting there as to what 
they were going to do, and why they were armed ! 

No, sir; they kept everything secret from me. I was a Union man, a discharged United 
States soldier, and they kept everything secret from me. 

4914. What were you armed with? 
A five-shooter I have had for years. 

4915. Who read the order you have spoken of? 
Lieutenant Michael Sheehan, of the, fourth district police. 

4916. Do you know what portion of the police in your district were in the confederate 
army ? 

A majority of them — pretty much all of them — all but a very few. I know four, certainly, 
who were in it. 

4917. What kind of men composed the police on the 30th of July, and since that time? 
Are they confederates or Union men ? 

Confederates, with very few exceptions. I will state to you, furthermore, that before the 
signal-bell was tolled there was some whiskey brought in there. 



344 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

4918. Where was it brought from? 
I suppose from a grocery near by. 

4919. Who brought it? 

A policeman. I forget his first name. His sirname is Clough. 

4920. How much did be bring? 
Three or four bottles. 

4921. What did he do with it? 
They all drank. 

4922. Did lie pass it around among the police? 
Yes, sir; with ice-water. 

4923. How many of the police drank there? 

I do not knew how many. I suppose all of them drank. I have not drank a drop of 
liquor since 1841. 

4924. What did he say he brought the whiskey for? 
I did m>t hear him say why. 

4925. Did you see any more whiskey distributed that day? 
No, sir. 

4926. Did you hear any shouting at the riot for the United States flag ? 
No, sir ; I did not. 

V,y Mr. Boyer : 

4927. Did you driuk any of that whiskey that was distributed? 

No, sir; as I said, I have not taken a drop of liquor since 1841, when I took the pledge 
from Father Mathew, in Ireland. 

4928. You say you were one of the policemen on that day, and that you were a Union 
man ? 

Yes, sir. 

4929. Then there were some Union men on the police ? 
Yes, sir ; but \ery few. 

4930. From whom did you get your appointment? 

I got it from Mayor Monroe, but it was through the instrumentality of Mr. Lynch and 
the attorney general of the State of Louisiana. 

4931. Were you in the United States army? 

I was in the sixty-days' men here in the city of New Orleans. 

4932. And you were appointed in the police force after you had served in the federal army ? 
I was appointed on the police force through the instrumentality of Mr. Lynch, as I said. 

4933. Did Ma} or Monroe appoint you after you had served in the United' States army? 
Y r es, sir; he appointed me just before the first of June. 

4934. Did you arrest anybody on the day of the riot I 
No, sir, not a single soul. 

4934J. Were you commanded to arrest anybody? 

No, sir. 

4934i. Did you interfere in any way ? 

Not a bit. 

4935. How comes it that you did not interfere to preserve the peace, you being a policeman ? 
All the interference I had to do was what I was ordered to do ; which was to keep the 

citizens from going up to the Mechanics' Institute from ('anal street. 

4936. Fid you interfere to save anybody from the violence of the mob ? 
No, sir; I was not where the shooting took place. 

4937. Fid you see anybody actually shot .' 
Certainly. 

4938. Fid you interfere to prevent it? 

1 was too far away to do that. 1 was at the corner above the Mechanics' Institute. 

4939. When were you discharged from the police > 

I was not discharged. 1 got leave of absence for three or four months from the board of 
police commissioners. On the first Wednesday 1 came down to report, (I had been under 
the care of the doctor.) the board considered the matter, and told me I would have to report 
that night week or else bring down my resignation. 1 came down at the time appointed 
and brought my resignation. 

494d. Then you were requested to resign on account of disabilities? 

Yes, sir. It was the second Wednesday in November when I sent iu my resignation to 
tin- police board. 

4941. Whal are you doing now 1 

Nothing. 1 have not earned five cents since the first of August. 

4942. Are you an applicant for any office ? 

I would like to have something to do to support my family honorably. 

4943. Have you made application to anybody for an oflfice ' 

[ made inquiries for something from the government. I do not know whether I will get 
it or not. It you see Michael Hahn, King Cutler, Thomas J. Durant, Rufus Waples, or 
Judge Hiestand in Washington, they will tell you who 1 am and what I was. 



TESTIMONY OF GENERAL FRANCIS P. BLAIR. 345 

4944. Do you swear that the order which was read, purported to come from the chief of 
police, was an order for the police to come well armed ■ 

Yes, sir ; that was the way 1 heard it. It was, without fail, to come well armed. 

4i»4r>. Did you read it ? 

No, sir ; I did not. 

49 111. Can you read > 

Yes, sir. It ended, " By order of Thomas E. Adams, chief of police." 

4947. Are you sure the order to come armed was any written order, or might it not have 
hern something that he did outside the order? 

The probability is that the order was from Thomas E. Adams, to come well armed. 

4948. Do you know whether that was written, or whether it was an order given verbally ? 
It was a written order. 

4949. And the written order was read by the lieutenant? 
Yes, sir. 

4950. How many were present when the order was read? 
Every man of the night force. 

49.") J. How many were there? 

1 do not know. * I did not take any great interest in the police. I did not like them under 
that administration. 

4952. Did you pay much attention to the order ? 

Yes, sir, I did ; but I had no expectation of any riot, or any murder being committed, that 
day. The members of that convention were as little prepared for a riot as I am now. I 
know them, most of them. 



New Orleans, December 31, 1866. 
General FRANCIS P. BLAIR, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens 
as "ne having in his possession facts important to be communicated to the committee, was 

sworn and examined. 

a 
By Mr. Boyer : 

4953. If you have had any opportunities recently to become acquainted with the public 
sentiment of the people of Louisiana, and are able to give the committee any information as 
to the manner in which the people of this State now stand affected towards the government 
of the United States, please state to the committee what you know on that subject. 

I have been in the State half a dozen times since the close of the war. Soon after the war 
closed — about a year ago — I came down to Louisiana and leased a plantation at Milliken's 
Bend, on the Mississippi, in one of the northern parishes of the State. I have been on that 
plantation ami have been here hall' a dozen times since I leased it. I have been on the planta- 
tion at one time two months during the summer. I was there at the very time this riot took 
place here. I have had a good deal of intercourse with the people of the State — with those 
who were in arms against the government and with others wdio were not. My own judgment 
aboutitis, that they are exceedingly anxious tobeatpeace. I will say, in addition, thatthere 
are a great many persons situated just as I am in the neighborhood in which I live — northern 
men — men who have been in our army and who have since leased plantations. • Some of 
them are employed on plantations by the owners of them. I have never heard of any dispo- 
sition to ill-treat them, nor have I heard any expressions of animosity towards them indi- 
vidually. I have never felt myself insecure in the slightest degree. The people — as is nat- 
ural, I suppose, in any people in the world alter what they had undergone — would not feel in 
the very best temper, especially towards those who have been instrumental in destroying 
their confederacy, or their attempts to establish a confederacy. But 1 have been surprised 
tn see how well they have conducted themselves towards us, and how little hostility or bad 
feeling they evinced towards persons situated as I was among them. I of course know 
nothing about the circumstances of this riot in New Orleans. I was not here, and know 
nothing of it except what I heard. I have a great many acquaintances in this city — ac- 
quaintances that I had before the war — and my acquaintance has been extended since the war, 
having been here several times, as I have stated, and been introduced to various persons. I 
repeat, that I think these people have manifested a very jrood feeling towards us — belter, far, 
than I expected. They seem, as far as my opinion goes, to understand their position very 
well, and thoroughly to give up all idea of their independence, and everything of that sort. 
They manfully concede their position, and their duty to demean themselves as law-abiding 
citizens. That, so far as my judgment goes, is the temper of the people of the State every- 
where I meet them. 

4954. Wherever you meet them they give in their adhesion to the government of the 
United States in good faith .' 

I have no question upon that point at all. I think they have frankly and manfully given 
up this contest, and are disposed to become peaceable, law-abiding citizens. 

4955. If Louisiana were to obtain immediate representation in Congress, and be restored 



346 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

to her position in the Union, do you think the people of the State (so far as you understand 
their temper) could be relied upon for a faithful obedience, to the laws ? 

They do not seem to care a great deal about having- representation in Congress, as far as 
I can judge from the conversations I have had with them. Of course they would like it, 
especially the politicians among them would like it, but they are more concerned with their 
private matters. They seem to be devoting their attention entirely to reconstructing their 
fortunes, more than to reconstructing their political relations. They seem to have given 
themselves completely to their own industrial pursuits. I have heard them express them- 
selves at various times in that way. They are anxious to make themselves comfortable, 
as comfortable as possible, and are applying themselves to gathering together and trying to 
save the remnant of their property. 

4956. In your opinion, has the insecurity of the political relations any effect to prevent a 
perfect restoration of confidence in business matters ? 

I think that has a great deal to do with it. An apprehension of having what is called 
" negro suffrage " is making a bad feeling. It does more to make bad feeling between white 
people ard negroes than anything else. It is the expectation of that, upon the part of the 
whites, and the same expectation upon the part of the blacks, that, as I say, creates more 
ill-feeling between the two races than anything else ; and aside from that there is no bad 
feeling. 

4957. As far as you are acquainted with the temper of the people of this State, what effect 
upon the public mind here do you suppose a liberal and magnanimous policy on the part of 
the government would have; would they be able to appreciate it or not? 

I think almost anybody would be able to appreciate anything of that sort. I think it 
would have a good effect. That is my opinion I have expressed that a great many times. 
My opinion is that it would have a very good effect not only here, but throughout the south. 
That has been the leading motive, and the only motive, that has induced me to take the po- 
sition I have taken in regard to this thing. I thought, before I came here, that was the 
proper course to take, and it has grown upon me in the intercourse I have had with these 
people, and from what I have seen of them during the war and since the war. I certainly 
think it is the true policy of the government. 

4958. As one of those who have done a great deal of the fighting which has been done 
during the war on the part of the government to put down the rebellion, I ask you, as one 
having some right to speak in the matter, whether, in your opinion, a policy ought to be 
pursued towards the people in the rebellious States which looks simply to the end of punish- 
nieut to make treason odious, in the cant phrase of the day ? 

I do not know that I have any better right to an opinion on that subject than any one 
else, and I do not know that my opinion is worth anything. I can only reiterate the opinion 
I have already given, that a magnanimous course would be the best for the country, north 
anil south. I believe so very firmly. My observation here and at home has confirmed me 
in that opinion, that it would be best for these people, and better for us, and better for the 
entire country, if such a course should be pursued. 

4959. From your observation among these people, do you think it would be worth while, 
upon the part of the government, or wise, to do anything further merely for the purpose of 
punishing them ? 

I think they have been punished enough. I think that anybody who was in our army 
in going through this country, and saw the devastation that was committed by our troops, 
■will say that these people have been sufficiently punished even for the crime — which was a 
very great one, and the greatest, probably, any men ever committed — of their rebellion. 
This whole people have been punished with sufficient severity, I think. There is hardly 
a solvent man in the south. There is hardly a home in the south that has not been stripped. 

By the Chairman: 

4960. You think that after waging war for four years against the United States, and after 
being vanquished by the United States, the leaders of the rebellion have been punished 
enough, and should have the same political and other power restored to them at once that 
they had before the war .' 

I was not speaking of the leaders of the rebellion. I was speaking of the country. 

4961. What you have stated, then, had not auy v reference to the men who were active in 
instigating and carrying on the war? 

Some of them, I think, ought to be punished under the laws that exist. If their punish- 
ment is demanded by the safety ami security of our country, we have laws under which 
their crime is punishable as severely as we please. But this system of legislation against 
people who are a loyal people — and the majority of the people of this State were loyal at 
the beginning of the war, and voted against secession — I do not think is justifiable. 

4962. You speak of your living here. You are a citizen of St. Louis, are you not? 
I am a citizen of St. Louis. I am speaking of the public history of the country. 
CHAIRMAN. We can judge of that. 

Witness. You have the right to judge of that as well as I; but I had occasion to make 
the remark I did. I was only speaking of the masses of the people of the south. 

4963. When did you take your plantation in Louisiana .' 



TESTIMONY OF MAJOR GENERAL PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 347 

About a year ago. I came down here in the fall. I had nothing to do. I was out of 
employment. I resigned my position in the army, and it was suggested to me that I could 
do something in this manner I came down here, therefore, and leased my plantation the 
first of January, a year ago. 

4964. When did you first go upon your plantation? 

I came down in November, 1865. 

49ii.">. How much of the time since you took possession of it in January or November have 
you been there [ 

I was then- two or three months during the fall and winter. I suppose I was on the 
plautation about tour months during the year. 

4966. During the time you were on the plantation you were there mainly for the purpose 
of attending to the work, were you not? 

That was the only motive I had in being there. 

4967. How many times during the year have you been in the city of New Orleans? 
From the last of November I have been here, I think this makes the fourth time. 

4968. Do you recollect the first time? 
In November, 1865. 

4969. How long did you stay here ? 
Probably a week or ten days. 

4970. When was the second time ? 
It was in May. 

4971. How long did you stay then? 

Not a great while. I was not here more than three or four days. 

4972. When was the next time ? 

I think this is the third time. I think I made a mistake in the number of times. 

4973. Your object in coming here has been what ? 

Business in connection with the plantation. The first time I came down here was to see 
the gentleman who owned the plantation, and to make a bargain with him for it. The 
second time I came here was in connection with the business of the plantation, to make 
arrangements about shipping cotton. 

4974. You attended while here to the matter that called you here ? 

Yes, sir. During my stay here I had a great deal of intercourse with gentlemen I had 
known before, and to whom I was introduced while here. 

4975. And these are the opportunities you have had of information in reference to the 
matters about which you have testified ? 

Yes, sir; my visits here, and my intercourse with gentlemen here and in the part of the 
State in which the plantation I have leased is. 



New Orleans, December 1, 1866. 
Major General PHIL. H. SHERIDAN sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

497G. What position do you now hold here ? 

I am commanding the department of the Gulf, which embraces the States of Texas, Lou 
isiana, and Florida. 

4977. Were you in command in July last ? 

I was then in command of the military division of the Gulf, embracing the same States. 

4978. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last ? 
I was not. 

4979. When did you leave, and where were you ? 

I left, I think, about the 21 st or 22d of that month, to go to the Rio Grande frontier. Per- 
haps it may have been between the 20th and 24th. 

4980. When did you return ? 

I returned on the night of the 31st of July, about 12 o'clock. 

4981. State, if you please, the condition in which you found the city on your return. 

I was notified at the mouth of the Mississippi river of the riot that had taken place, and at 
the pilot station received a telegram of July 30, stating that the riot was still in progress; and 
supposing it was still in progress, I directed a steamer, with one or two of my staff-officers, 
to meet me, so that I might know the condition of affairs betore I arrived in the city. My 
brother. Major Sheridan, and General Mower, came down and told me that the riot was over; 
that the 1st infantry (white regiment) was occupying Lafayette square ; that a battery of ar- 
tillery was also there, and that martial law had been proclaimed. On arriving here I found 
a very high state of excitement, and, so far as I could judge, a very large proportion of the 
people were armed. There had been quite an extensive sale from the different stores having 
arms for sale, and this continued for a day or two after my arrival, until I finally closed the 
stores. I found quite a state of excitement among the freedmen of the city, but no desire on 
theh part to create a disturbance. On the contrary, they were very much alarmed, and at 



348 * NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

night confined themselves to their houses, and were constantly afraid of an attack from the 
police and citizens. I found constant telegrams coming in to Mr. Adams, chief of police, 
warning him of intended attacks from the negroes. In several instances I sent patrols to in- 
vestigate these reports, and found that they were without foundation. I found, also, upon 
the part of citizens, discussions on the streets, and expressions being used in these discussions 
to the effect that they could drive the military from the city. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4982. Did you hear these discussions yourself? 

No, sir, I did not hear themmyself; these reports came to me frequently from my own staff- 
officers, sometimes from my detectives, sometimes from citizens, sometimes from those of se- 
cession antecedents, and sometimes from those of Union proclivities. 

By the Chairman : 

4983. From what you saw and heard, state whether the declaration of martial law was 
necessary. 

Yes, sir ; I think it was necessary. I was proceeding to say that expressions were made of 
this kind : that they could drive the military from the city; also expressions against the 81st 
colored regiment, which was in the city. On hearing these expressions I determined to 
take that regiment out of its camp, which I did, and had it marched down through the city 
and put into camp near the custom-house, intending, in case these threats were attempted to 
be carried into execution, to hold the custom-house and not be driven from the city. The 
custom-house is a very strong place, and fur that reason I put this regiment into camp near 
it. I again heard threats that citizens would drive this regiment back to its camp. I ordered 
a section of artillery to the custom-house, and put oiit pickets at night, for the purpose of 
guarding against any movement that might be made in view of these reports. 

4984. You state that you were not present-on the 30th of July. Did you, on your arrival 
here, take measures to ascertain what the occurrences ot that day were .' 

Yes. As soon as I arrived I sent for two of my detectives, whose duty it was to be present 
and report to me such occurrences. These men had been with me two or three years, and 
acted as scouts during the war. I ascertained, in reference to the riot, the information which 
I embodied in a telegram sent to the President ; and I may also have obtained additional in- 
formation, which was embodied in that telegram, dated, I think, the 4th or 5th of August. 
I also based my telegrams to General Grant, a day or two previous, upon information derived 
from these scouts, and from my officers. 

4985. Please state what facts you found tending to show preconcert of action. 

I can only say, in reference to that, that I found the police had been withdrawn from their 
beats at 12 o'clock the night before and concentrated at the different stations ; that a few only 
had been left in the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute ; that between these few and a col- 
ored procession, which came to the Institute, a row was gotten up. The police at the different 

stations were then rapidly marched to the Mechanics' Institute, and the massacre co lenced. 

I have been unable to ascertain that the mayor or any of the city authorities, during the two 
hours that the riot continued, attempted to quell it, or attempted to prevent the massacre that 
there took place. I further state that it was entirely unnecessary that any violence should 
have been used; that fifteen or twenty policemen could have stopped the riot, and could have 
arrested the convention at any time. From this reasoning I was led to suppose that something 
might have been premeditated. There was certainly no attempt to stop the massacre ; I have 
no absolute knowledge of its being premeditated ; I only infer it from these circumstances. 

4986. What authority, if any, had General Baird ? 

He had the same authority at that time over this State that I have now. lie had imme- 
diate control of the troops. I had the general supervision ot the three departments. At that 
time Texas was a department, Louisiana was a department, and Florida was a department. 
I had the general and military supervision over these three departments, and General Baird 
was a department commander, lie had ample powers to move troops and to take cognizance 
of ami hing that came within the limits of his command. 

4987. What would have been his authority in respect to military interference before any 
disturbance of the peace had actually taken place ' 

The orders that I had given him were these: that he was not to allow the military to be- 
come involved in any political discussions, or matters of that kind ; that lie was not lo allow 
the military to be used for the support or objects of either party, for there were two parties 
here bitterly antagonistic. The military were not to he used, except in case of a breach of 
the peace, in which ease I considered the condition of the country such that the Life and prop- 
erty of the citizens depended upon the military, and not upon the civil authority. He was, 
therefore, if necessity required, to use the military to preserve the peace, but not to allow 
himself to be involved unless the peace was broken. 

1988, From all your information, is it your opinion that the peace of the city could have 
been preserved that day by the civil authorities .' 

Yes. sir. 

4989. If the police of the city had been under proper authority, and used in a proper way 
to preserve peace, would there have been any necessity for the interfereuce of the military >. 



TESTIMONY OF MAJOR GENERAL PHIL H. SHERIDAN. 349 

Not so far as the convention was concerned. That is my opinion. 

4990. Or so tar as the negruesia the neighborhood of the convention were concerned, would 
it have been necessary ! 

I think there was no occasion for the use of the military. I think the police force was 
amply sufficient to preserve the peace; and, furthermore, I think, as I have already stated, 
that twenty policemen were sufficient to have arrested the convention without violence. 

4991. Have you found any occasion upon the investigation you have given since that time 
to modify or change the views then entertained by you, and expressed by you in telegrams 
sent to AYashington? 

No, sir. 

4992. I understand you to say that in your judgment martial law was properly declared on 
that occasion .' 

Yes, sir. 

4903. How long have you been in New Orleans ? 

I have been in New Orleans since the 1st or 2d of June, 1865. 

4994. Let me ask you whether, in your judgment, it would be safe that the military should 
be withdrawn from New Orleans, and the protection of the government, through the military 
and through the Freedtnen's Bureau, taken away? 

I would have to say in reference to that, that although the military do not exercise any 
actual power, they do exercise a great moral influence, and I believe it is necessay to retain 
them. 

4995. What would be the effect if the military were withdrawn and matters here left to 
take care of themselves ? 

I think it would affect capital, and that it would so affect the people of anti-secession pro- 
clivities here that many would leave the State. 

4996. What would be the condition of Union men who have been friendly to the govern- 
ment during this rebellion? 

I believe they would be annoyed. I believe they would be subjected to combinations com- 
mercially, and that they would be subjected to insults, remarks, and perhaps threats. I am 
not able to say that their lives would be in danger, except under some great disturbing cause. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

4997. If you are able to explain how it was that the military came to the relief of the people 
of New Orleans so late as they did on the 30th of July, you may do so. 

I am unable to answer the question. I can say this, that I can see no object why the mil- 
itary should have been present, unless it was to have prevented the police from perpretrating 
a massacre, and in order to have guarded against that it was necessary for General Baird to 
pre-suppose that the police were going to be the assailants and rioters. It was not reason- 
able for him to suppose this, because it was their business to be there for the preservation of 
the peace. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

4998. Are you not aware of the city authorities having had an apprehension that a riot 
might occur, and having taken some steps to induce General Baird to send some part of the 
military on the ground for preserving peace? 

I have no personal knowledge of that fact. 

4999. Have you not the same knowledge of that fact as on other matters upon which you 
have testified .' 

No, sir. My knowledge is derived from General Baird's report, and from some testimony 
I have seen which was taken before the military commission. 

5000. In case General Baird had, in compliance with the request of the authorities, sent a 
part of the military to the locality before the riot had taken place, would it have taken place 
at all I 

I think if the military had been present the riot would not have taken place. 

5001. Would it, in your opinion, have required the presence of many of the military in 
order to have prevented such a massacre? 

No, sir. 

5002. You have spoken of language used in the street and reported to you by those you 
have employed as detectives and others. Were the expressions made use of, as reported to 
you, other than those that might naturally have been expected immediately following such a 
disturbance, and in the existing state of feeling among a certain class of people? 

I do not know. The only thing I can say in that respect is that when I hear these things 
I prepare against them. 

5003. Had you any serious apprehensions that these threats, so uttered in the streets, would 
be executed ? 

Only at one time. I was in the City Hall when reports came in which at the time seemed 
alarming. The chief of police was there. I notified General Baird that if there was a dis- 
turbance of the peace I intended to fight, and he could go and get himself in readiness. I 
then told the chief of police that, in case there was any disturbance in the city, I intended 
to fight. At that time I thought the excitement was kept up by the police, and I told the 



350 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



chief of police that, unless something was clone to cause the excitement to he allayed. I would 
supersede tire civil authorities of the city. I iuteuded, in case any further difficulty occurred, 
to lake charge of the police myself, and not allow them to remain under the charge of the 
mayor and chief of police. I proposed to direct the chief of police, as a staff officer, so that 
he and they should act with the military, and not do as they had been doing before. 

5004. Did any authentic facts come to your knowledge showing a combination upon the 
part of the authorities of the city, or upon the part of the body of the people, for the purpose 
of driving the military from the city? 

No, sir; only the general arming of citizens which caused me to close the stores. 

5005. Do you think that the speeches and conduct of some of the leading spirits of the 
convention were or were not calculated to excite the public mind and bring about a riot? 

1 think they had that tendency. 

5(106. Might not, in your opinion, similar conduct on the part of political agitators, relative 
to subjects likely to excite the public mind, bring about a riot in almost any city, north or 
south I 

I do not know. I am unable to say. Riots are liable to occur at any time. The only 
trouble is whether you can excuse and defend them. 

5007. Even within your time, have not riots occurred at the north, in which the popular 
vengeance was excited against the negro population, with an ecpial or even less cause than 
on this occasion? 

I know a riot took place in New York during the rebellion ; but I do not know the circum- 
stances. 

5008. You say that General Baird had authority to interfere with the military in case of 
the breach of the peace. Had he or not authority to interfere in any seriously threatened 
breach of the peace? 

No, sir ; I do not think he had. He might have provided a force at hand, so as to be in 
readiness in ease any breach of the peace occurred ; but it was very necessary to keep the 
military aloof from these parties. I had frequent conversations with General Baird, in which 
I told him the military should not be used except in case of a breach of the peace ; then it 
was to be used. Recollect that while I was particular in giving him these instructions, he 
was not to place any force in advance for the protection of the convention. If he had, in 
anticipation of a riot, placed troops in the Mechanics' Institute, he would have been charged 
with supporting the convention and supporting a political body. Such a charge would, un- 
doubtedly, have been made against him, and he might have lost his command.. 

5009. Would threats that a riot was about to take place, or common rumors to that effect 
in the street, and an application upon the part of the city authorities to General Baird, have 
justified him in placing a portion of the military within a convenient distance of the scene of 
that riot ? 

Yes, sir; it might. I think I would have taken such a course myself ; but I would not 
have used the military until an overt act had been committed. 

5010. That kind of military interference, then, in your judgment, would have been 
justifiable? 

I think it might have taken place without the military being charged with taking the part 
of either party. I thought that the military should be kept free from the support of either of 
these bitter parties, and I therefore adopted the course I have mentioned. 
_ 5011. Had you any reason to think, from what you had learned, that the respectable por- 
tion of the community of New Orleans participated in any way in the riot? 

There were a great many respectable people in New Orleans who condemned the riot. 
There were also a great many respectable people in New Orleans who made use of the worst 
description of language in respect to it — such language as regretting that any members of 
the convention escaped alive. 

50 J 2 Had you any reason to think that the people of New Orleans apprehended a negro 
insurrection, instigated by the political agitators who had convened and were leading the 
convention ? 

I am unable to say. For some time before I left New Orleans the papers contained many 
very bitter articles — I think inflammatory articles — but did I not suppose for an instant they 
would lead to a riot. This was about eight or ten days before the riot occurred. 

5013. Inflammatory articles ; upon what subj-ect? 
Upon the assembling of the convention. 

5014. Are you aware of the character of the speeches made by some of the leaders of the 
convention, several days previous to the meeting of the convention ? 

I made inquiries in reference to a speech made by Dr. Dostie, at the City Hall, and I 
learned that the speech was inflammatory, and calculated to excite. 

5015. Has the peace of the city of New Orleans been maintained since the occurrences of 
the :i0th of July? 

Yes, sir. 

501G. Has it been maintained without any interference upon the part of the military? 

Since the withdrawal of the military governor there has been no interference, and in fact 
tbi re was no interference even while he was acting as military governor, but it enabled us to 
supervise. We were not able, if we felt disposed, to assume the duties of governing the city. 



TESTIMONY OF MAJOR GENERAL PHIL. H. SHERIDAN. 6DL 

We have not sufficient troops. We adopted the other course, therefore, of simply supervising 
the action of the city authorities ; in other words, knowing what they did without undertaking 
to influence their course, unless necessary. 

f>017. State, in your opinion, whether, if the military forces were withdrawn, Union men, 
temperate and conservative in their speech and action, would be likely to be in any way 
molested in this cominunty. 

That involves the necessity of fixing a standard. The people, here are loyal according to 
their own standard of professions, and the question is to know what standard to adopt If 
you put up the American flag and the rebel flag, and cheer for both of them, that would be 
a good standard of loyalty ; but if men of the other extreme hold up their standard of loyalty, 
and maintain it, there would probably be a little trouble here. 

5018. Do you mean that they are willing to hurrah for the national flag, but are not willing 
to reflect any disgrace upon the confederate flag? 

Yes, sir; they would like to keep them both alongside. 

5019. Would the recollections which they cherish for the confederate flag, in your opinion, 
unfit them for allegiance in good faith to the government of the United States, and for obe- 
dience to its laws ? 

That involves almost the same condition I just enunciated. It depends entirely upon 
what the government of the United Siates is going to be to them. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5020. I find in your despatch to General Grant, dated August 2, 1866, this statement : 
"The more information I obtain of the affair of the 30th in this city, the more revolting it 
becomes. It was no riot. It was an absolute massacre by the police, which was not ex- 
celled in murderous cruelty by that of Fort Pillow. It was a murder which the mayor and 
police of the city perpetrated without the shadow of a necessity. Furthermore, I believe it 
was premeditated, and every indication points to this." The question I desire to ask is, 
whether, from the information you now have, including 1 , of course, that you have derived 
from the subsequent investigation before the military commission, you have occasion to 
change that statement; and, if so, in what respect? 

I have no reason to change the statement I made there. That statement, however, was 
founded upon the information, to which I referred in the beginning of my examination, that 
the police were withdrawn and held in readiness, only a few placed at the Mechanics' Insti- 
tute, and as soon as the riot commenced the other policemen were sent there in large force ; 
and from the fact that after the affray commenced, and during its continuance, there was no 
effort made on the part of the mayor or any other civil authority to stop the riot. Further- 
more, it was unnecessary that any violence should have been used. Twenty men could 
have arrested the convention without any violence at all. I infer from these circumstances 
that it was premeditated. 

By the Chairman : 

5021 . Did you receive any anonymous communication after your return that you deemed 
of importance ? 

I had one anonymous communication, the writer of which I thought I knew; I am not 
certain. He signed himself as a confederate officer for three years. He notified me of a cer- 
tain conversation which occurred between Judge Abell, Mayor Monroe, and other persons on 
the street. It was an anonymous communication, and was treated by me as all other anony- 
mous communications are. I put no value on it, but I forwarded it to General Grant, to 
give him a true index of the feeling here. 

5022. What was the purport of that communication? 

So far as I can recollect, the purport of the communication was a threat upon the part of the 
mayor that he, with the police force of the city, could drive the military and Yankees out, 
and other expressions from the gentlemen who were with him that they would tar and feather 
me, and other conversation of that kind. It will be distinctly understood that I paid no 
attention to the communication, and regarded it as of no consequence, but that, thinking I 
knew the writer, I forwarded it to General Grant for the purpose I have stated. 

5023. After the proceedings of the 3Uth of July, and while you were preparing to send 
information to Washington, do you remember to have seen any affidavits against the mayor 
or other parties, making charges against them? If so, state your recollection about that. 

Yes, sir ; I think about two or three weeks after the riot I received an affidavit made be- 
fore Commissioner Heistand, I think ; I believe he was the commissioner at that time ; I am 
not certain. It was presented to me by some gentleman — I do not know who — without any 
communication, so far as I recollect, from Judge Heistand. It was simply placed in my 
hands. I kept it in my possession until the military commission had made out their pro- 
ceedings. Then I enclosed this affidavit with the proceedings, in order to make the case 
complete. In other words, this affidavit was made against those men who were supposed to 
have been engaged in bringing about the riot. There was no evidence showing what that 
affidavit was worth, and I enclosed it with the proceedings to Washington, in order to make 
out a complete case against these men, so that the authorities in Washington might have 
first the affidavit, and then the proceedings of the military commission, to show whether 
there was anything in the evidence to sustain the affidavit. 



352 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

5024. What was your particular object iu sending it to Washington? 
To make the case a complete case. 

5025. With a view of any action in the matter? 

I did not know whether any actio:*, would !»■ taken in the matter or not. I would not take 
any action here because tin- affair bad assumed such proportions that I did not think myself 
justified in any proceedings on my part without direction from my superiors. I therefore 
forwarded the affidavit as I have said. 

5026. To whom did you forward it ? 
To General Grant. 

By the Chairman : 

5027. On the 1st of August you sent to General Grant the following telegram : 

" GENERAL : You are doubtless aware of the serious riot which occurred in this city on the 
30th. A political body, styling itself the convention of 1864, met on the 30th, for, as it is 
alleged, the purpose of remodelling the present constitution of the State. Tin- Leaders were 
political agitators and revolutionary men, and the action of the convention was liable to pro- 
duce breaches of the public peace. 

"I had made up my mind to arrest the head men, if the proceedings of the convention 
were calculated to disturb the tranquillity of the department; but I hail no case for action 
until they committed the overt act. In the mean time, official duty called me to Texas, and 
the mayor of the city, during my absence, suppressed the convention by the use of their 
police force, and in so doing attacked the members of the convention and a party of two 
hundred negroes, and with fire-arms, clubs, and knives, in a manner so unnecessary and 
•atrocious as to compel me to say that it was murder. About forty whites and blacks were 
thus killed, and about one hundred and sixty wounded. Everything is now quiet; but I 
deein it best to maintain a military supremacy iu the city for a few days until the affair is 
fully investigated. I believe the sentiment of the general community is great regret at this 
unnecessary cruelty, and that the police could have made any arrests they saw fit without 
sacrificing lives. 

"P. H. SHERIDAN 
"Major Generul Commanding.'''' 

That telegram was published in one of the New York papers, the Times ; leaving out from 
it this sentence : "In the mean time official duty called me to Texas, and the mayor of the 
city during my absence suppressed the convention by the use of their police force, and in so 
doing attacked the members of the convention and a party of two hundred negroes, and 
with fire-arms, club.s, and knives, in a manner so unnecessary and atrocious as to compel me 
to say it was murder." I wish you to state whether j 7 ou saw that telegram so published; 
and it so, what, it' anything, you did in relation to it. 

I telegraphed to I reneral Grant, making inquiry as to the publication of my despatch with 
a portion of it suppressed, stating that I considered it a violation of military honor. I believe 
I have a copy of that despatch with me. It is as follows : 

"Headquarters Military Division of the Gulf, 

"New Orleans j La., August 9, 1866. 
"Brevet Major General J. A. Rawlins, 

"Chief of Staff, Armies of the United States, Washington, D. C. : 
"I see that my despatch to General Grant of August 1st is published with one paragraph 
suppressed. Can you tell who was guilty of this breach of military honor .' 

"P. H. SHERIDAN, 

"Major General U. S. A. 
" Official copy: 

"T. W. C. MOORE, Aide-dc-Camp.'" 
Here is the. reply of General Grant : 

"Headquarters Akmies of the United States, 

" Washington, D. C, August 10, 1866. 
"Your despatches did not get into print from these headquarters. 
"If you do not object I will ask to have (them) your despatches published iu full. 
"Answer. 

" U. S. GRANT, General. 
" Official copy : 

"T. W. C. MOORE, Aide-de-Camp." 
I theu replied to that telegram as follows : 

"Headquarters Military Division of the Gulf, 

" New Orleans, La., August 11, 1866. 
General 1'. S. GRANT, 

" Commanding Armies of United States, Washington, D. C. : 
"I did not for one moment suppose that my despatch of August 1 was published by au- 
thority from your headquarters. I think I have a right to feel justly indignant at the person 



TESTIMONY OF GEORGE CLARK. 353 

who gave the authority. As to the publication of my other despatches, it is not for me to 
say ; they wore not written for publication, unless my lawful superior chose to make them 
public. 

"P. H. SHERIDAN, 

" Major General U.S. A. 
"Official copy: 

"T. W. C. MOORE, Aide-de-Camp." 

After that the despatches were published. 

5028. Please stair what is the official order when despatches of this character an • forwarded 
by you to General Grant. 

They are ordinal iiy sent by General Grant to the Secretary of War, and, I presume, by the 
Secretuiy of War to the' President. They are sent by me to General Grant, and, if necessary, 
go further to the Secretary of War and President. 



New Orleans, December 31, 186(5. 

GEORGE CLARK, whose name was handed in by a committee of citizens as having a 
knowledge of facts that would throw light upon the subject under investigation, being duly 
sworn, testified as follows: 

By the CHAIRMAN : 

5029. Where do you live? 

I have lived here all my life. 

5030. What is your occupation ? 

Adjuster of averages — what is commonly called at the north an insurance broker. 

5031. Have you been engaged in that business long .' 
About twenty-live y< 

By Mr. Bover : 

5032. If you are acquainted with any facts connected with the riot of the 30th of July 
which would be useful for us to know, please state them. 

I was out of the city for several days before. In the summer my family live out of the 
city. Usually I come back to the city on Mondays, and I came back on Monday, the 30th 
of July, at about half past eleven. As usual I went to my office. I had business at the 
City Hall, as chairman of the finance committee, at 12 o'clock. I went there, and there 
ascertained that there was considerable excitement. I heard the alarm bell rung, and in- 
quired what it meant, and found that the police had been ordered down to the Mechanics' 
Institute. I went down Carondelet street very leisurely till I got to the corner of C'aronde- 
let and Common. Proceeding down Common street a little way, I met the police, who had 
been recently uniformed, running back towards the direction I was coming hi, and I met the 
chief of police stopping them. The citizens and others rallied the police to go down. I 
stopped and talked to some merchants and others. There was a very large crowd. I then 
went on down street towards the Mechanics' Institute. There was very heavy firing at the 
time ; there were a good many shots. I went in front of the Institute, and I met some few 
policemen who got me by the arms and tried to drag me away. Shots were firing from the 
streets and from the windows by the mob in the building. I staid in front ot the Institute 
some time. At that time there were very few people iu the street. I heard that a fracas 
had occurred in front, previous to my arriving there, but the parties had separated, some 
having gone into the building and some having retired. I remained there, I suppose, about 
a half or three-quarters of an hour, but in the mean time the police had arrived at both ends 
of the street, the- police of the second district, under Lieutenant Manning, and the mob gath- 
ered up, composed largely of boys, with clubs, and brickbats, and stones, and made a rush 
into the building. While they were making this rush into the vestibule of the building, I 
stood on the wood fence ou the upper side, west of the building, and noticed that three or 
tour planks of the fence had been torn off. Two or three negroes ran out who had dropped 
from the windows of the building. The windows were very high. They ran through this 
fence, and the mob got after them. My object iu being there was to save life and help quell 
the mob. I had no weapon, but I was there for that sole purpose. I had just arrived from 
the country and was unexpectedly present, and I must admit that I saw a negro killed in 
my presence while I was saving another, lie was either killed or badly hurt ; but I suc- 
ceeded in saving the first man I saw. I saw a number of citizens there trying to do the 
same thing. I remained there about an hour or an hour and a half. The wi ather was ex- 
ec dingly hot; I suffered a great deal from heat. While I was in front of the building, one 
of the parties inside threw np a window about three or four inches, and sung out to my clerk 
in French, "My friend, save me." I said, "Jump out here." This was in the ba-ement. 
He raised the .-ash and jumped out of the window, threw his arm.s around me, and claimed 
my protection. A mob of boys, and I believe some of them were darkies, were determined 
to kill him. As they rushed for him 1 told them not to kill him then, but to haug him in the 
23 N o 



354 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

afternoon. That was Mr. Daunoy. What was remarkable no one knew the mob. I did 
not know a man among them. 1 supposed I knew everybody in New Orleans; I was born 
in the city. I got the man off in safety, and I did the the same thing with others, even a 
number of negroes ; in fact, several negroes have since told me that I saved their lives 
that day. 

50153. Did you see any police doing their duty that day ? 

Yes, sir; I saw them doing their duty at the peril of their lives, and particularly Mr. 
Adams, who knocked down people who assailed those that were brought out of the building. 
Mr. Hahn appealed to me when he came out in charge of the police, and I saw Mr. Adams 
knock down four or five men. With twenty or thirty policemen around they could not save 
him from the mob. The police knocked them down right and left with their maces and with 
their clubs, and the night watchmen who were on duty — the day .police do not carry clubs. 
I have known Mr. Hahn ever since he was a boy. He called on me, "For God's sake," 
said he, " help me to save my life." I called on some old citizens to come and help me. and 
threatened those young men with clubs and brickbats to have them arrested if they dared to 
fire or throw a stone to jeopard the lives of the police. 

50154. Were you in front of the building when the firing began ? 

I got there three or four minutes afterwards, when the police were running away. 

5035. What did they run away for ! 

I do not know ; they were running up Common street; the chief of police and citizens 
stopped them ; myself and other citizens got into the street, stopped them and spoke to them, 
telling them to go back with their chief. I was not there when it commenced. 

By the Chairman : 

5036. What position in public life have you held ? 
That of alderman. 

5037. Do you recollect any other public position you have filled ? 

I was a member of the secession State convention, but I was not a secessionist. 

5038. You mean you were a Union man? 

Yes, sir, till my State went out; then I was a State man. I was one of the five out of 
twenty-four in this city who were elected that were against secession. 

5039. In the proceedings of the convention that you speak of, upon the yea and nay vote 
upon the epiestion of secession, I find among the yeas the name of Clark ; is that your name ? 

Yes, sir. 

5040. Then you were a Union man against secession and voted for it? 

I voted for it; out of one hundred and thirty members we stood one-third to two-thirds. 

5041. The vote stands 112 yeas to 17 nays, and among the yeas is your name. 

Yes, sir; and out of seventeen nays, all but seveu or eight signed the ordinance of seces- 
sion. 

5U4 - 2. Among the proceedings of the convention I find on page 13 as follows : 
" Resolved by the people of Louisiana in court niton asstmbled, That the thanks. of this con- 
vention be hereby tendered to his excellency Thomas O. Moore, governor of the State of 
Louisiana, for the prompt and energetic measures by him adopted in taking possession of 
the forts, arsenals, and munitions of war under the control of the federal government 
within the limits of the State of Louisiana. His acts are here unqualifiedly approved, and 
we will defend them, here and elsewhere, with all the power and means at our command. " 

5043. On a vote being taken the result was 119 yeas and 5 nays; among the yeas I find 
the name of Clark; is that your name ! 

Yes, sir ; but if you will look further back you will find that I voted against the ordinance 
of secession. 

5044. Did you vote approving of the capture by t*he governor of the property of the Uni- 
ted States within the State of Louisiana? Is that so.' 

I do not now recollect whether 1 did or not, but if you look you will find that I opposed 
the ordinance oi secession for four days. 

50 !■">. You do not recollect whether you voted in the affirmative or negative? 

No, sir; I do not remember. 

5040. Do you remember the fact that the governor did take the arsenals, forts,. and mu- 
nitions of war that belonged to the United States .' 

Yes, sir. 

5047. You remember that that epiestion was before the convention for their approval or for 
their action, do you not ? 

No, sir; I do not remember. 

5048. I find among the proceedings of this convention a resolution to the effect that that 
body should unite with the citizens of New Orleans to receive with proper honor their dis- 
tinguished citizen, General 1>. E. Twiggs. It was moved to lay that resolution upon the 
table, when the votes stood five yeas and seventy-live nays. Among the nays I find your 
name. 

Yes, sir ; that is correct, I suppose. 

5049. Major General Twiggs is the officer who betrayed his trust to the United States, is 
he not? 



TESTIMONY OF GEORGE CLARK. 355 

I could not say, sir. I remained in Raton Rouge but four days. I remember, in conse- 
quence of Lying upon a wharf boat, I caught a severe cold, and was confined to my bed 
for several weeks, during which time I was not in the convention — indeed, my death was 
announced in that body. 

5050. You remember, do you not, that General Twigs was the officer who surrendered his 
army to the confederates ' 

Yes, sir. I read it in the papers. 

5051. Was it not that fact which commended itself to the members of the convention, and 
caused that resolution to be passed? 

I have not the remotest recollection of its having come up before the convention. There 
were some of us in that convention who had very little knowledge of what transpired. 

5052. Is not your memory good ? 

Yes, sir, my memory is very good ; but the majority were not permitted to know what 
was done. 

5053. Can you recall any vote that you did give ? 

Yes, sir. I remember I voted against the ordinance of secession. I voted for all the 
amendments substituted. 

5054. How was it that after voting against secession, you are found voting for it? 

At Baton Rouge, when they forced the vote upon the convention, we asked for half an 
hour's recess. Our party had made as many speeches as possible, but they did not respond 
to us or condescend to auswer our speeches. 

5055. How does it happen, if you had spoken against secession, that your name is found 
in the affirmative, while Mr. Rosier's is recorded in the negative ? 

I concluded to go with my people; as the majority decided, I concluded to go with them. 
Some of the best and most prominent citizens that are now considered radicals signed the 
same as I did. 

5056. You are now a member of the city council here now, are you not ? 
Yes, sir. 

5057. Did you see any policemen doing any shooting on the 30th ? 
Yes, sir ; only one man in the police. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5058. I don't quite understand you; if you were opposed to the ordinance of secession 
how is it that your votes appear in the affirmative .' Will you explain? 

We had forty-odd against the ordinance of secession, and we asked for half an hour's 
recess to decide what course we should take. There were Mr. Roselius, Mr. Rosier, Mr. 
Stauffer, and other members of the convention. We retired into the committee room in the 
State House, and consulted about the matter. Then we asked for another half hour. Finally 
we decided to go back to the hall, and every member that chose to change his vote on the 
ordinance should have the privilege of giving his reasons for it. It was the first time that I 
and a great many others had been in a State convention, and I think that we were somewhat 
imposed upon. I have been in public life in New Orleans a great many years, and have had 
ample opportunities to fill high positions, but I never aspired to public offices, and do not 
look upon them as any credit. We went into that convention and adopted a resolution that 
every member should vote as he thought proper, but Mr. Lewis, our leader, stated to the 
convention that a minority had decided in favor of secession, and simply asked permission 
for the members, as they voted, to state their reasons for changing their votes ; and I stated 
my reasons. 

5059. The amount of it is, then, that you were opposed to the ordinance of secession, but 
when you found opposition useless you withdrew your opposition? 

Yes, sir. Finding that there were two-thirds of my people for it, I went with my people. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5060. I understand you that Mr. Roselius and Mr. Rosier did not go in for secession ? 
No, sir. 

Tit Mil. Then you deserted them? 
No, sir ; I did not desert them. 

5062. But they voted against the ordinance of secession, and you for it ? 
No, sir; I staid with their, till the last minute. 

5063. But at the last minute they voted against the ordinance of secession, and you. 
voted for it ? 

I voted for it because the majority of the people voted for it. 

5064. That is, you left Mr. Rosier and Mr. Roselius. 
Yes, sir. 

5065. What is the highest rank you ever attained in the army J 
Colonel. 



356 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New ORLEANS, La., December 31, 1866. 
DEMOSTHENES CHARLES AZARETTO sworn and examined: 

J. F. Mollare sworn as interpreter. 

By the Chairman : 

5066. What is your age ? 
About forty-six. 

5067. Do you live in New Orleans? 
Yes, sir. 

5068. How long have you lived here ? 
I was born here. 

5069. What is your occupation ? 

I am a cigar manufacturer. • 

5070. Were you in the city of New Orleans on the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir. 

5071. Were you wounded that day ? 
Yes, sir. 

5072. By whom ? 
By a policeman. 

5073. How was it done; with a nistol or club? 

I did not see which ; but I think it was with a club. 

5074. Where were you struck? 
In the vestibule of the building. 

5075. State where you were wounded, when it was, and how it happened. 

I was in the hall, and when I hail withstood 200 shots from the police officers, I thought it 
was time for me to go down stairs before they got possession of my person and exterminated 
me ; but before L arrived one-third of the way down stairs I received a lick on the head which 
stunned me. He struck me one lick, but I have three marks on my head. From there I 
was taken by two policemen, with a pistol in each hand, to the station, but I was released 
after giving bonds for $2,000; they made me pay $1 for the bond. 

5076. .State by whom you believe the blow was given to you. 

I am inclined to believe that it was a police officer, because I saw none but police officers 
there. It was when I was on the steps that I was struck and then taken off to the police 
station. 

5077. Do you know of any fact indicating preparation for the rioting ? 
.No, sir : I do not. 



New Orleans, December 31, 1866. 
WILLIAM HENRY WATERS sworn and examined. 

■By the CHAIRMAN: 

5078. What is your age ? 
I am forty years of age. 

5079. Where do you live? 

At the corner of Lafayette and Locust. 

5080; J low long have you lived there .' 

Since 1836 or '37. 

5081. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? 

Yes, sir, I was. 

. r >!!*2. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute ? 

■\ es, sir ; I was a member of the convention at the time. 

5083. What time did you go to the hall? 
I think about eleven o'clock. 

5084. How Long did you stay there .' 

I suppose it was about hall past two when I got out. 

5085. Did you remain in the hall during the time of recess ' 
Yes, sir; 1 was there from eleven o'clock until half past two. 

5086. State the manner in which you escaped. 

After they had been firing at us for about two hours, or two hours and a half, a number of 
policemen, ranged in a line, fired in on the crowd. I walked up to them and said, "I sup- 
pose you will kill me, but 1 wish to surrender." After surrendering, they told me to walk 
down the steps with them. At the bottom of the stairs I was fired at bya policeman. There 
were a number of negroes and white men who went down at the same time, and they cried, 
" We surrender ; we surrender;" but a number of policemen fired at them, and knocked 
thi ei on the head with clubs. I told the policeman who was nearest to me that I gave my- 
self in his charge. The policeman said, "Here's a member ;" and the crowd began hallooing, 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM HENRY WATERS. 357 

"Hang him, kill him." When wo got to the comer of Canal street, he, met a sergeant of 
police, and he said, " Here's a member of the convention." Said he, "Take him to the lock- 
up, and see that he does not get hurt." On Gravier street, in front of the livery stable, they 
cried out, "Hang him, hang him; we have plenty of rope here." At this time a policeman 
ran across the street and said " Damn you, I am going to fix you ;" then the other policeman 
said, "If you shoot him I'll shoot you." 

5087. liad the members of the convention made any preparation to defend themselves by 
arms? 

No, sir; I understood there was no occasion for arms ; that the military would protect us 
if we were attacked. 

5088. Did you see any acts of cruelty except those you have stated ? 

I did not have a chance, for I was taken directly to the lock-up. While I was in the cell 
I called upon the city physician ; I called his attention to the Rev. Dr. Horton, and told him 
that he was in a very bad condition ; that he would die if he remained there ; but the city 
physician would pay no attention to him. I also called his attention to Mr. Fish. I had, 
before that, taken off my undershirt and wiped off the blood that was flowing from Dr. Hor- 
ton's head in a stream. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5089. Was the city physician engaged at the time? 

Well, he came and looked into the cells on three or four occasions while, I was there; he 
also made use of some very abusive language ; he told me we had got just what we deserved ; 
if we joined the Yankees we must expect that. 

509U. What do you know about the police being withdrawn from their beats? 

On Saturday night a policemen told me that the police were withdrawn and taken to the 
different stations. I asked him why he was not withdrawn ? He said, " They have no con- 
fidence in me." 

5091. Did he say anything about' any signal that was to be given? 

Not to me. A policeman on Saturday night said that he met various parties on the street, 
who said that they were preparing for the attack of the convention on Monday, and if they 
did not attack them on Monday morning, they would on Monday night. He said, " I hope 
there will be no difficulty, but that is the talk." 

5092. What do you know about getting arms ? 

As far as my knowledge goes, I cannot say anything about arms, only from hearsay. 

5093. Did you see any arms distributed ? 
No, sir. 

5094. When did you hear it spoken of? 

On the street ; that crowds were allowed to help themselves to arms at a store opposite the 
post office, also at Hyde & Guttridge's ; but I cannot say of my own knowledge. They 
have now changed the name of the store at the corner of Royal and Canal streets. 

f>095. What was the condition of the jail when you were there ? 

Out of the thirty prisoners there, I think, I was the only one not wounded. 

5096. What care was taken of them ? 

None at all while I was there — not even sending them a glass of ice-water. I asked to 
send out for ice-water or lemonade, but I was refused that privilege. 

5097. How crowded was the cell ? 

There were thirty-five in the room in whieh I was. I did not know about the other 
cells. 

5098. You said you had some conversation with a policeman on Saturday night? 

Yes, sir. He said they intended to attack the convention at 12 o'clock on Monday, and 
probably they would make an attack on the negroes and whites on Monday night. 
51 199. Did he say what they would do in making the attack ? 
He said he heard them talking round on the corners of the streets. 

5100. What is the state of feeling here in the city towards Union men ? 

I could not exactly answer that question; but I know that with a great many of them 
their feelings are very bitter — just as much so as when the war broke out. 

5101. If you have any facts that tend to show the state of feeling here, you may state 
them. 

The feeling, as far as I know, with the exception of some few, is just as bitter now as 
when the war first broke out. There is Mr. Christie, and one or two others — I have had 
several conversations with him ; he does not seem to express much bitterness, but many of 
them are still very much embittered. 

5103. Can you give the names of persons who were engaged on Monday in acts of vio- 
lence. ? 

No, sir; I cannot. I prefer not giving them anyhow. I have made enemies enough, 
and do not wish to have my life sacrificed. I think it would be dangerous to give the names. 
I have a family, and do not wish to be knocked on the head. 

5102. Had you opportunities to see any violence offered, or any insults offered, by confed- 
erates to Union men ? 

Yes, sir ; I have seen Union officers insulted with their uniform on. One night I saw 



358 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

three offer insults to Union men, and one of them refused to be arrested. He said he had 
fought four years, and would not be arrested by any damned Yankee soldier. Then the po- 
lieeman wanted to arrest the officer. Then Mr. Lucien Adams stepped up and told the po- 
liceman that it was an outrage, and that he ought to be dismissed from the police. I also 
saw, after the riot, on the coiner of Royal and Canal, a gentleman who had to take the 
middle of the stieet. He was met by a confederate major, who said he would not walk on 
the same banquette with Union men. 

5104. What did the confederate major say? 

He called tbem Yankee sons of bitches — that he would not walk on the same banquette 
with them ; that they must take the middle of the street. That was after the riot. 

5105. What is the character of the police officers, as to their having been in the confed- 
erate service ? 

A large majority of them have been in the confederate service. 

5106. How is it with the officers chosen by the people ? 

It is about the same thing. With the city aldermen, if a man makes application for a 
place, he has to show that he has been a good confederate man, or has served in the confed- 
erate army; then they could get an office. For instance, at an election which took place a 
few weeks ago there were J. P. Welder, 4th assessor's district : A. Van Benthuysen, 5th as- 
sessor's district ; L. S. Harper, 6th assessor's district; Geo. N. White, 8th assessor's district; 
J. B. Leefe, 10th assessor's district; John J. Burnet, 12th assessor's district; all of whom 
have been in the confederacy. 

5107. What have you heard about their drawing swords in favor of the United States or 
against it 1 

I have heard conversations that if war were to break out they would prefer fighting against 
the United States rather than for it. 

5108. As far as you know, is that the state of feeling with that class of people ? 

I would not like to say that it is, of the whole class ; but I have heard men lounging 
about coffee-bouses express themselves in this way. 

5109. You spoke just. now of entertaining fear for your life; is there any reason for a 
Union man apprehending danger to his person or property ? 

A communication was sent to me by a friend cf mine who had been iu the confederacy, 
that 1 had better keep out of the way, that he'had heard parties making threats that they 
would assassinate me if they had an opportunity. 

5110. Suppose the military should be withdrawn, and matters left to take their own course. 
what would the probable result be here ? 

I think it would be dangerous for Union men here. I know I would not care to remain if 
the military were withdrawn. 

By Mr. Bqyer : 

5111. What is your occupation ? 

Clerking. I am now employed by General Benton as an inspector of distilleries. 

5112. You read from a printed list names of persons holding some office who, you say, 
have been in the confederate army ; what offices do these persons now hold ? 

They are elected assessors for the city of New Orleans. 

5113. Were you a member of the convention ? 
Yes, sir. 

5114. Were you active in calling the convention together on the 30th of July last ? 
No, sir. 

5115. Were you one of the forty that met at the custom-house at the preliminary meeting? 
Yes, sir. 

51 16. Were you in the confederate army ? 
No, sir. 

51 17. Were you here at the outbreak of the war ? 
Yes, sir. 

5118. Did you remain here afterwards ?. 
Yes, sir. 

5119. Did you contribute towards the support of the confederacy? 

No, sir. I was captain in a company under Governor Moore, but I w r as never called out. 

5120. Was that a confederate company ? 
Yes, sir ; militia. 

5121. Did you volunteer in it ? 

No, sir; 1 had to do that or go into the war. 

5122. Did you volunteer ? 
1 raised a company. 

5123. Then you raised a company voluntarily ? 
Of course, sir. 

5124. Did you take the oath of allegiance to the confederacy? 
I did, sir; I had to do it or leave. 

5125. You were not obliged to raise a company and take command of it? 

No, sir, 1 was not. I had to turn out in the militia or be impressed. Every man had to 
do one or the other. 



TESTIMONY OF J. M. LAPEYRE. 6b\) 

5126. Did you do any fighting ? 

No, sir; the company never turned out. 

5127. Since what time have you been a Union man ? 
Since General Banks came here. 

5128. Did vou sympathize with the objects of the convention held here on the 30th of July 
last? 

From what I understood in calling the convention together, it was simply to see how many 
members would answer to their names. 

5129. I asked you if you sympathized with their objects, which was to amend the consti- 
tution of the State in relation to negro suffrage and the disfranchisement of rebels? 

I did, sir; but I didn't hear anything about disfranchising the rebels. 

5130. Did you not hear that stated at the meeting held before the convention? 
No, sir; I did not think they possessed the power to do it. 

5131. Do you think they possess the power to so amend the constitution as to give 
suffrage to negroes? 

Yes, sir, I do. 

5132. Did you express your feelings freely ? 
Yes, sir. 

5133. Have you ever upon any occasion suffered violence from any person here ? 

No, sir; but not long after the riot there was a party came up to me and looked at me in 
a very insulting way for the purpose of making me say something, and 1 have no doubt if 
I had I should have been assassinated then and there. 

5134. Your imagination is very lively, is it not? 

No, sir; but when 1 was looked at in that way, I knew what it meant by his eyes. 

5135. You spoke of arms being taken out of stores just before the 30th of July ; do you 
know anything in relation to that matter except from hearsay ? 

No, sir ; only from hearsay. 

5136. Can you name any person whom you have heard, since the riot of the 30th of July, 
express any hostility to the government ? 

I could if I felt disposed to name them, a good many. 

5137. Don't you feel disposed to do it? 
No, sir. 

5138. Is it because your memory fails you, or have you other reasons ? 

I do not think it would be safe; I have enemies enough already, and I do not wish to 
make any more. 

5139. Then j^ou decline to give any names ? 
Yes, sir. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
J. M. LAPEYRE, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as having a 
knowledge of facts deemed important to be commuuicated, being duly sworn, testified as 
follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5140. How long have you resided in New Orleans ? 
Thirty-four years. 

5141. What is your age ? 
I am sixty-six. 

5142. How long have you been engaged iu business here? 
All the time, sir. 

5143. Are you still engaged in business? 
Yes, sir ; I am a banker. 

5144. Have you any personal knowledge of the facts connected with the riot on the 30th 
of July? 

None at all. 

5145. As an old resident and business man of this place, state what the public sentiment 
and feeling are iu this community with reference to the government of the United States. 

As far as I know, I know of no one who is in any way opposed to the government of the 
United States or dislikes it. 

5146. May the citizens of this community be depended upon for obedience to the govern- 
ment and the laws of the United States ? 

I think so. 

5147. Are the persons and property of men who call themselves Union men in this com- 
munity safe ? 

As far as I know, they are as sife as anybody else. 

5148. Is there any hindrance in this community to the free expression of opinion ? 

Not that I kuow of. In fact there is a paper here, called the New Orleans Tribune, which 



3G0 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

publishes articles tliat certainly are very, obnoxious to the general sentiment, but nobody 
interferes with it. 

, r >14!). Is the fact of a man having been a citizen of this community, and opposed originally 
to secession, any hindrance to him in business? 

On the contrary, 1 know of several of them who were originally Union men, who always 
opposed secession, who are held in the highest esteem; such as Mr. Rosier, Mr. Roselius, 
and many others. This is the case, unless there is something in the character of the person, 
something of a personal nature, that injures him in the eyes of the community. 

5150. Then, if there are Union men in this community that have not the respect of the 
people, you think it is owing to something else than their political opinions ? 

Certainly, sir, it is. 

By the Chairman: 

5151. You alluded to Mr. Roselius as a Union man, who can live here safely ; do you re- 
member it he was a member of the secession convention? 

Yes, sir, he was. 

5152. Do you remember that he voted, on a call of the yeas and nays, to give a public 
reception to General Twiggs after he had surrendered the United States army in Texas .' 

I do not recollect. 

5153. Did he not do that? 

I do not know. * 

5154. Would not that kind of unionism be calculated to heighten his standing here, that 
he voted for the public reception of General Twiggs ? 

I do not know. Whatever his actions may have been, he is highly respected by every- 
body. 

5 1 55. Do you know that he voted in the convention for a resolution appointing a com- 
mittee to fire a salute in honor of the election of Jefferson Davis and A. H. Stephens as 
President and Vice-President of the confederacy? 

I do not know in what way he voted in the convention, because it was a rumor. I was 
not a member of the convention. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5156. I find it recorded in the proceedings of the convention that a resolution was passed 
unanimously, Mr. Roselius being a member of the convention. 

I do not know ; I was not a member of the convention. 

5157. Here is the resolution, which I find on the forty-sixth page of the minutes of 
that convention, and which it appears was unanimously voted : "Resulced, That this con- 
vention receives with cordial approval the intelligence this day received by telegraph of the 
election of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, as President, and Alexander H. .Stephens, of 
Georgia, as Vice-President, of the provisional government of the southern republic." Do 
you not know that that resolution passed unanimously? 

1 do not; I did not interfere much in politics. 

5158. 1 wish to call your attention to another thing, as you have mentioned Mr. Roselius 
as a good Union man; do you remember the fact that the governor of Louisiana seized and 
appropriated to the rebellion the property of the United States at the custom-house and at the 
mint ! In the convention the question of whether the governor did right or wrong came up, 
and 1 find the following entry at the fourteenth page of the proceedings of the secession con- 
vention : " On motion by Mr. Wilkinson. Mr. Bush's resolution approving of the course of 
the governor in taking possession of the forts, arsenals, and munitions of war within the 
limits of this State, was taken up, and on further motion by the same member to adopt the 
same resolution^ seconded by Mr. Herron, Mr. Davidson called for the yeas and nays; they 
resulted as follows, to wit." I find among those recorded in the affirmative as votingforfche 
resolution, Mr. Roselius, approving the conduct of the governor in seizing the property of 
the United States and appropriating it to the rebellion. Was not Mr. Roselius generally 
represented in this community to have voted in that way ! 

Not being a politician, .and not being a member of the convention, I do not know their 
votes, but 1 believe it was understood generally that Mr. Roselius was opposed to secession. 

5159. Are you a Union man .' 
Yes, sir; 1 have been all the time. 

5160. Do you hold the opinion thai those who held office in the rebellion and made war 
against the United Stales were guilty of treason and ought to be punished as traitors? 

I do not think so. 

5161. Vou do not think they were guilty of any crime when they made war against the 
United States .' 

I think they acted in the way that they thought right, though they might have been 
mistaken. 

5162. Do you think now that those men that made the war against the United States did, 
in fact, do wrong ? 

Yes, sir; I think they did wrong. 

f>ll>:5. Do you think they coVnmitted treason? 

No, sir ; I do not think they intended treason. 



TESTIMONY OF J. RANDALL TERRY. 361 

By the CHAIRMAN : 

5104. You do not know how Mr. Roselius voted on those different occasions? 
No, sir. 

5105. Supposing he did vote just 'as you find it on the record would it not be a good 
reason why he would have his business taken care of in this community; would it not ma- 
terially help him ! 

I do not know. Mr. Roselius before that had already a very largo practice, and it was 
among what is called Union men that he got it. 

5166. And those sentiments might help him to keep his practice? 

It might, but still I must say that Mr. Roselius is generally known as a Union man, and 
I have heard people complain that he was not southern enough to satisfy the people. 

5167. Were any of your family in the war? 

Yes, sir ; 1 had a brother-in-law in the war, a brother of my wife. 

5168. Did you contribute anything to the war? 
No, sir. 

5169. Were you not called upon ? 

Yes, sir : 1 was president of a bank then, and I contributed something to furnish some 
companies, as all the banks did. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5170. Were you compelled to do that? 

There was a moral, though not a material compulsion, as in the case of subscribing to 
the bonds of the State ; the people were compelled to subscribe to them, for if they did not 
the bank would have had to shut up. 



New Orleans, December 31, 1SG6. 
J. RANDALL TERRY sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5171. What is your age.? 
Thirty-three. 

5172. Where do you live ? 

Corner of Poudras and Rampart streets. 

5173. How long have you lived in New Orleans ? 
Since 1858. 

5174. Were you in this city on the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir. 

5175. Were you examined before the military commission ? 
No, sir ; I was not. 

5176. Did you see any act of violence committed on that day? 

I saw the killing of a colored man near my store, near the corner of Poudras and Ram- 
part, a drug store. 

5177. Where is that with reference to the Mechanics' Institute? 
It is about two squares from the Institute, towards the south. 

5178. State what you saw, and what time of the day it happened. 

I might state first what occurred before twelve o'clock. I had been a little bit indisposed 
for a day or two, with an attack of rheumatism, and having been warned by my clerk, who 
had beeu in the rebel army, that everybody would be slaughtered who went to the Me- 
chanics' Institute that day, I refrained from going ; and I remarked that when any colored 
man passed the store, there would be a cry by those hanging round there, "There goes an- 
other devil walking to his funeral." This kept me on the look-out that something would 
occur, and the moment I heard the bell ring I ordered the store to be closed. In less than 
five minutes every store in the neighborhood was closed. About one o'clock a colored man 
took refuge in my yard, and two men pursued him through the yard, firing pistols at him. 
I closed my room at the rear of the store; at the same time a cry was raised, "There is a 
damned convention man in the store; we must have him out." This I heard from four per- 
sons, two of whom I can identify. They said I had escaped from the convention, but they 
wen- going to " pink" me ; they had revolvers in their hands. 

517'j. What became of the negro you spoke of? 

The negro was George Steptoe, a colored minister. I screened him and hid him in the 
upper part of my house. He was wounded, though. 

5180. What do you know about any preconcerted arrangements for this massacre? 

I only know of what I was informed by my clerk. This was on Saturday. I sent him 
out to see what was the excitement in the town, and he brought me word that the young 
men were visiting the stores around town where pistols were for sale, and arming themselves. 
He also told me that he understood the firem'en were to be armed, and warned me not to go 
to the convention on Monday. On the Sunday following, that is, the day before the conven- 



362 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



tion, he stated that the firemen were to come out at the tap of the bell, and that everything 
was arranged to slaughter every one who went there, and I thought I would act upon his 
suggestion and stay away. My attack of rheumatism rendered me very anxious. Mr. How- 
ell called on me, and I told him what I had heard, and that 1 believed' it; and I warned 
him not to go near the convention, and I told him to tell Doctor Dostie, Governor Hahn, Mr. 
Field, and the rest of the members, and I advised them to meet at the custom-house or in 
the district court-room instead of going to the Mechanics' Institute; but Mr. Howell seemed 
to be laboring under the impression that there, was going to be no trouble — that there would 
not be the least trouble, and he said they would be called cowards if they did not go. I am 
well aware and satisfied that if I hud been upon the street, or even stood in the door of my 
store, I should have been shot down, from the threats that had been made. 

By Mr. Siiellabargf.r : 

5181. You said that two persons spoke in your hearing of "pinking" you? 

I can point out two that, said so, as they sat in a coffee-house, and this was said whilst 
one of them was pointing his revolver towards me as I was iu my store. One of them keeps 
a coffee-stand and the other is a night policeman. 

5182. What was he pointing his revolver at you for? 

He said I was a damned son-of-a-bitch, and that he wanted to shoot me; he was a night 
policeman. The danger was so great that I had to send my wife to headquarters for military 
assistance; and I had to send my wife to the office of the chief of police for safety, the mili- 
tary governor assuring me that the police were then under the jurisdiction of the military. 

5183. Why did you fear personal violence ? 

It seems that I had been ton prominent here. After the taking of the city by General But- 
ler I had always moved in public life. I have been in the treasury department ; I have been 
State assessor ; I have been register of voters, and a member of the convention of 1864. At 
half-past eleven, on the 3Uth, a detective called iu my store and asked to see me very partic- 
ularly. He was told I was sick. He seemed to doubt it, aud asked if I had been out on 
Saturday or Sunday ; and he wanted to know very particulary if I was not in the house, but 
he was satisfied by my wife that I was ill in the house. 

5184. What is the state of feeling in the city towards those who are known to be friendly 
to the Union — known to be loyal men ? 

Men known as truly loyal men, and tainted with universal suffrage, are marked men. 

5185. Marked for what ? 

Marked for future vengeance. I can prove it to you. I was an intimate and bosom friend 
of Dr. Dostie's, and that is the reason why I have enemies. Anotherreason for their hatred is, 
that I was a moving man in all their processions and demonstrations. Last Sunday night four 
weeks ago — but I should say that in my show-window is hung a picture styled " Yankee 
perfumes." Between six and seven o'clock in the evening I have been in the habit of look- 
ing around my premises. This evening I found four men standing on the corner. I did not 
like their looks. And these men came round the window and made remarks about the pic- 
ture, and they were looking through at me in any way but friendly. I said to my wife, I wish 
you would go round to the front and hear what those men are talking about. She went 
round, aud one of them repeated these words : "Bill, that damned man won't come out here 
to-night. The best thing we can do is to go in and shoot the damned son-of-a-bitch behind 
his counter." This was on Sunday evening. Since the riot I have never trusted myself out 
at night. I cannot close my store without a revolver in my bosom. I can tell which way 
the rebel wind blows; by the looks on their faces I can tell. Wifhin the last twenty-four 
hours their cry is, sugar is to succeed to vinegar, meaning that they are now going to use 
sweet words. There is Mr. McGowau; he is a policeman on my beat. He told me these 
words — this was, gentlemen, when you came on here — "There is enough against Monroe 
to send him to the Dry Tortugas, and I hope they will send him there." These were the 
words he told me. There seems to be some intimidation in the town. The persons who visit 
this Committee are marked men. They say if persons want to live here they had betternot visit 
this committee. I know it from remarks of policemen on my beat. One of them said it would 
be best for persons who are going to remain here to keep clear of this committee. I sent for 
military assistance on the evening of the 30th. 1 sent my wife and the clerk to Colonel Lee. 
He informed me that the city was so dangerous that if he sent up a guard they would be 
likely to be overpowered and slaughtered, and that if 1 could come to the military quarters 
we would be protected. When we were going from l'hilippi to Dryades two policemen were 
coming through the market — this was as late as five o'clock in the evening — a negro was 
running across the market. The policeman was right near my wife; raised his revolver and 
shot down a negro. The other took a large knife and killed him, and the other took a bowie- 
knife and ripped up his entrails. 

5l^'.t. Did you see him ! 

I did not see him do the act, but my clerk did, but I saw the policeman in the street; it is 
not more than a hundred feet from my store. After the negro had been there about five 
minutes, a baggage wagon came up and took him away. I counted four or five baggage 
wagons that day ilia! had picked up the dead aud wounded. 

51«7. Could you tell whether any of those who were thrown into the carts were alive 1 



TESTIMONY OF J. RANDALL TERRY. 363 

I saw some in the carts sitting up and moving their hands that day. 

5188. Do you know how they were treated? 

I saw no ill-treatment when they were passing my door. 

5189. Are men who refused to support the confederate armies and to support the con- 
federate cause safe here I 

No, sir; no prominent Union man is safe here. 

5190. What kind of men can get into public offices here? 

Men that have served in the rebel army, and can bring certificates of their service in that 
cause. 

5191. How do you know that ? 

From a dozen policemen. They required positive assurance that you had been in the 
rebel service, before you could get employment. I wish to say, as far as living in safety in 
this city is concerned, that some of my best friends have been killed, and I know they have 
been wrongly killed. They delivered themselves as prisoners and were slaughtered. These 
men went unprepared, in spite of all the messages I could send them. They still believed 
there was no danger. I am not fearful of my own life, although I am preparing every day, 
and do not know but I may sell out within the next twenty-four hours and leave this city 
for good ; but I consider that nothing can be done, for I believe the same things will be done 
again if the opportunity occurs. 

5192. What do you mean? 

I mean that the moment the military are withdrawn, and if such. a thing as universal 
suffrage is carried here, these streets will run with blood — these people are not to be con- 
quered. Now they use sugar ; they use soft words, but 'they contemplate that in two years 
they will have every thing their own way. This place may be safe for six months for Union 
men, but not after that. I could not be hired for any pi ice to go forth after hours. I con- 
sider myself a marked man. They r have even tried to burn me out in my r own place of busi- 
ness ; but I have had nothing to do with politics for two years. I retired to private life and 
did not meddle any more with politics. 

5193. Were you a member of the convention ? 
I was, in 1864. 

5194. Did you have anything to do with the convention of 1866? 

Nothing, save attending one meeting, when I retired. They came to me to attend the 
Monday meeting, but 1 was satisfied there was danger and I did not go near it. 

By Mr. Boykr: 

5194£. I understand you to say that you were satisfied there would be a massacre. 
Yes, sir. 

5195. How long before? 

From before twelve o'clock that day. 

5196. Did you warn Dr. Dostie? 
I sent word to Judge Howell. 

5197. I want to know if you warned Dr. Dostie? 
Yes, sir. 

5198. Who else did you warn? 
Mr. Halm. 

5199. Who else? 
Colonel Field. 

5200. Who else? 
I think that is all. 

5201. WTiat did they say? 

They laughed at me, and said there is no danger, and treated it as a perfectly crazy re- 
mark. 

5202. You spoke of truly loyal men. Do you consider any man here as a truly loyal man 
who does not favor negro suffrage ? 

Yes, sir, I do. They may have their own views. 

5203. Do you favor negro suffrage ? 

I do favor it, but I think it wiil be the cause of a great deal of bloodshed; and, consid 
ering the bloodshed it will bring, I might not favor it were I a prominent man. 

5204. Are you still in favor ot it ? 

I would not take part in bringing it about, there is so much danger in it. 

5205. Were you ever in the rebel army ? 
No, sir. 

5206. Did. you contribute to the support of the rebels in any way ? 
Not one single picayune. 

5207. Were you here at the outbreak of the war ? 
Yes, sir. 

5208. Were you asked to contribute ? 

I was in too poor circumstances to be asked. 

5209. W T ould you have contributed had you been in better circumstances ? 
No, sir. 



364 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

5210. What were yon doing at the outbreak of the war ? 

Decorating parlors and saloons. 

."-.'I I. Since thai you have'become a drugpst? 

Yes, sir : I was previously a druggist, and have gone bach to my old profession. 

5212. Arc you in better circumstances now than you were then ? 
Yes, sir. 

5213. Then you have flourished here ? 
Yes, sir. 

5214. Then a Union man like you can succeed in business here? 

Yes, sir, and make money. My customers have been principally among the colored 
people. 

5215. You say, just now the policy is to use sugar. Who did you hear say that? 

Well, soini' of these policemen said so. Mr. Mullen said "these fellows are coming and 
we must sugar them now." 

5216. Who else did you hear say so? 

I think that is the only one; though it seems to be a common remark of my rebel neigh- 
bors. 

5217. Did you hear any one else make such a remark? 

I hear such remarks on the sidewalk as I am standing by my own door. 

5218. How comes it if you are such a marked man that they have so much to say in your 
hearing ? 

They don't confide in me. They talk occasionally under the influence of liquor, and I 
hear them. 

5219. Is your store a resort for rebels ? 
I am in a rebel neighborhood. 

5220. Have you ever been hurt? 
No, sir. 

5221. Have you ever been assailed in any way? 

I avoid them. Coming up stairs this evening a policeman tried to pick a quarrel with me. 

5222. Did any one ever offer you violence in any way ? 
No, sir. 

5223. Where did you come from originally ? 
From the city of New York. 

5224. Did you ever hold any office here under the federal government since the war ? 
I held the office of treasury agent under Mr. Flanders. 

5225. Are you an applicant for office now ? 
No, sir, and do not want one. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 1866. 
BERNARD WILLIAMS sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5226. How old are you ? 
1 am forty-two. 

5227. Where do you live 1 
In the city of New Orleans. 

5228*. How long have you lived here ? 
Fbr the last seven years. 

5229. Have yon had any notice lately to leave town ? 

Yes, sir. When the commission came here last Monday Mr. Gullman and Mr. Harris 
came up to me and said they came to give me warning to leave the city. I asked them 
why? They told me that the commission was here to investigate almni the riot. I told 
them that I would not go from the city. They said if I did not 1 should be killed. They 
came the next day and told me the same thing. They told me they would give me $600. I 
told them I would not leave if they gave me s(i,li(iii. 1 said I would not go. Then they 
went and lodged a complaint against me for using abusive language to them. I went to the 
commanding general, Major Fry, in the Union army. 1 called on him and told him what 
had happened, and he bailed me out. When he bailed me out they got up another charge 
that I had abused them, and I was again taken up. The next day they came to me and 
asked me what 1 was going to do? They said I could not stay here; that if it were neces- 
sary they would have me taken up fifty times, and that I could get no person to bail me out. 
I said I wotdd nut leave. The next day they got another affidavit in the second district. 
When they got that affidavit I got another Union man to go security for me. My wife went 
to Major Fry, who informed a friend of his, and he bailed me out again. 

5230. Were you in the city on the 30th of July last / 
Yes, sir. 

52:31. Did you see Captain Loup when ho was killed? 



TESTIMONY OF BERNARD WILLIAMS. 365 

Yes, sir. I was hi a tailor's shop on Baronne street. The first shot was fired at him by a 
young man, a Mr. Gullman, \\ lio lives in this city at 86 Dauphin street. 

5232. Is he a returned confederate? 

He was in the confederate army, I believe, but I cannot say for sure, but I know he is a 
confederate. 

5233. Was he a policeman? 

No, sir. I saw him fire the first shot at Captain Loup. 

5234. What else did you see? 

When Captain Loup received his shot from Gullman, Oscar Basco, alittleman, came up to 
him and he said " You Yankee bastard !" and he took a revolver and hit him, on the temple ; 
he hit liim twice with his revolver. 

5235. Was Captain Loup killed? 

After Basco gave him two blows, a man by the name of Joseph Lazarus came up when 
Captain Loup was down and said " You Yankee bastard!" and he took his pistol and shot 
him right in the body. 

5236. Is Lazarus a policeman? 
No, sir, he is a confederate soldier. 

5237. What was Captain Loup doing when they attacked him ? 

Nothing. I did not see him do anything. Wnen I came out from my shop I found him 
about three steps from me. 

5238. Did you see anybody else attacked besides Captain Loup? 

Lots of people.' I think Basco shot one colored man, and I saw him go up to a colored 
man who was down, with a knife in each hand, and stab him at the same instant on each side 
as he lay on the ground. 

5239. Where was that? 

On Baronne street, not far from the livery stable. I also saw a policeman take a furniture 
wagon, and they took Captain Loup and put him right in, and when they threw him in, a 
gentleman by the name of Frank took a brick in his hand and gave him a blow on his face 
as he lay in the wagon. Frank lives at 6b' Poydras street, between Carondelet and St. Giles 
streets, lie repairs watches. 

5240. Was Captain Loup alive when he did that ? 

I did not see. Basco was after me ; I had no time to observe, and I ran through Ram- 
part till I came home, where I had to hide myself. 

524 1 . How did you know he was after you ? 

He followed me, and he said, " Kill the Yankee bastard," and he shot at me once. 

5242. Whereabouts were you when you were shot at? 
At Petitot street. 

5243. How do you know he shot at you ? 

I saw him when he' started after me, and he. halloed after me and followed me through 
Business street till I jumped over a fence. 

5244. Give the names of the men who told you that you must go out of town. 
Gullman ; it was the same Gullman I spoke of before. 

5245. Where does he live? 

He is a baker at the Jewish synagogue. 
524b'. Are you well acquainted with Captain Loup? 

Yes, sir ; 1 served under him, and I know him, and he is a good man, and I know his 
family. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5247. When were you told to leave this city? 
Last Monday, for the first time. 

5248. Was Gullman the man who told you first ? 
Yes, sir, and Mr. Harris. 

5249. Where does Harris live? 
I do not know. 

5250. Are either of these men police officers ? 
No, sir. 

5-2.") 1 . Was the man who shot Captain Loup known to you before ? 
Yes, sir. 

5252. Where is he now ? 

He is in town ; he is on Dauphin street; his name is Mr. Gullman; young Mr. Gri 
He has long hair, and is practicing as a lawyer. It was he that gave the first shot to Captain 
Loup. 

5253. Were those two Gullmans you spoke of related ? 

Yes, sir, of course they are related. One is step-son and the other is step-father. 

5254. Do you know the first name of either of them ? 

No, sir. He cannot deny to my face that he shot him. I can bring two men here that 
saw it as well as I did. I saw it perfectly plain; that he took out his revolver and fired at 
him. 

5255. What was the reason Gullman wanted you to leave the city when they found out 
the congressional committee was here ? 



366 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

They thought they would get somebody to look after them. The first time they sent for 
me 1 was not there, and they thought there would be trouble, and they wanted me out of 
the way. 

5256. Are you a Jew ? 
Yes, sir. 

5257. What is your occupation? 

Before I had a store I was a baker for the government; now I keep a little coffee-house. 

5258. Weir you ever in the confederate army .' 
No, sir. 

5259. Are you an applicant for office of any kind ? 
No, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

5200. You say somebody offered you money to leave the city ? 

Yes, sir ; somebody offered me again last night between six and seven o'clock. It was a 
person, and Mr. Harris was with him, and said if I would not go away I would be killed. 
5261. Whri heard them offer you money? 
A man named Phillips heard it. 



New Orleans, La., December 31, 18G6. 
THOMAS S. CRAWFORD sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 
5262. What is your age? 
I am forty-eight. 
5*263. Where do you live? 
In the parish of Caldwell, in the northern part of Louisiana. 

5264. Are you a judge ? 

Yes, sir ; of the twelfth district court. State of Louisiana. 

5265. Were you in New Orleans on the 3(Jth of July ? 
No, sir. 

5266. How long have you been in Louisiana ? 
Since the early part of February, 1840. 
5207. When did you come to New Orleans? 
Last Friday week. 

5268. What is the condition of feeling in the part of the State where you live, on the part 
of the people, towards Union men and friends of the Union? 

That is a very difficult question for me to answer intelligibly. In the portion of the coun- 
try where I live, and have lived since 1642, we. had a large majority of Union men there on 
the original vote — that is, the first vote for secession — and there are a great many there yet. 
There are some men who are disappointed in their feelings who are hostile to the government 
of the United States, but I do not think they are in the majority. 

By Mr. Boyhr : 

5269. Would the Union men in your district, at an election, be able to out-vote those who 
are hostile to the government? 

My impression is that the Union men would out-vote largely any man who should express 
■hostility to the governmeijt; but a man who should express loyalty, although he might create 
suspicion in my mind, might succeed. In Caldwell there were three candidates for the legis- 
lature. The parish was entitled to two members. There were two Union candidates, and 
the other, who had professed to be loyal, had been a captain in the rebel army, and was sus- 
pected of acting with the rebels. The Union man was elected, and one, an advocate of ne- 
gro suffrage, was beaten by a small majority. In Caldwell we elected the senator for the 
district and the representative by, I believe, over one hundred majority, and our parish does 
not vote more than four hundred. They were both members of the convention that passed 
the ordinance of secession, but both voted against it. In the parish of the Wachita the con- 
test was between a Union man and a lieutenant in the rebel army. The lieutenant was 
elected by a majority of four. In Franklin, Mr. Ward, and a man by the name of Bouie, a 
major in the rebel army, and I believe an anti-secessionist, but went afterwards into the 
army, was elected by some twenty majority. 

5270. Could all these candidates be confided in for their faithfulness to the government? 
Certainly, all the Union men, and those I thought to be doubtful professed to be Union 

men. 

5271. When was that election held ? 
In April last. 

5272. Was the election a free and unrestricted one? 
Perfectly so. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS S. CRAWFORD. 367 

5273. An Union men of your district safe in person and property without the protection 
of military force ! 

I can only answer that according to my opinion. My belief is, and I have a pretty good 
opportunity to know, that the Union man who did not make himself obnoxious by imprudent 
expressions would be safe. I am certain that he would be, from the majority of the inhab- 
itants being Union men. But there is throughout that district, and in the parish of Frank- 
lin and Morehouse, a minority who would be glad to make it unsafe for Union men, and 
any Union man who should mix up with riotous meetings would, I think, be in danger, 

5274. If Louisiana were restored to her former position in the Union and allowed repre- 
sentation, would the. Union majority in your district be able to maintain itself and enforce 
the laws ? 

It would be hard for me to tell how it would be. I think they would be able to enforce 
the laws with a moderate degree of certainty, not entirely. Indeed, laws are hardly en- 
forced anywhere with perfect exactness ; and I think if Louisiana was restored to the Union 
that it would probably restore the feeling of confidence to Union men. At the same time 
there is a reckless class which I regard as dangerous to Union men, whether restored or not, 
but I think the majority in that district would be law-abiding and loyal, though there is a 
considerable number who are not. 

5275. Would they not be as safe then as now, since they are in the majority ? 

I have some doubts about that. I think there is a disposition among certain classes that 
might control the elections, not to do a violence, but to exclude them from all State and 
local offices. I think it is a general feeling among classes of disloyal people, and I have 
been forced to submit. 1 hey might control general electious in some parishes, and I am 
satisfied there is a disposition to exclude Union men from office and positions of trust, but I 
do not think there is a general disposition to subject them to personal violence. 

5276. Do you speak of your district especially, or of the State at large ? 

My knowledge is mostly in regard to my own district, but I have some knowledge of the 
State at large. I think it would be a very close contest. If there was a contest iu my dis- 
trict between the Union men and the men who have been active in the rebellion, I think the 
contest would be very close. In Caldwell there is a Union majority. In Franklin and 
Morehouse the men who had been Union would receive a small majority. Wachita, I 
think, is nearly a tie. I think a man opposed to the government would not get a decent 
majority. 

5277. Then it is your opinion that the mass of citizens are obedient to the government, in 
good faith, without regard to their former association with the rebellion .' 

I think that the majority are. I think at the same time that many who constitute that 
majority have their own ideas about what the government ought to do. 

5278. They could be influenced, you think, by the course of policy pursued by the gov- 
ernment ? 

Yes, sir. As to the safety of Union men, I do not imagine that a man, or that few men, 
have been none loyal to the government during the war than I have. I had to leave during 
the war, and had no safeguard, no protection, but have never been insulted in any way. 
You may be satisfied that there is no living man to whom the disloyal element is more hos- 
tile than to me. 

5279. In how many places in your district have you held court ? 
In five. 

5280. Slate whether any distinction is made, iu the administration of justice, between 
Union men and others. 

I have seen no evidence of it. Nothing of the kind has come to my knowdedge in open 
court. In one instance I thought it had its influence in the grand jury. 1 am not con- 
scious of any man's having shows l'i s political status in a court of justice. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 
5231. What were the names of those members of the secession convention who were elected 
to the legislature I 

Wade H. Hough and C. C. Meredith. 

5282. Are you acquainted with the character of the members of legislature now in ex- 
istence ? 

Only with a, few of the members. 

5283. Ave the majority of them rebels, or Union men ? 

I believe a lar^e majority were rebels, but I do not absolutely know. It is according to 
general information. 

5284. When were they elected ? 
Last spring, about April. 

5285. How long do they continue in the legislature? 

I do not know certainly. Two years under ordinary elections in the lower branch. The 
senate is elected for four years. This legislature, I believe, does not serve longer than next 
November. I think there was no election this fall for the legislature. 

5236. Is there one for next fall ? 

I think so. 



3G8 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

The witness then volunteered the following testimony: 

For six veins there lias been a great deal said as to whether the colored population could g-ct 
justice before the courts of the State. I think that one-half, within a very small fraction, of 
the people within the district where I reside are colored, the rest are white. The convictions 
for crime have been, I believe, nearly the same. I think since the fall term there have been 
forty-two convicted— twenty-two whites, and twenty colored ; the population being nearly 
equal. I am satisfied that throughout my district, in every trial that has taken place the 
colored people have all had a fair trial and exact justice, except two. One colored man was 
convicted of larceny) and I was satisfied on the trial that he was not guilty, and that if he 
bad been white he would have been acquitted. I set the verdict aside. One colored man 
was clearly guilty of assault, with intent to murder, and he was acquitted. With the excep- 
tion of these cases they have had a fair trial, aud both srrand and petit juries have tried to 
render exact j ustice. 



Neav Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
ALFKED PENN, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens of New Orleans 
to give the committee information in relation to facts within his knowledge, as should seem 
to him important to communicate, being duly sworn, testified as follows: 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5287. How long have you resided in New Orleans ? 
I have been here, I suppose, forty years. 

5288. In what business are you engaged? 

I am president of the Union Bank, aud have been so for ten or fifteen years. 

5289. Are you personally acquainted with any of the incidents of the riot of the 30th of 
July? 

I happened to be on Canal street, and seeing that the people were closing up their stores, 
I had the bank closed, with the exception of the door ; but I did not see any of the riot .' 

5290. At what time of the day was it that you saw the doors of the stores being closed ? 
About 12 o'clock. 

5291. Had the riot already begun ? 

I was sitting in my back office; when on going to the front I was told there was a riot 
on the streets below Baronne street, but I did not go out to observe it except when they told 
me they were shutting up their stores. 

5292. From anything you know of the condition of public feeling, did you anticipate a riot 
on that day .' 

No, sir. I heard some speaking in the Lafayette square, in front of my window, anil from 
remarks I saw in the papers, I thought something might occur. 

5293. What speaking do you refer to? 

There were two speakers on Lafayette square, Avhere my house is ; it was a public meeting. 
Mr. I [enderson and Mr. Dostie spoke ; I did not hear them, and only formed niy opinion by 
w bat I saw in the papers. 

iV-ilM. From your knowledge of the public feeling of this community, can you staie whether 
the people here can be depended upon for obedience to the government of the United States 
and its laws in good faith? 

I think now they can. 

5295. Are men who were identified with the Union cause here in the beginning, or at any time 
afterwards, proscribed in business and denied justice in tl»e courts because of their political 
sentiments, mi far as you know ! 

1 am unable to say, because I had no particular business in the courts; but I will state this 
much — that 1 was opposed to the secession movement, and did not take the confederate oath, 
and many of my old friends cut me on that account. There w as no offence offered me at any 
time. 

5296. But your Union sentiments did not prevent yourbeiug chosen president of the Union 
Dank .' 

No, sir. 

5297. Is the expression of public sentiment free in this community, so far as you know? 
A.I this lime, sic. it is. 

5298. Is there any danger incurred by the open expressions of individual opiuoit ! 
1 think not, sir, as far as my observation goes. 

5299. If the past were to be forgiven by the government of the United States, and. the State 
of Louisiana restored to her position in the Union, what effect would that have upon the public 
feeling 1 Would it strengthen or weakenthe loyalty of the people? 

I think it would strengthen the loyalty of the people. 

5300. In such a case, in your opinion, would all classes of citizens be safe in their persons 
aud property ! 

1 think so, sir. 



TESTIMONY OF ALFRED PENN. 3G9 

By the Chairman : 

530(H. You say you think it would strengthen the loyalty of the people ; docs the loyalty 
of the people need to be strengthened .' 
I do not know, sir; I think it would be. 

5301. Do you think it needs to be strengthened? 
Nip, sir. 

5302. You think their loyalty, then, is full and complete? 

I think so, sir. I think so, because many of those persons that cut me at the time because 
I did not coincide with them are now my friends; they have made amends. I have never 
been badly treated, and many of them have come forward to make amends, and are as much 
my friends now as ever they were. 

5303. And you think, because of that, their loyalty is perfect, do you? 

They have all made concession, and they have confessed that they were in the wrong and 
I was in the right. Among these I might name Mr. Henderson and W. A. Gasgett. They 
thought I did°not go with the people, and that that was wrong of me. Now they can see 
(hat I was in the right. I advised many of them against leaving the city of New Orleans. I 
said they did wrong to leave their property and their country — that is, when they went into 
(lir confederate army. 

'■>: 04. Don't you know that the whole power of this State is in the hands of the rebels ? 

No, sir ; I think they are highly conservative, and good men ; not radical Union men, but 
good conservative Union men, and their disposition is to adhere to the policy of the gov- 
ernment. 

5305. Mr. Monroe is one of these, is he not ? 

I do not think very well of him ; he is not my choice for mayor of the city. 

5306. But he was put there by the people, was he not? 

lie was put there by the majority, but I was opposed to him. 

5307. Did you go to the polls and vote ? 
Yes, sir. 

5308. But a majority of the people voted for him? 
Yes, sir. 

5309. Is he not a rebel ? 
I do not know. 

5310. Is he not now as bad as ever ? 

I think not ; from what I hear he is anxious that the government should be restored, and 
I think he is a good Union man. 

5311. Do you believe it? 

I do not know positively ; I never spoke to him in all my life. 

5312. Are not a majority of those who fill the offices here, rebel ? 

I declare I only know one or two such; I am not much of a politician. 

5313. You cannot tell us whether the State is, nor is not now, so far as the elective offices 
are concerned, in the hands of the rebels or of the Union men ? 

I cannot; I do not know who they are except a few city officers. 

5314. Do you think the leading rebels committed treason ? 
I think they did. 

5315. Treason is a high crime, is it not ? 

I presume it is ; 1 think that the people were in earnest, and thought they did right under 
ho Constitution to secede, but I think and admit that they were in the wrong. 

5316. You said just now that you had no doubt that they committed treason ? 

They have always justified themselves by saying that the Constitution justified them in 
seceding from the Union. 

5317. Do you think they ought to be punished ? 

I think not, if they took the oath to the government. I do not think they deserve punish- 
ment ; I mean those that regret it, and would be glad to be admitted to the Union. I think 
they would make as good citizens as those that were opposed to secession. 

5318. What do you think, if these men saw there was a chance to succeed, would they 
do the same thing over again ? 

I do not think they would. Things are more settled now. It was slavery more than any- 
thing else that led to secession ; it was not because they were opposed to this government. 

53 1 'J. If they saw a good chance to secede, and they believed they were going to succeed, 
the question is, whether they would try the same thing over again ? 

I don't believe they would. 

5320. "What, if they could get slavery back ? 
Perhaps, if they could get slavery back. 

5321. If they thought they could get slavery back, and saw a chance of success, you 
think they would try rebellion again ? 

Many planters have told me that if they could get their negroes back again to-morrow, 
they would not lift their hands to get them. I have been told by planters that they find 
it more economical, and that they would not have slavery back to-morrow if it were 
again offered them. 

24 N. o. 



370 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

5322. Did you stay here all through the war ? 
Yes, sir. 

5323. Were you president of the bank all through the war ? 
Yes, sir. 

5324. How much did your bank contribute to the confederacy ? 

It did not contribute anything that I am aware of; it did sometimes give to charitable ob- 
jects and institutions. 

5325. How much did the bank give to the confederate cause in one form and another ? 

I do not know, sir. I had some trouble in taking bonds there, and objected, but it was 
sometimes carried over my head. But the whole bank matter was investigated and given 
to General Butler and General Banks. 

5326. Do you believe that a man may express his feelings freely and fully here ? 
Yes. sir. 

5327. Is the condition of things any better now than it was on the 30th of July ? Has it 
been improving since then ? 

It is now much better. 

5328. Do you think the condition of feeling is better now than it was then? 
Vi s, sir. 

5329 It was not safe then for a Union man to express his feelings freely and fully, was it ? 

There was a great deal of feeling then. I always expressed mine freely and fully. I 
never contemplated any danger myself. I am no politician, but I always spoke what I 
thought. 

5330. What proportion of the population of Louisiana is colored ? 

I believe they are pretty equally divided ; there may probably be one-fifth or one-sixth 
more whites than blacks. 

5331. The colored people are all now free under the laws? 
Yes, sir. 

5332. What proportion of the other part, that is, the whites, were, in your judgment, ac- 
tive rebels during the war ? 

I cannot say, sir. 

5333. Do you think three-quarters ? 
I cannot say. 

5334. You do not know whether there was a half, three-quarters, or one-quarter? 
No, sir. 

5335. The colored people were friends of the Union all the time, were they not ? 

I had little to do with them, and think they knew but little about it, except that the revo- 
lution was in their favor; that was generally understood. I had colored persons at my 
house. Some remained with me, and others that left afterwards came back. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
WM. MITHOFF sworn and examined , 

By the Chairman : 

5336. What is your age ? 
I am fifty -four. 

5337. Where do you live ? 

I live in the parish of Jefferson. 

5338. How long have you lived there ? 
Since 1836. 

5339. What is your occupation ? 

I am farming in the parish of Jefferson. I have a small place, and I raise vegetables for 
the market here. 

5340. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? 
No, sir ; I had good reason not to be here that day. 

534 1 . What reasons were those ? 

I had been in the legislature of 1864 and 1865, and there were many of those people who 
knew me, and knew that I was a member of the convention a few months previous, and 
they said it would not be safe for them to see me. Then I thought I would go iu spite of 
them. On the Friday previous to the convention, I took my little son, who goes to school 
here, home with me. My little boy, on going home, asked me why they were going to 
kill all the Union men and negroes in the city on Monday. I asked him who told him they 
were going to kill all the Union men and negroes in the city on Monday. He said that the 
children Avere talking about it at school. I therefore kept him at home, and did not go 
myself. 

5342. What information can you give us about rebel organizations in this city ? 

In L865, when I was running for Congress, my friends took me, but without my consent, 
across the lake to see some citizens there. I had a young lieutenant from the confederate 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM MITHOFF. 371 

army along with me. In our conversation lie told me that in the confederate army he had 
taken an oath never to support a man who had been in the United States army. I had a 
great many conversations with others who had been in the confederate army, and asked 
them it' they had taken such an oath, and they said they had, and would do anything to gain 

their ends, ami that they would take a hundred oaths were it necessary to gain their ends. 
I heard such things herein the eityin September last about these organizations, and I warned 
Governor 'Wells of their existence, and not to allow these men to vole here who Came with 
the determination to go out of the Union if it were possible to bring it about. They said 
they would go out of the Union peaceably if they could, but that they would get out by 
some means. 1 heard it in every direction, and from twenty or thirty different "people, all 
speaking in the same, strain. We have been threatened here with our lives since 1861. 

5343. What is the condition of things since the surrender? 

They are more bitter now than ever; or, at least, since Johnson appointed General Hum- 
phrey, their bitterness is as great as ever. 

5343-£. How does it show itself 

They called us traitors. My son had been in the Union army since 1862, and this they did not 
like. Governor Wells gave him an appointment. The rebel legislature would not confirm the 
appointment, and they gave as a reason that he had been in the Union army. 

5344. Was that brought against him as an objection? 

Yes, sir. That was the objection, and they would not pay him. 

5345. .State in what other respects the feeling of hostility is displayed. 

I was very intimate with Governor Wells in 1865, and then when these people came back 
from the war, and they thought that I had a great deal of influence with Governor Wells, 
my friends would come to me, and bow and scrape and praise me for my unionism, and 
they wished me to introduce them to Governor Wells and get his pardon. They acknowledged 
that they were perfectly wrong. This lasted about two mouths — till Humphreys was par- 
doned. Now they say I am a traitor. And this I hear from the very same men who used to 
praise me for my unionism. 

5346. What would be the effect if the military were withdrawn? 
I would not feel safe here for twenty- four hours. 

5347. In the State of Louisiana, generally, from your knowledge of the feeling, is that the 
sentiment entertained? 

I know the rebels are threatening us every day, and if the Union army was withdrawn 
that we should be hung. 

Dy Mr. Shellabarger : 

5348. How is it about the administration of justice, where a Union man is on one side and 
a rebel on the other ? 

That would depend upon the judge. 

5340. How are the juries in regard to convicting a man for doing an injury to a Union 
man or a negro ? 

The further you go from New Orleans the more conservative it is. Here, I believe, the 
judges are Union; but then the military are close by. 

5350. Can the Union men and negroes get justice in the State? 

I would not give five cents for the justice you would get up Red river ; but I can only tell 
what I heard from other parties. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5351. When did Mr. Johnson pardon General Humphreys? 
September, 1865. 

5352. You think that embittered the people ? 

No, sir ; it did embitter the secessionists against us; but they were all very humble ; they 
acknowledge that they were beaten, but from that day they commenced holding their heads up. 

5353. What did they expect when they were so humbled? 

I suppose you know Mr. Davidson; he told me that the democratic party were determined 
to get the rule of this government into their hands, and if they succeeded in doing so that 
Johnson was to be their leader, and that the democratic party, with Johnson at their head, 
would allow them to secede. 

5354. Did they believe that ? 

I think it would not be possible that there should be any secession. 

5355. Then you don't believe what they told you about the democratic party? 
They were serious, but I did not think that they would succeed. 

5356. If the democratic party had succeeded, would they have done so? 
I believe they would. 

5357. Do you generally believe what you are told ? 
I judge of things myself. 

5358. Nearly all you have told us thus far you have heard from others, have you not ? 
Most of this was told to me personally, it was not hearsay. I was threatened here myself 

to be hung up to a lamp post. 

5359. Did ever anybody hang you to a lamp post ? 



372 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

They said they would do so when they got into power. 
53-VJ-J. You say they are in power, have they done it ? 

They are not exactly in power, because there is the military here, and if they were to do 
anything so outrageous as that, the military would protect us. 

5360. Has ever anybody laid hands on you to do you violence ? 
No, sir. 

5361 . If they were disposed to murder you, could they not do it before the military could 
come to your rescue ? 

Yes, sir, I suppose they could. 

5362. Are you in the habit of freely expressing your sentiments? 
Yes, sir, I express myself as a Union man. 

5363. Has it been known through the war that you were a Union man ? 
Yes, sir. 

5363-J. Have you contributed anything to the rebel cause ? 
No, sir, not a cent. 

5364. And you staid here during the whole war ? 
Yes, sir. 

5365. Would you have gone to the convention had you not been threatened ? 
Yes, sir. 

5366. Did you sympathize with the movement? 
I was in favor of it. 

5367. You say the feeling is more bitter now than it was at the end of the war, or do you 
mean during the war 1 

I mean that the hatred to the Union men has increased since President Johnson pardoned 
and recognized rebel generals as governors. 

5368. Yet Union men are safe, and express their opinions freely, do they not ? 
I hear every day that Union men are killed. 

5369. Is it not strange that you hear every day of Union men being killed ? 
I hear it every day. 

5370. Can you name any that have been killed, except those on the 30th of July? 
I have heard, but I am not acquainted with those that have been killed. 

5371. Have you been out of New Orleans 1 

I have been across the lake, about eighty miles from here. 

5372. Did you let them know that you were a Union man ? 
Yes, sir. 

5373. Did they hurt you ? 

No, sir. I have been where there was a company of soldiers. I have not travelled since 
that time ; but my son has been on railroads and steamboats, and he says that they have 
always been threatening there to hang him. He was on a boat to go to Mobile, and they 
threatened to hang him, and throw him overboard. 

5374. Have you heard of any one being thrown overboard ? 
Yes, sir ; I heard since the war. 

5375. How long ago ? 

I expect it was about six or seven months ago that I heard it. One thing I know positive, 
that the negroes in my parish had a church, and when I went down there a month or two ago 
I saw the church had disappeared. I asked what had become of the church. They said they 
had burned it down. They said they would not allow any nigger churches there. I saw 
that the church was gone and wondered at it, and I asked what had become of it, and that is 
the explanation they gave me. 
Ij 5376. Are you not aware that there are negro churches all over the State ? 

I expect there are. 

5377. Did you ever hear of any other negro church being burned down but that one ? 
Here in the city they burned several. 

5378. But white peoples' churches burn down sometimes, do they not? 

Yes, sir. But this man by his answer wished to let me know that it was set on fire. 

5379. Were you born in this country ? 
No, sir ; I am a German. 

5380. When did you come to this country ? 
In 1827. 



W. L. RANDALL sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5381. Where do you live ? 
I live in this city. 

5382. How long have you lived here ? 
Twenty-two years. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 



TESTIMONY OF W. L. RANDALL. 373 

5383. Were you examined before the military commission ? 
I was, sir. 

5384. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th ? 
I was. 

5385. Were you at the Institute ? 
I was, sir. 

5386. What time did you go there ? 
About half past twelve o'clock. 

5387. How long did you stay there? 
Until I was put in prison. 

5388. How did you escape? 

By going up stairs to the fourth story, where I staid until I was arrested. 

5389. Were you in the building from half past twelve till you were arrested ? 
Yes, sir. 

5390. How long had you been up stairs when you were arrested ? 

About an hour. I staid in the hall from the time the convention met until the first attack 
on the room. 

5391. By whom? 
By the policemen. 

5392. State what they did. 

There had been fighting on the street. Those inside were counselled by the Rev. Mr. 
Horton, Dr. Dostie, and R. King Cutler, and others, «to remain perfectly quiet. The doors 
were closed, and everybody sat down. The shooting was going on through the windows 
into the hall, so that people had to sit down to escape the shots. The windows were shut 
down, and the cry was made that they were coming up stairs. A terrible noise was made. 
One of the doors was closed, and a negro man had hold of the handle of the door, and I was 
within ten feet of it. I saw he was very much frightened. I knew if the mob came in he 
would be killed. I went to him and said, for he was nearly scared to death, "Here, you 
haven't strength enough to hold that door. There's no bolt to it. You had better let me 
hold it." He let go, and it was immediately burst open. I was fired at twice. I said, 
"Men, what are you doing?" I stood looking at them. There were cries of " We sur- 
render" by those in the hall, but they still fired. They had two revolvers each, and kept on 
firing. They killed two negroes at the door. I spoke to one of them and said, " Don't shoot 
that man," but he fired and killed him. There were no citizens among the policemen. One 
of the policemen, a very daring one., entered the hall, and he was beat out with chairs, and 
as he ran out all the other policemen emptied their revolvers as they ran down stairs. Then 
several of them came out, among them Mr. Cutler. I said to Mr. Cutler, "This is a bad 
place for you to be in. If you go into the streets, prominent as you are, you will surely be 
killed." He said, " I don't know what to do." I told him to come with me. I then took 
him up into the fourth story. I said, " Remain here and close these doors, and in a short 
time I expect the military will arrive and take possession." He said, "What will you do?" 
I said, "I will go down, and I expect to find some of the doors open. If there are not, I 
will force them." I went down, and was prevented from returning, and went into the room 
of the chief engineer, where- 1 found some friends, and sat down there and remained perhaps 
an hour and a half. Then a great crowd of policemen came up, and I was taken to prison 
and kept there about half an hour, and then released. 

5393. Did you see Governor Halm ? 

Yes, sir; I saw him in the room. When I saw him he was crouching behind a desk to 
avoid pistol shots. 

5394. Did there appear to be any preparation on the part of the convention to defend 
themselves by arms? 

I saw but one man have a revolver. 

5395. Did you know who he was 1 

He was a Frenchman, a Creole, and was very excitable. 

By Mr. Boyek : 

5396. What is his name ? 

O. H. Poynot. My attention was called to him by his remarking, " Good God ! we 
cannot be shot down like dogs. Let us fight." 

5397. Did any fire out of the windows ? \ 
No, sir. 

5393. Did any fire at the police who came into the>oom ? 

I saw nothing of the kind, though the police made a succession of attacks. The men were 
all in police uniforms, and living here as long as I have I generally knew the police ; but I 
never saw these men in my life before. 

By Mr. SiiELLAB.ywiER : 

5399. Do you know whether the firemen came there with any arms in their engine? 
No, sir. 

5400. Do you know whether any men came there with their badges besides the police 
uniform ? 



374 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I saw the badge of the Washington artillery on one who was very officious with a large 
club, and I was arrested by a man who never was on the police. 

5401. Did you know a young man by the name of Clark? 
I know several Clarks. 

5402. Did you see a young man of that name at the door? 

No, sir; I was arrested by a man who bad a badge of city police on him, but he is a man 
who was never on the police before, and is not now. His name is C. A. Deisler. 

5403. Did you see him kill anybody ! 

No, sir; I have heard so. but do not know it from my own knowledge. 

5404. Do you know of any preparation that was made for that riot beforehand by the 
police, by firemen, or by citizens? 

No, sir ; only from threats I heard. I was absent from the city in the country. 

5405. What threats did you hear ? 

That they should not meet. This was fifteen days before. On the Sunday previous, I 
heard that they would all be killed. It was common talk in the cars. I went up and told 
Mr. Cutler that I feared there would be trouble next day. 

5406. Did yon know whether the policemen were taken off their beats that Sunday night? 
Only from hearsay. 

5407. Do you know how they got their arms ? 
Only from hearsay. 

. r >4H8. Did you see them collecting at the City Hall preparatory to going there ? 

Yes, sir; about eleven o'clock I sa*tv a large number of the policemen at the building. 
You would not see them from the street unless you went into the building. They were talk- 
ing with each other in low tones. I have been secretary of the convention, and they were 
careful not to speak out where I was. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

5409. What is your occupation ? 
Commercial pursuits ; I am a cotton factor. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 

PAUL E. THEARD, who was called at the request of citizens of New Orleans to state 
facts within his knowledge respecting the riots of the 30th of July, being duly sworn, testi- 
fied as follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5410. Of what court are you judge ? 

Of the fourth district court of New Orleans. 

5411. Is the jurisdiction of that court civil or criminal? 
Civil. 

5412. When were you appointed to that office ? 
April ], 1865. 

5413. By whom? 

By Governor Wells. My name was sent to the senate by Governor Halm first. When 
he was elected to the senate he recommended me to Governor Wells, who appointed me. 

5414. How have you been regarded in this community during the past trouble, as a Union 
man or as a friend of the secession movement ? 

I have always been a Union man since I returned to my allegiance. 

5415. We desire to know, from your experience on the bench, if you have observed that 
equal justice can be fairly administered in this community between all classes of citizens? 

I believe, sir, that justice is administered by every judge on the bench with the fair feeling 
of justice towards every one, without distinction of color or race. As I have seen by the news- 
papers, and by gentlemen who have been already examined by this honorable committee, 
that this is one of the points to be investigated, I would beg leave to read to the committee 
a short article from the pen of Thomas J. Durant, which was published in a city paper, the 
New Orleans Tribune, edited by a colored man. It is dated the 10th of December, 1865, and 
is as follows : 

"Let it be, said to the praise of the Hon. Paul Emile Tbeard, judge of the fourth district 
court, that when be presides at his court he rises above the petty prejudices of races, and 
deals out justice with an impartial hand. We had a new proof ot this yesterday, in a case 
between a white man and a colored man, about the ownership of a mule. The Hon. Thomas 
J. Durant, counsel for the colored party, presented five witnesses, all of the colored class. M. 
Sambola, counsel for the other party r , followed with an array of fourteen white witnesses, and 
not satisfied with that imposing display of swearing in his favor, he attempted to raise in the 
]' udge's mind doubts on the veracity of the other party's witnesses on account of their color. 



TESTIMONY OF PAUL E. THEARD. 375 

But the judge stopped him with the remark that the question of color was absolutely foreign 
to this case, and that, having no cause to doubt the sincerity of those five colored witnesses, 
be didn't see why he would not, give their testimony as much weight as if they were white 
persons; and t lie judge acted up to the principle he had just laid down, for he gave judg- 
ment in favor of the colored party. We wish that many of our magistrates would take 
example from the Hon. P. E. Theard." 

This is the opinion Thomas J. Durant had of me at that time. I would further desire to 
state that I personally have no prejudices whatever iu this matter; for if there be any place 
where men are equals it is certainly before a tribunal of justice. 

5 1 1 6. Have you ever observed any instance in which men, on account of their Union sen- 
timents, were denied justice in your court 1 

Never, sir. 

54 17. 1 know that would not be your disposition; but have you observed any disposition 
of that kind on the part of jurors ? 

Never, sir. 

5418. Are you sufficiently acquainted with the sentiments of the community in this city to 
give an opinion as to whether tbey may be relied upon for obedience to the government of 
the United States in good faith ? 

From my intercourse with the people here, and those who have been in arms against the 
government of the United States, among whom I have many friends, I do sincerely believe, 
and it is my profound conviction, that they are as submissive as any people have ever been. 

5419. Is it your opinion that Union men of all classes in this community may live in safety, 
and that their rights of person and property will be respected ? 

I do believe it, sir. 

5420. Is the expression of individual opinion, so far as you know, free in this community? 
Perfectly free ; a man may express any feeling here, and I do not believe that he would be 

molested in any way, especially for expressions of devotedness and attachment to the gov- 
ernment. 

5421. Is the expression of obedience to the United States, and a disposition to stand by 
the Union, a popular or an unpopular sentiment in this commuuity at this time? 

I believe that at this time it is very popular, and the desire of every one in the south is to 
remain in the Union, and that the love of Union to-day is as great and sincere as it was at 
any time before the war. This is my perfect conviction. 

5422. If Louisiana were restored to her position iu the Union, and the military forces of 
the United States were withdrawn, might the civil authorities be depended upon for the pre- 
servation of good order and the administration of justice ? 

Undoubtedly. 

By the Chairman: 

5423. Among the civil authorities do you include the mayor and police of the city of New 
Orleans ? 

Yes, sir. 

5424. You have no doubt they could be relied upon fully? 
I do believe it. 

5425. Po you think the expression of opinion here, however distasteful that opinion might 
be, would be perfectly safe ? 

I think so. 

5426. Has this been the case since the surrender of Lee's army ? 

I only know of the exception on the 30th of July. But I think the convention would not 
have been interfered with, had it not been for the meeting on the preceding Friday. I think 
the convention itself would have been illegal. I know of no instance of any trouble, except 
that one. 

5427. Men were killed for the expression of their opinion, were they not? 

I do not know of any instance, from my own personal knowledge, but only from hearsay ? 
542^. You have stated several things from hearsay since you have been here testifying. 
I testified to my impressions in every case. I give it as my opinion that the assembling of 
the convention was an illegal act. 

f>429. Did you give your opinion at the time that the convention was an illegal one ? 
I think so, sir. 

5430. How many judges of districts are there? 

Six : Edmund Abell. of the first district court ; Judge Thomas, of the second district court ; 
Judge Fellows, of the third district; Judge Leaumont, of the fourth district ; Judge Theard, 
of the fifth district: Judge Duplantier, of the sixth district. 

5431. Is your jurisdiction a civil one ? 
Yes, sir, and commercial. 

5432. Is there any appeal from your court to the supreme court ? 
Yes, sir. 

5433. On what bench is Judge Howell ? 

The supreme court. The supreme court is composed of Judge Hyman, Judge Illsly, Judge 
Howell, Judge Tallefaro, and Judge Souvair. 



376 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5434. You have just alluded to the riot of the 30th of July as an unfortunate affair, and 
that it was owing to the meeting of the preceding Friday ? 

I think so, sir. 

54344. You think it was owing to the speeches made on the preceding Friday? 

Yes, sir, I think that meeting excited the people. 

54:!."). Stili you think that nothing that could be said in the way of free speech would pro- 
voke any unfortunate affair in New Orleans? 

I believe that no one would be molested for his speeches. 

543G. And no one was molested on the 30th of July for what he said on the preceding 
Friday? 

I think not. 

5437. Then the occurrences on Monday, the 30th, were not owing to the speeches made 
on the preceding Friday? 

I said they excited the people. 

5438. That is, the people who did not like the things said on Friday, killed the people who 
said them on Monday ? 

I did not mean to say that. 

5439. What do you mean when you say that the killing on Monday would not have hap- 
pened had it not been for the meeting on Friday? 

That meeting was reported in the newspapers, and it excited the population on both sides. 
It excited the whole population, and the colored men were invited to go there armed to sus- 
tain the action of the convention. These speeches were published in the papers at the time, 
and it of course created a spirit of effervescence. But what were the immediate causes of the 
riot I do not know. I do not know how it was commenced, or by whom it was begun, but it 
produced that effervescence in the public mind, among both whites and blacks, and prepared 
them for the conflict which became almost irresistible. 

5440. Do you wish to be understood as swearing that free speech would not again provoke 
effervescence ? 

I do not believe that any speech tending to show feelings of Union and a devoteduess to 
the government would provoke any ill feeling on the part of the people. 

5441. Then it depends upon what the speech is like, whether it would provoke efferves- 
cence or not ? 

The speeches in question excited a portion of the population against another portion. It was 
that that created the effervescence. 

544"2. You have been used to administer the law, and to analyzing evidence, and can there- 
fore understand what I ask ; I ask what it was in the speech of Doctor Dostie, and which 
you say was reported in the papers, which was calculated, in a peace-loving community, to 
excite that riot, and which you now swear was enough to produce it; I ask for the sentence 
or the idea. 

I have no remembrance or recollection of the particular ideas, but it is my impression that 
the ideas then uttered were of such a nature as to provoke a conflict. As much as I remem- 
ber, the idea was that he said to the colored men that they must go armed to sustain the ac- 
tion of the convention. 

5443. Do you swear that he said that ? 
No, sir. 

5444. Do you swear that he was even reported to have said that, in the newspapers at the 
time ? 

To the best of my recollection, it was so; and the riot at the time was attributed to the 
speeches made at tiiat time. 

5445. Is it enough in New Orleans to provoke a riot to invite the friends of a legal meet- 
ing to go and defend it ? 

No, sir: not a legal meeting. 

5446. Then the riot was owing to the illegality of the meeting of Monday, the 30th of July, 
was it, and not to what was said on the preceding Friday ? 

That which had been said on Friday in the way of encouraging the friends of the conven- 
tion caused great uneasiness and anxiety, 

5447. Had the convention on Monday been a legal one, in your opinion would that have 
been objectionable ? 

1 wish to be understood as saying that the speeches made on the preceding Friday created 
a sort of feverishness among the people, among both blacks and whites, which produced the 
conflict which we all so much regret. But 1 cannol ascribe it to any fact, or toany particu- 
lar words ottered by Dostie, or to any particular objeci of the convention. 

5448. "What was there illegal in men coming together to consider the condition and affairs 
of Louisiana, provided they committed no breach of the peace in doing so? 

There is nothing illegal in the assembling of citizens for any political purpose whatever. 
But when they met in convention, and pretended to be a convention of the people, then, sir, 
they assumed a title which they have not in law, and I say that in that case the convention 
no longer existed. 

5449. Is the fact of their meeting to consider the affairs of Louisiana in itself an illegal 



TESTIMONY OF BAUL E. THEARD. 377 

act, provided they do not assemble to put in operation a constitution, or an amendment 
thereto 1 

It would not have been if they had met like citizens. 

5450. What rendered it illegal? 

This convention of 1864, alter completing its work, which was to form a consitution — and, 
by the way, one of the best we ever had— was about to adjourn, when a resolution was adopted 
giving power to the president of the convention to call it together again, if there was any ne- 
cessity for so doing. My opinion is that the object of the resolution was to empower the 
president to convene it again in case only the constitution would not be adopted by the peo- 
ple, [f that constitution had been rejected by the people, then it would be the duty of the 
president to call together the convention for the purpose of framing another constitution. But 
the constitution having been adopted, the mandate of the convention expired, and by that 
act they bad no legal authority to call another one. When persons say this constitution does 
not represent the expression of the whole of Louisiana, they are wrong in saying so. It is 
true that it was originally adopted by the loyal portion of the people of Louisiana, within 
the federal lines, and subsequently, in November, 1865, a general election on that very in 
strument took place throughout the whole of the State, then within the national lines, and 
the people acquiesced in it by electing a legislature, by the election of senators and city 
officers, and I considered that the people ratified that constitution, and that it is now Hie 
constitution of Louisiana, under which the other branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, 
are organized. 

535J. Did you consider the call of the convention by General Banks, and the formation of 
the constitution of 1864, as formed by that convention ordered by military authority, was a 
constitutional and legal method of forming and submitting the constitution to the people ? 

I do believe it. Under the circumstances under which a military leader was here, he had 
full power as a conqueror to give a constitution to the State. 

5452. You speak of your being a loyal man since you gave in your allegiance to the 
United States government ? 

Yes, sir. 

5453. What allegiance had you recognized before that ? 
I had the misfortune to be in the confederate army. 

5454. Then you did take up arms against the United States ? 

I was a major in the State service, and colonel in the confederate service. 

5455. As a lawyer, are you of opinion that you thereby became guilty of treason against 
the United States ? 

I consider that my will had nothing to do with it. I consider that this question is now 
settled ; that my first allegiance was due to my native State, and my native State having 
seceded, I obeyed my State and followed her fate. 

5456. You have not answered my question. 

I do not believe I have been guilty of anything. 

5457. And you say that in waging war against the United States you were not guilty of 
any treason, and that was because you followed Louisiana in her ordinance of secession? 

I said I obeyed my State ; I followed my State, although it was with reluctance, but under 
the impression that I could not do otherwise. I was conscripted at my house, after sending 
in my resignation as major of artillery. 

5458. Did any of the men who originated the rebellion and waged war against the United 
States commit treason ? 

I cannot say that I view it in that light, if they have been pardoned and amnestied. 
545'J. That is not the question. My question is, whether any of the leaders in waging 
war were guilty of treason ? 

I must say that I do not believe it. 

5460. Tell me what would be treason against the United States ? 
Treason consists in levying war against the United States. 

5461. Then were not the confederates guilty of treason in waging war against the United 
States ? 

They were Avrong in doing so. The States were wrong in doing so, but I do not see how 
the poor citizens of these States can be attainted. 

5462. Some one was responsible for the .States seceding from the Union, were they not? 
Somebody was responsible, of course. 

5463. Did that somebody do anything wrong in taking the States out of the Union ? 
I think that they were wrong. 

5464. Were they guilty of treason? 

I think so, sir ; I think that those who composed the convention and who ordered the 
secession are the cause of all the troubles and are guilty, but the citizens are not, in any 
manner. The convention having spoken, I thought the citizens could not avoid their allegi- 
ance to their native State. 

5465. Do you mean to say that their allegiance to their own State is superior to their obliga- 
tion to the government ? 

No, sir ; I thought so then, but not now. 

5466. Did you say the law could be impartially and fully administered in Louisiana ? 



378 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I think so, sir. 

">4(i?. How do 3 r ou explain the fact that on the 30th of July persons were killed in your 
streets in daylight, and hundreds severely wounded, and yet no one held responsible to the 
law for these crimes ? 

I think an investigation took place before the first district court in relation to that. 

5468. And were there any indictments found except against the convention? 
I did not conduct the proceedings. 

5469. Do you give this as an explanation, that the reason no one has been indicted for the 
slaughter of the 30th of July is, not that the grand jury and the courts are not impartial, but 
that no evidence could be procured ? 

I do not know what it is really, because I have not conducted the proceedings. 

5470. You have undertaken to prove, sir, that the courts impartially and faithfully execute 
the laws ? 

I do believe it. 

547 1 . I wish to know how such an enormous slaughter could have taken place, aud no one 
be indicted or punished for it. 

I do nut know how I can account for a proceeding that did not take place before my court, 
but I believe Judge Abell administers justice to the best of his understanding. 

•472. You have undertaken to say that the law is administered faithfully aud fully. In that 
answer you have undertaken to say something in regard to the riots of the 30th of July. 
I wish you to explain, in your own way, why nobody has been punished for that offence. 

I presume that no evidence was produced against any one. • 

5473. How do you explain the fact that no evidence was produced? 

I do not know, sir, what were the methods followed by Judge Abell to procure evidence in 
the case. 

By the Chairman : 

5474. Did you go with your regiment out of the State ? 

No, sir ; it was dispersed a few miles from the city when the city was captured. There was 
about a handful of (twenty or thirty) men who reached camp, and they there held an election 
under the conscription act. By that election I lost my commission. They elected another 
officer in my place, so I happened to be out of service when ,the proclamation of the Presi- 
dent of the 8th of December, 1863, was brought to my knowledge. I was in the^confedarate 
lines. 

5475. Were you dismissed ? 

No, sir ; I lost my position by election. I acted as a volunteer officer on different occa- 
sions without having an opportunity to load a gun, and in January, 1864, I received a letter 
from headquarters informing me that I had no position in the army, and could not be recog- 
nized as a confederate. At that time I had upwards of 800 Union prisoners in my charge, 
whom I treated with the greatest kindness. I availed myself of the amnesty proclamation, 
and returned to New Orleans. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
H. S. BUCKNER, whose name was furnished to the committee as having knowledge of 
facts deemed of importance in this investigation, being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

By Mr. Buyer : 

5476. How long have you resided in New Orleans ? 
Since 1822. 

5477. In what business have you been engaged ? 

I have been in the cotton factor's business for thirty-four years — a general commission 
business. 

5478. Were you here at the outbreak of the war ? 

Yes, sir; I was here during the whole war ; I never left the city at all. 

5479. What wen; your sentiments at that time with respect to the secession movement? 

1 was always opposed to it; I voted and strove against it as hard any man could to prevent 
it; but we were overruled, not by numbers, I believe, for at the time the vote was taken 
there was a decided majority opposed to it; but by the manner in which the votes were taken 
they got the majority of the convention to sanction it. 

5480. Were you here on the 30th of July last ? 
Yes, sir. 

5481. Were you personally acquainted with the incidents of that day connected with the 
riot ? 

I saw nothing of it, and heard very little excitement in my immediate neighborhood, in 
Gravier street ; but I heard there was a great deal of excitement about the Mechanics" In- 
stitute. 



TESTIMONY OF H. S. BUCKNER. 379 

5482. Is the feeling in this community such that individual opinions may he expressed 
freely, in safety > 

1 should think so, sir. I have never seen anything to the contrary, even during the war. 
At the commencement of the war a man dare not express his sentiments. I was abused a 
good deal myself for expressing my < >]>i i ii»>n ; but since the war terminated I have seen 
nothing like a hostile. expr< ssion towards any one for Ins opinions. 

5483. So far as your observation as a business man goes, may a man who has always 
staid by the Union in this community prosecute his business successfully? 

I think lie can, sir; I am sure he can. At the commencement of the war I was known to 
be in opposition to secession, and I met with some considerable troubles for the time; but 
afterwards it died off, and the confederates established their laws and government. I had to 
obey them, and I did obey them as far as I could ; but as for aiding or abetting, I never did; 
and I never met with any opposition or trouble, though my sentiments were known all the 
time. 

5484. Did you prosecute your business during the war ? 

Not during the war, for everybody quit; but I resumed it as soon as I could, in 18G3, and 
when the river was open; and I have been prosecuting it ever since. 

5485. Do you think the people in this community can be relied upon for obedience to the 
government of the United States in good faith? 

I think that nine-tenths of the people of the State are truly loyal to the government, and 
would obey the laws in good faith, but there are a few politicians who are always making 
trouble. Nine-tenths of the people are as truly loyal as any men can be I believe their 
desire is to be reinstated in their position; let their occupation be what it may, they want to 
follow it under the government ; in fact there is no other alternative for them. 

5486. If the position of Louisiana in the Union were restored, might the civil authorities 
be depended upon, in your opinion, for the preservation of good order and the enforcement 
of the laws? 

I think they could, sir, with perfect safety. 

By the Chairman : 

5487. Does your business confine you to the city ? 

I have not been out of the city, I suppose, for six years. 

5488. You have not had much time to deal with public affairs? 

No, sir. I observe pretty much everything that is going on, but confine myself to my 
business. 

5489. When you say that nine-tenths of the people are loyal, I suppose it is a guess of 
yours ? 

It is ; formed from my conversation with parties whom I have heard express their opinion. 

5490. You are not a politician ? 
No, sir ; we have too many of them. 

549!. Do you think no one is dissatisfied but politicians ? 

I think few of the industrious portion of the citizens are dissatisfied. 

5492. Have you any personal knowledge of the state of feeling in Louisiana ? 
Yes, sir; from bavingiutercour.se with persons living out of the city. 

5493. When they come to talk to you, do you not talk about business ? 

Yes, sir; but I ask them their sentiments and feelings, and they express themselves in that 
way ; that their only hope is that things may be restored to what they were before the war. 
They want to get back as soon as they can, and be restored to their situations just as they 
were before. That is their expression, and I think they are sincere. 

5494. We have not seen many gentlemen who had much to do with the confederate cause ; 
how is it with you ; have you been Union throughout ? 

I was opposed to the secession movement from the commencement, and spent some money 
to break it down, and avoid it. 

5495. Were you in the convention ? 

No, sir ; and I tried, if possible, to get in members who were opposed to it, but we failed 
in this district, and indeed in most districts ; but the vote taken through the city was a ma- 
jority against it, although in the different districts they had a majority in electing members. 

5496. How did you vote ? 

For co-operation ; to stave things off that they might have a united understanding before 
they attempted to go out ; and it was my hope that people would reconsider the matter, and 
come to their senses; but unfortunately the State rushed out without giving the people time 
to think. 

5497. Do you think the acts of the leaders of the rebellion were acts of treason ? 

I think they were outrageous acts, but I think they were confined to a few individuals. 

5498. But they controlled the State, did they not ? 
In that way they did. 

5499. And those persons are here now, are they not? 

Mr. Slidell, Mr. Benjamin, and others are not here ; they have not returned. The voice 
of the peop'e at that time was bitterly opposed to it. 

5500. How- do you know that? 



380 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

If you count the votes you will find that the people? gave a majority against it, hut, hav- 
ing elected their delegates, the delegates voted in favor of secession. 

5501 . Did you ever make any personal examination so as to say whether that was so or not ? 
I saw the statement in the papers that that was the result. 

5502. You said that you thought nine-tenths of the people of the State were loyal ? 
Yes, sir. 

5503. How long do you think they have been loyal? 

As soon as they were whipped they yielded to consequences. 

5504. Do you call being willing to submit to them being loyal? 

If a man has no alternative, and is willing to yield to the laws of the government; if he 
is determined and willing to obey the laws and support them, I think he is loyal. 

5505. Do you think that is the character of the people that now control this city of yours? 
With some it is entirely so; but in fact I do not admire the rulers of the city affairs by 

any means. Our city selections are not good, although I cannot say they are not loyal and 
willing to obey the laws — perfectly so ; but I think that bad selections were made in some 
instances. 

5506. Is it your judgment that a man may express his sentiments freely without fear ot 
injury ? 

I think so, sir. 

5507. As much so as last July ? 

I think there is no disposition on the part of any one to interfere with personal feeling. 

5508. Is that the state of feeling since they surrendered ? 

Yes, sir ; I think so; that being whipped, they have that kind of feeling that any expres- 
sion of opinion, however distasteful, may be made with impunity. I think it would be no 
dissatisfaction to any one to hear opinions adverse to their own private sentiments. 

551 10. There were some who had opinions that were distasteful to the public, such as Mr. 
Durant ? 

But he was respected ; but there, were others who were noisy and boisterous. 

5510. Did not. Mr. Durant go away because he was afraid to stay ? 

I think he was entirely mistaken ; there was not the slightest risk in Mr. Durant's residing 
in New Orleans, although he might have had different views. 

5511. The fact of a person having unpopular views would not make it unsafe for him to 
express them? 

No, sir ; not at all. I heard Mr. Durant express bis views, and I never heard of any dan- 
ger or threatening on that account. I have known him for thirty years. 

5512. Were you here while General Butler was here ? 

Yes, sir; and took the oath of allegiance under him, as soon as he issued his proclamation. 
I d'nl it freely and willingly, in hopes that everybody would do the same. 

5513. Then you never contributed anything towards the rebellion? 

Never, sir ; except it might be a pair of boots to a shoeless confederate. I was muck 
abused for not taking confederate loans ; but I never - put a dime into it. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
F. W. TILTON, whose name was furnished by a committee of citizens as having a know- 
ledge of facts deemed to be of value to the committee, being duly sworn, testified as follows : 

By Mr. Boyek : 

5514. Do you reside in New Orleans? 
Yes, sir. 

5515. How long have you lived here? 
About thirty years. 

5516. In what business are you engaged? 
In the hardware business. 

55 17. If you are personally acquainted with any circumstances that took place on the 30tb 
of July last, or immediately preceding, connected with the riot, go on and state them. 

On Friday there was a meeting consisting of, as far as I could see, principally of negroes, 
held at the Mechanics' Institute; there was a meeting outside as well as inside. 

5518. What was the character of the meeting outside? 

There was a large platform, and a band of music, and torchlights; the platform was sur- 
rounded by a large crowd of negroes, and there were white persons on the platform. 

5519. Did anybody make speeches? 

Yes, sir; there were about four persons making speeches; the only ones I knew were a. 
man of the name of Dostie, and another hy the name of Henderson, and I think Mr. Dihble 
made a speech, but I am not certain. 

5520. What was the character of the speeches ? 

I would not call them speeches ; they were haranguing the multitude and trying to excite 
them. 



TESTIMONY OF F. W. TILTON. 381 

5521. Iu relation to what ? 

In relation to their political rights; and they were denouncing everybody round about, 
and telling- them they must do this thing and the other thing. At the distance I was from the 
meeting 1 could not distinctly understand ; the only ones I understood were Dr. Dostie and 
Mr. Henderson, for they spoke very loud. 

5522. I (id they make any reference to the convention that was to assemble on the following 
Monday? 

Yes, sir; I remember Dr. Dostie called upon them, as they were going to meet in that hall 
on the following Monday, to come armed, to come prepared to fight and vote, to vote and 
fight. I could only understand portions of the speech; then there would be portions in a 
lower tone which 1 could not understand : this was between ten and eleven o'clock at night. 

5523. What kind of effect did that kind of exhortation have upon the multitude ? 
Screaming and yelling. 

5524. Did Mr. Henderson utter anything of that description ? 

I cannot say. I understood Dr. Dostie very well. I heard one say that every man, every 
woman, and every child in New Orleans was a rebel and ought to be bung. One speaker, 
I think it was Dr. Dostie, I heard say, that the stones of the streets of New Orleans called 
tor their blood, and cried for their blood. 

5525. Was the meeting held without interruption to its close ? 
Yes, sir. 

5526. Was it disturbed in any way? 

No, sir. I was in my house during the whole time. Mr. Dostie afterwards called them 
to form a procession, aud said he would make a speech to them on the steps of the City Hall, 
and they went in procession, with torchlights, hooting and shouting as loud as they could ; 
that was about ten o'clock, and was the end of that meeting. 

5527. According to the best of your judgment, how many people composed the meeting in 
front of the hall ? 

I could not say; perhaps two hundred or three hundred; some might think there were a 
great many more ; crowds, it is well known, are very deceptive. I heard some say there 
were two thousand there. Insid« the house was packed, as I could see through the windows. 
I do not know what was said inside, but I know there was great cheering and clapping of 
hands, and then the hand would play. 

5528. Did the crowd occupy the whole street? 

Pretty nearly the whole street ; it was very dense round the speaker's stand, and then they 
were standing around. My impression was, that the speakers were evidently trying to ex- 
cite those poor negroes for some purpose, wbich I looked upon as insurrection. 

5529. Did you witness any of the transactions of the 30th of July ? 
Yes, sir. 

5530. If you know anything in reference to those matters, state them. 

On Saturday morning I went up to the chief of police — being so well satisfied that difficulty 
would grow out of it that I did not feel safe about my property, having no one but myself 
and wife in my bouse — and told him I wanted him to send me down a couple of policemen. 
He said it would be unnecessary ; that it would soon be all over ; there would be no difficulty 
at all. Ou Monday morning, about 9 o'clock, I saw that there was a large gathering of ne- 
groes; there were strange negroes that I had never seen before, and they were armed with 
clubs and sticks. I went up again to the police office about 9 o'clock; I did not see the 
chief, but I saw Mr. Isaacs, and he told me that there would be no difficulty at all ; that 
there was no occasion to send policemen down, and, said he, we shall have policemen about, 
and if there is any difficulty you will be protected. I thought that, not having heard those 
speeches, they did not know what would take place, aud I went immediately back to my 
house aud locked all the doors and gates so that no one could get in. By half past ten there 
must have been some 200 or 300 negroes coming and going, all of them with clubs, aud then 
they began to assemble inside ; and there was one old negro addressing the crowd 
outside, but, in consequence of the noise, I did not hear what he said; finally, a mulatto 
man came out of the building and drove the crowd from the steps, or he was motion- 
ing with his hand so as to indicate that they were to leave; and, finally, 75 or 100 went 
off towards Burgundy street, and I thought the meeting was disbanded and would not take 
place. Soon we heard a band of music coming up Burgundy street, and I supposed it was the 
military coming up, when presently we saw the negro procession right in front of my house. 
This we saw very distinctly, and the first thing I saw was a nep,-ro knock a man into the 
gutter ; then there was a great rush among the others, and finally the policemen took this 
negro. There was a great deal of knocking round with clubs at the time. I saw one or two 
boys knocked down : but that was the ouly man I saw knocked down. Some one took him 
away and I saw nothing further of him. It took three policemen to carry him off. The 
band, which was composed of some fifes, a bass drum and tenor drums, rushed across the 
street and beat the long roll, and called on them to come on, and they rushed up towards 
Dryades street. 

5531. What kind of persons were they that beat the long roll? 

They were all negroes ; then they marched up to the Mechanics' Institute, and there the 
band played while the procession went into the Institute. Very soon after that there was a 



382 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

difficulty or row in the crowd. Some were white, but very many more were negroes, and 
they all rushed back again towards Canal street. They were rushing forwards and backwards 
towards Canal street. Presently the negroes began throwing brickbats; they rushed to a 
pile of bricks beside a building that was going up, and threw bricks towards the police and 
others. They began the difficulty. Finally, some one tired three or four shuts, and the 
negroes were then driven away from the brick pile and back to the Institute. Then there 
was a great commotion inside of the Institute, and there were several shots tired from the 
windows. The police then began to assemble, and then it went into a kind of general row. 
The police fired upon the negroes, and the negroes fired upon the police. The negroes fired 
right and left and everywhere. I did not see any one hurt by the first shots the police fired. 
At the beginning they seemed to be blank shots more than anything else. 

5532. If the policemen intended to hit any one, were they within range? 

Yes, sir ; they could have shot any one within range of the building. The only time any 
one was killed was after the entrance into the Institute. There was where the killing was. 

553:3. Were you at your house all this time 1 

Tes. sir. After this trouble there was a white flag hung out of the building, and the cry 
was " We surrender." Then the police came by in a body, about twenty, and the crowd in 
the -building began to fire upon them. I could see that distinctly. They fired at the police- 
men as they came into the room. 

By the Chairman : 

5534. Did you see any negroes killed in the street ? 
Yes. sir; I saw some knocked down. 

5535. l>y negroes? 
No, sir. 

5536. Did you see any one knocked down except when he assaulted a policeman? 
No, sir. 

5537. He was always the first aggressor, was he ? 

The police first went into the building and were fired upon. Then they rushed out and 
blew a whistle and called for assistance. That came up, and then there was a great rush 
made out of the building by negroes. They came with clubs. I saw persons knocked down, 
and I saw negroes knocked down too, but I do not It now that I saw a negro, or anyone else, 
who wished to surrender that was hurt. 

5538. Did they appear to you to be panic-stricken ? 

No, sir. They thought it was best, I suppose, to get out. I do not know whether they 
were frightened or not. 

5539. So far as you can judge, did the police do all they could to preserve the peace? 
Yes, sir; so far as I can judge, I have no hesitation in saying they did. 

5540. How many do you think were armed .' 

I saw, I presume, as many as forty or fifty policemen, and afterwards a squad of one hun- 
dred or more came up, forming on Canal street. 

5541. Were they armed ? 

Yes, sir; I suppose they were all armed. 

5542. With revolvers? 

I presume they were, because they fired a great many shots. I do not know that they were 
all armed. Those that came in the first place I should say were not armed. 

5543. How far is your house from the Institute? 

I suppose it is about one hundred feet; I have never measured. It is just on the corner 
of Dryades and Canal. I was on the gallery at the side and could see it very distinctly. 

5544. Were the negroes all armed? 

Many of them had clubs and many of them had pistols. Those I saw were small pistols, 
revolvers. I do not think all the negroes were armed by any means ; I do not wish to say 
anything of the kind, bin a great many had pistols. 

5545. Did they seem t<> lie using them pretty freely \ 

Those I saw with pistols used them, but 1 saw mute clubs than pistols. Those that had 
clubs used them when they came rushing out. 

5546. How does it happen that no persons were killed by the negroes? 
I do not know, sir. 

5547. You cannot account for it? 

I do not know whether any person was killed by them or not. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

5548. Do you mean to say that you were only KM) feet from the Institute ? 

I never measured the distance, but the squares are 300 feet, and my lot is 130 feet. 

5549. Is it on the opposite side of the way from the Mechanics' Institute ? 
Yes, sir. 

5550. How many houses are there from your house to the one immediately in front of the 
Institute? 

I think there are four. 

5551. In the direction from Randall Hunt's house, is yours on the same side ? 



TESTIMONY OF F. VV. TILTON. 383 

My house is situated on the corner of Canal street, and runs 130 feet on Dryades. It is 

opposite tlie Institute. I stood on the side gallery next to the Institute. 

By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

5552. An 1 you saw from where you were the shots that were tired from the windows? 
They came to the window and tired out. 
555:5. Were they negroes? 
I COUld not say. 

5554. Were the windows down? 
No, sir ; they were up. 

5555. Then tin' first tiring was done by the friends of the convention? 
By those who were in the hall. 

5556. How do you know they were not police ? 

1 do not know what they were. I supposed they were members of the convention firing 
upon the persons outside. 

5557. Do you know whether they were white or black? 

The majority of the people inside were black ; but I recollect seeing a man put out a pistol 
at the extreme end and tire, and he was a white man. 

5558. You said that the white flag was displayed ; that the police went up stairs, went into 
the hall, and that they were received with a fire? 

No, sir ; I did not wish to say that. I said after that firing they hung out the white flag 
and agreed to surrender. 

5559. Do I understand you to say that the police went up stairs, and were received, after 
they got up stairs, with a fire from the convention 1 

From the persons inside of the hall. 

5560. And then, after that, the white flag was displayed from the windows? 

No, sir, I do not say that ; I say that, after there had been firing going on inside and out- 
side, the white flag was hung out, and that there was a cry of surrender, and that the police 
then went up into the hall and were fired upon. I only heard the noise of the pistols inside. 

5561. And this firing that you speak of, out of the window, was not that the firing you 
saw ? 

Yes, sir, it was. 

5562. You have testified that, after a white flag was displayed the policemen went up 
stairs, and were received by the friends of the convention with a tire. 

I did not see that ; I beard that. 

5563. How do you know it was the friends of the convention firing on the police if you did 
not see it ? 

I did not say that I saw it. 

5564. How do you know that the friends of the convention fired upon the police ? 
Because I saw the policemen rush out, and they were wounded. 

5565. Are you a Union man ? 

What do you mean by a Union man ? 

5566. That you have, been in favor of the Union all the time, and opposed to the rebellion. 
I do not know that I was in favor of the rebellion. I was in Europe at the time the war 

broke out, and did not return here until the latter part of 1863. 

5567. But you have stood by the Union all the time ? 

I do not kuow r that I have been against the Union. I have been always a good constitu- 
tional man. 

5568. What kind of constitution? 

I maintain the Constitution of the United States to the best of my ability. I do not know 
what I might have done had I been here, but I was in Italy at that time. 



Neav Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
LUDGIER BOQUILLE (colored) sworn and examined. 

J. F. Mollere, having been introduced as interpreter, and duly sworn, interpreted as fol- 
lows: 

By the Chairman : 
556!). What is your occupation ? 

I keep school. My wife teaches English and I teach French. 
557ii. Where do you live .' 
Corner of Villeray and Esplanade. 

5571 . How long have you lived here ? 
I was born here. 

5572. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July, at the time of the massacre ? 
Yes, sir. 

5573. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute on that day ? 
Yes, sir. 



384 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

• 

5574. At what time of day did you go ? 

In the morning about ten o'clock, but it did not begin then. I came back about twelve 
o'clock and staid till they began. As I passed on Lafayette square in the morning I saw 
some policemen there preparing pistols. I saw them loading their pistols, and they said they 
would kill all the negroes and Union men. There were GOU or 7U0 of them. 

5575. What time of day was this? 

About nine or half-past nine in the morning. I recognized two or three of them. There 
were no police about the city ; the mayor had given orders for the whole force to confine 
themselves to the station-houses, and to be prepared for the first signal that was to be given 
to assemble at the Mechanics' Institute. 

5576. How did you learn that the mayor had given such orders? 

By being a member of two or three Union societies ; from the members of said societies. 

5577. What did you hear the, police say? 

I recognized several police officers whom I knew, who were dressed in citizens' clothes, at 
nine or ten o'clock in the morning, on my way to the Institute. I arrived at the Institute 
some time before the assembling of the convention. They addressed themselves to me and 
asked what I was doing there. I said that I came there to see what was going on. They 
informed me that nothing would transpire that day; that nothing would happen until the 
next day. 

5578. What day was that ? 

That was on the 30th. Then I withdrew from the Mechanics' Institute and promenaded 
on Canal street, until I saw a large number of these men were coming towards the Institute 
from Canal street and Common street, and then I and some of my friends went to the Insti- 
tute. We waited there a moment, and it was announced that the convention was to assem- 
ble at twelve or a quarter to twelve o'clock ; then a minister of the gospel made a prayer — I 
do not know his name. Not having a quorum, one. of the members asked for half an hour's 
recess to go and get the absent members. A great many people then withdrew from the In- 
stitute, and I withdrew likewise. Immediately after that I saw a procession of several hun- 
dred men coming towards the Institute, headed by a band of music, and it was there, that 
the firing commenced. A lot of young men then commenced edging towards the procession 
and shoving them off the banquette, and picking up brickbats and throwing at them. Then 
a great many of us went into the Institute. Doctor Hire said : "Let's go inside and remain. 
The roll will be called again in a few minutes." Immediately after that the firing commenced. 
I looked out of the window and I saw a colored man killed, and then the firing continued so 
that I could not get out of the Institute until very near two o'clock. The firing was going 
on in every direction — through the windows, through the doors, and into the back part of the 
Institute. The chaplain having been one of the first wounded, Dr. Hire took hold of him 
and bandaged his wound. After the chaplain was wounded he took a white handkerchief, 
tied it to a long staff, and addressed the people inside the Institute, advising them to sur- 
render, and saying we should not be injured any more. He went as far as the door and was 
met by a crowd of policemen, 40 or 50 in number, who immediately commenced ilrinpr, and 
there he was shot — about two paces from the door. We seized same chairs and tried to de- 
fend ourselves, aud succeeded in repulsing those who fired the vollej-s. 

5579. Were there any anus in the convention? 

I believe that Governor Halm had a pistol, and also two or three others. 

5580. Did they fire? 

They used their revolvers at the last when they found that the policemen were trying to 
push in at the door. At the time I was looking out of the window, when the policemen 
arrived, I received a blow from a brickbat which struck me on the shoulder and stunned me. 
The fire engines were loaded with arms aud brick-bats and different materials, and they 
kept up a constant firing from every direction upon us in the Institute. I came out one of 
the last from the hall. There were then lying around the hall some fifteen killed and a great 
number -of wounded, under the chairs and desks. I received one wound in the left arm and 
another in the knee, and several blows which did not injure me much. In going down the 
steps I was constantly struck over the head with huts of pistols and blows from sticks. I 
think that I was saved when Captain Loup was going down stairs. 1 attribute my escape, 
that is, the saving of my life, to the fact that when Captain Loup was going down stairs 
they immediately rushed upon him aud massacred him, and commenced hurrahing for Jef- 
ferson Davis. 1 escaped in that rush. I attribute my salvation to it. In that affair I had 
two friends killed, one of whom I have never heard at all of siuce. The other is young Mr. 
Le Croix. He was a youug man of very wealthy family, and had his watch-chain and a 
great deal of money on him at the time, none of which have been found. His body was 
found, but his watch-chain aud the large amount of money he had with him have never been 
seen. Le Croix was a colored man of very light complexion. I then tried to withdraw to 
go home, to bandage my wounds. When grasping the street car, as I was attempting to 
get into one, I was fired upon again. One of the shots passed close to my head. At the 
moment I was stunned in trying to get into the car. I saw an unfortunate negro, who was 
passing by me, brutally murdered right in front of me. When I arrived at home, wounded 
as I was, I was constantly on the alert expecting to be attacked, my neighborhood being 
surrounded with copperheads. General Baird furnished me a guard to protect me, for the 
reason that I am the teacher of a republican school and my wife was the superintendent of 



TESTIMONY OF J. Q. A. FELLOWS. 385 

one oi the schools of the city, one of the public schools, called the Doug-lass school. When 
she left it we organized this republican school. I am still in the same school-house and still 
carrying on my school. I have a large number of republican scholars, and this displeases 
the people of the neighborhood in which the school is situated. 

5581. State whether, after the white flag was displayed by the members of the convention, 
the police were fired upon. 

The police did not respect the white flag, but constantly fired upon those who presented it. 

5582. State whether those who were friends of the convention fired upon the police when 
they came up after the white flag Avas exhibited. 

I did not see any member of the convention fire. There were two or three shots fired with 
small pistols, hut the principal weapons used were chairs and sticks. As soon as the police 
came up the people in the hall rushed into the back part of the building. The police imme- 
diately commenced firing into them. They did not show themselves very brave, for although 
they had pistols we succeeded in driving them itack with chairs and sticks. They were 
firing and falling back from our assaults with the chairs. 

5583. Did you know of any preconcerted action before the meeting of the convention? 
Being a member of the Duraut Club, I was told that such would be the case ; that it was 

premeditated. 

By Mr. BoYER: 

5584. How long before the convention was held did you hear of this ? 
Two or three days before. 

5585. Did you warn some of your friends of what was going to take place ? 

They did not think the affair was to take place. If they had thought so they would have 
come prepared. 

« 558(5. I understood you to say that, as a member of the Durant Club, you had been in- 
formed that it was to take place '.' 

They had heard it from rumor, and were more inclined to believe it from the fact that, on 
the eve of the riot no policemen were to be seen on the street in any place, The different 
policemen from the parish of Saint Bernard and from the Parish Black had come to the city. 

5587. Did the colored people who went there generally think that something of the kind 
was going to take place '! 

They had no idea that anything of the kind was going to occur; so much so that they went 
there peaceably and quietly, just to see what was to transpire. 

5588. You say that you knew of it beforehand. Why did you not tell them? 

They did not state directly that they were going to kill any one, but that there, were cer 
tain rumors to that effect. It was the principal subject on the tapis that they were going to 
prevent the convention from assembling. 

5589. When you saw the policemen loading their pistols did you think they were going to 
shoot colored people and Union men ? 

I was close by and overheard some Creoles of the police force make this remark : "To-day 
we will fix those who present themselves " — that is, at the convention. 

5590. Then you did not believe that they were going to shoot them ? 

No, sir ; from the fact that I went to the convention unarmed I did not believe it. My 
idea was that they probably might have arrived and prevented the members of the conven- 
tion from assembling, and would have told the balance of them to withdraw ; that was my 
impression. 

5591. How many pistols were used by the people in the hall against the policemen when 
they attacked the assembly inside of the hall / 

I am sure that there were only two or three ; that is all I saw. I am perfectly sure that 
Governor Halm had a pistol, and that he was wounded. When he was falling he fired. It 
was a seven-shooter; I saw it in his hand. 

5593. Did you see any pistols in the hands of others ? 
1 think I saw one in the hands of a young man. 

5594. Did you see him fire it ? 

There were so many shots that I could not exactly tell. I think he fired ; but there were 
such volleys of firing that I could not exactly say who fired. 

5595. Did you see any one in the hall, fire out of the windows ? 

From the windows of the house opposite they were firing into the Institute. From the 
Medical Institute they were in force, firing into the Institute. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
J. Q. A. FELLOWS, whose name was furnished by citizens as having knowledge of facts 
deemed important to be communicated to the committee, being duly sworn, testified as 
follows : 

By Mr. Boyer : 
5596. How long have you been a resident of New Orleans ? 
Sixteen years. 

25 N. o. 



386 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

5597. What is your profession? 
I ain an attorney-at-law. 

5598. Did you reside here during the war? 

Yes, sir; I have resided here continuously, hefore and since, with an interruption of only 
two or three months. 

5599. In what courts do you practice ? 

In all the courts, both State and United States, and have for fifteen years. 

5600. State whether in your experience you have found any distinction made in the courts 
in administering justice to different classes of citizens. 

I do not think there is. 

5601. Has justice been denied in the courts, to your knowledge, to suitors, on account of 
their political sentiments ? 

I think not, sir. 

5602. Has the fact of a member of the bar being known as an original Union man in this 
community, of itself, anything to do with his success or want of success in business ! 

If you mean by that question in winning his case, and doing justice to his client, no, it 
makes no difference ; but in obtaining business, those of different sentiments would frequently 
prefer some one of their own way of thinking in political matters ; though that has not been 
the case with me, that I know of. 

5603. Does the fact of a man being a Union man prevent his success in this community 
as a member of the bar 1 

I think not, sir. 

5604. What was your position at the outbreak of the rebellion in reference to the move- 
ment 1 

I was a Union man ; I did not go so far even as to coincide with that party known here as 
the co-operationists; they were not Union enough for me, though I voted with them. I voted 
Union throughout to the end, though with some trouble, and have remained so ever since. 

5605. Have you notwithstanding been successful in your profession? 
Yes, sir; my business has increased every year since. 

5606. Is it any hindrance to you socially ? 

No, sir. I meet every one and every one meets me as they did before the war; in my family 
those of opposite sentiments do not visit me as much as formerly, but personally I find no 
difference. 

5607. Is the expression of individual opinions in this community free ? 
I think it is. 

5608. Are men who express their political sentiments in this community safe in their per- 
sons and property? 

Generally, I think they are ; there are cases, perhaps, where persons may go to extremes 
in expressing their opinions, and it might become very disagreeable. 

5609. May the loyalty of the people in this community be depended upon by the govern- 
ment 1 That is, do you believe that the people in this community profess obedience to the 
government in good faith ? 

Many of them do, and many of them do not, Fthink. 

5610. How is it with the majority ? 

I think the majority are in good faith. 

5611. Would that majority be sufficient to sustain itself and the good order of the com- 
munity ? 

I do not know that it would ; I cannot say. I have not seen the experiment tried long 
enough. 

5612. What policy on the part of the government of the United States would, in your 
opinion, produce the best effect upon the public mind here — a magnanimous and liberal 
policy, or one which is based upon the idea of further punishment ? 

I think, and have thought all along, that the idea of punishment by confiscation or im- 
prisonment would have a deleterious and injurious effect upon the sentiment of the commu- 
nity, and it has had from the beginning ; of that I am certain. 

5613. How is it as it respects the disfranchisement of those who participated in the rebel- 
lion? 

I would not myself vote for any one for office who was a prominent leader in the rebellion, 
or during its first stages. As tor voting, I would make that free for them all; and any cases 
where I would not trust, those I would exclude from office, but simply as a matter of policy, 
and permit them to stand aside for a time. 

5614. Would you confine that exclusion from office to the leaders, or would you embrace 
in it all who in any capacity had participated in the rebellion ? 

Only to the original leaders. 

5615. If Louisiana were restored to her position in the Union, and allowed represen tation 
in Congress, would it produce upon the public mind a happy or an unhappy influence ? In 
other words, would it weaken or strengthen the loyalty of the people towards the govern- 
ment ? 

I do not think it would make much difference in the aggregate ; if anything, though, it 
would be better to admit her to representation. 



TESTIMONY OF J. Q. A. FELLOWS. 387 

By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

5616. Who are entitled to vote now, according to the laws of Louisiana ? 

All citizens of the United States (I am speaking from memory) who have resided within 
tlif State tor a year. 

."'ill?. Whether white or black? 

No, sir; only white citizens. 

5618. What proportion of that class became, at one time or another, voluntarily engaged 
in the rebellion ? 

About nine-tenths — no, that is too large; about three-fourths. 

561i>. How <liil the black man feel towards the government during the war, as regards his 
sentiments of loyalty ? 

A large majority of them, I think, had no sentiments on the subject at all until after they 
came under federal rule. 

5620. But as far as they gave evidence of their feeling during the war, state how the 
black men generally felt towards the United States. 

They felt in favor of it. 

5621. Are you in favor iu Louisiana of the policy of restoration which shall consign the 
government exclusively to those you have just described as the three-fourths that were en- 
gaged in rebellion, and exclude all that class that remained loyal to the government? 

No, sir; I would confine it, if I could make the constitution myself, to every male over 
21 years, a citizen of the United States, resident within the State one year, not convicted of 
crime, and who was free-born, without regard to color. 

5622. Also without regard to the state of intelligence, as to being able to read and write? 
Yes, sir. 

5623. What proportion of the people of Louisiana of African descent have been free-born, 
as near as you can say ? 

About one-twentieth. 

5624. Would you ultimately cease to distinguish, as intelligence may increase among the 
black people, betweeu those that were born free and those that were not ? 

I would keep up the distinction. 

5625. But of course the children of those who had been slaves would in future generations 
come under that list ? 

Yes, sir ; in future generations. 

5626. Then you would keep up that distinction ? 

The negro born in a state of slavery could never get that shackle removed from him to the 
fullest extent. There would be exceptions, but they would yield to the general rule. 

5627. Do you favor the plan of the government of the United States taking charge of this 
matter? and did you ever send a despatch to any one at Washington favoring that idea? 

Yes, sir ; I did. 

5628. Will you state its general purport as near as you can remember, and to whom it. 
was sent? 

I have at various times written. On the Saturday before the riot I wrote to Mr. Rosier, 
who was then in Washington, a letter urgiug him by all means, if possible, to have the gov- 
ernment take charge of affairs in Louisiana, for its benefit; and on the Tuesday morning 
after the riot I telegraphed him to the same purpose. 

5629. Did you make a recommendation as to who should be made provisional or mili- 
tary governor ? 

No, sir, unless it was to recommend Mr. Rosier himself to take it, and I told him that no 
good citizen could properly refuse it if it were tendered him. 

5630. How would you inaugurate this method of extending the elective franchise which 
you are in favor of. Would you leave it to the chance of being inaugurated at some future 
day by those who are now electors, or would you have the government take charge of it ? 

Since 1863, in the progress of events at various stages, I have had my own opinions, but 
■whether present circumstances would make them good or not, I cannot say. 

5631. You have no recommendation then to make to the committee touching that question, 
how best to dispose of those matters we have been asking about? 

In July last I certainly would have had a provisional governor ; and in June last I wrote 
a letter, enclosing the form of a bill, to Chief Justice Chase, and I gave the substance of that 
letter to Representative Hays. 

5632. Would you still favor that plan ? 

I think I would; but I would not state so positively, as circumstances have changed. My 
original plan was presented to Mr. Lincoln before he died, in July, 186:5, which was to take 
our constitution as it was to start a government on ; that was partially done in Virginia and 
Mississippi, but departed from considerably. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5633. Had you anything to do with the convention movement on the 30th of July ? 
Nothing, sir, except to discountenance it. 

5634. Why did you discountenance it ? 

In the first place, the original convention was a fraud on the rights of any community in 



388 NEW OELEANS RIOTS. 

civilization ; it was improperly formed, and never was the expression of even a majority of 
the people that were within the lines, who were a minority ; and the people meeting there 
went beyond the letter of the recall of the convention, which should have been by the presi- 
dent: and they composed only a small fraction of the convention at that. It was a meeting 
that I knew, from the excited state of the community, would lead to trouble; I anticipated 
fully the trouble which did happen if the convention met, and I remarked to Judge Howell, 
who was president at the time, that during this war I saw that whoever went into it would 
stand a great risk of being hurt by it physically; and any one that went into this movement 
they were inaugurating — I did not know then that lie had issued the call — would be likely to 
get hurt in some way, and politically besides. 

5635. I desire to know, from what knowledge you have of some of the men who were 
leaders in that movement, and who are conspicuous now as so-called Union men, whether 
you can name any of them as having been in any way implicated in the secession movement 
originally, or in encouraging the rebellion after it had begun? 

Without the list before me I could not give any particular names, but I know that some 
of them, a number of them, did. Michael Halin originally was a Union man, and so far as 
he could go remained so, I believe, sincerely ; but then he went beyond what he need to 
have done in taking part in the rebellion, in presenting flags, &c 

5636. What kind of flags did he present ? 

He presented a rebel flag here to a regiment that was going to Virginia. 

5637. Did he make a speech ? 

Yes, sir ; it was reported in the papers ; he made three or four speeches encouraging the 
rebellion, and he accepted an office under it also. 

5638. What office? 

That of notary public. I had occasion to look that up and obtain his oath and bond. 

5639. What about Rufus King Cutler? 

He raised a company called the King Cutler company. He was prevented by physical 
incapacity from joining them. Neither of them need have done anything. 

5640. Do you know anything about Mr. Waples ? 

He also was a Union man and left here by compulsion ; he did not think it would be safe 
for him to stay here longer, and I don't think it would. 

5641. Was he a moderate or a violent man? 
A violent man. 

5642. Was he temperate or intemperate in his expressions? 
Intemperate, till he got frightened ; then he left. 

5643. What do you know, if anything, of Judge Howell's connection with the confeder- 
acy — the gentleman who acted as president of the convention on the 30th of July ? 

At the time the rebellion broke, out he was judge of one of our courts, and until he was 
placed upon the supreme bench by the present governor, Wells. He was elected once while 
the rebels were in rule here ; he was transferred from one court to another, still remaining 
judge ; with that exception he was a Union man. 

5644. Did he take the oath of allegiance to the confederacy ? 
That was annexed to his oath of office. 

5645. Is this a copy of his commission and oath of office, duly certified under the laws of 
your State? (Showing the commission to the witness.) 

Yes, sir; that is correctly certified to. 

Certified copy of Judge Howell's commission as judge under the confederacy was here 
placed in evidence, as follows : 

Monday, April 29, 1861. 

Present, the honorable R. K. Howell, judge. 

The honorable R. K. Howell, judge of this court, on taking his seat ordered the follow- 
ing commission and oath to be recorded : 

Commission. 
State of Louisiana, ss : 

By Thomas O. Moore, governor of the State of Louisiana, in the name and by the au- 
thority of the State of Louisiana : 

Know ye that R. K. Howell, having been duly elected judge in and for the sixth district 
court of New Orleans, 1 hereby c( aission him as such, and authorize him and em- 
power him to execute and fulfil the duties of that office according to law, and to hold 
the said office, with all the powers and emoluments and privileges to the same rightfully 
appertaining, from and after the date hereof. 

In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent and the seal of the 
State to be hereunto annexed. 

Given under my hand, at the city of Baton Rouge, on the J8th day of April, in the year 
of our Lord 1861 . 

[.seal.] THOMAS O. MOORE. 

By the govenor : 

HENRY D. HARDY, 

Secretary of State. 



TESTIMONY OF J. Q. A FELLOWS. dSd 

Oath of office indorsed on the above commission. 
STATE of Louisiana, Parish of Orleans, ss : 

I, Rufus lv. Howell, do solemnly swear that I am qualified, according to the constitution 
of this State, to hold the office of judge of the sixth district court of New Orleans, to which 
I have been elected, and that I will to the hest of my ability discharge the duties thereof, and 
support, protect, and defend the constitution of this State and of the Confederate States. So 
heli) me God. 

R. K. HOWELL. 
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 29th day of April, 1861. 
[SEAL.] A- M. BUCHANAN, 

Associate Justice Supreme Court, Louisiana. 

I, William Woelper, clerk of the sixth district court of New Orleans, do hereby certify 
that the foregoing is a true copy of the commission and oath of R. K. Howell as judge of 
this said court, extant on the records under date of April 29, 1861. 

WILLIAM WOELPER, Clerk. 

5646. Do you know anything of Mr. Eastou's antecedents ? 

He was a Union man throughout the reign of the confederacy, and was a man accustomed 
to using violent instead of conciliatory language, and to expressing himself extravagantly. 
He was not a member of the convention, I think. 

5647. Do you know anything of the antecedents of Mr. Henderson? 

During the whole of the war Mr. Henderson was in the insane asylum at Dixon, Missis- 
sippi ; he was there three years, and never fully recovered. 

5648. Was he violent in the expression of his opinions ? 

He was exceedingly like a crazy man. He was considered half deranged by the whole 
bar ail the time after his return from Mississippi. 

5649. Do you know anything about Mr. Fish ? 

He was a member of the convention, and he was secretary of the Southern Rights Secret 
Association. I had occasion to know a good many of them during the war. 

5650. Was that a secession association ? 

Yes, sir. I had a committee call upon me every Tuesday morning for six or eight months 
during the reign of the confederacy. 

5651. For what? 

To inquire what I was doing ; we were under confederate rule here then. 

5652. Were their inquiries respecting your political movements? 
Yes, sir ; exclusively. 

56.",:]. Did Mr. Fish ever call upon you personally to make inquiries ? 

I think not, sir. He did not make inquiries direct. When the, forts were being bom- 
barded below the city I had two conversations with him, but I did not know whether to 
trust him or not, though I was intimately acquainted with him. 

5654. Please look over this list of the members of the convention of 1864, and state whether 
you know of any of them being connected in any way with the confederacy. 

(A list of members of the convention of 1864 handed to the witness.) 

I do not mean to as.t you in reference to any members who were not among those con- 
cerned in the convention of July 30. 

That would be difficult to say, because I do not remember who those were. I see one 
here, J. Randall Terry, who was there. 

5655. Do you know of any connection he had with the confederacy ? 

At the review of 25,000 or 30,000 militia confederate troops, held on Canal street, in 
March, 1862, there was a company that carried a black flag, and he was the one that carried 
the flag. 

5656. Were they confederates ? 

Yes, sir. General Lovell reviewed them. There were some Union men who walked in 
the ranks because they were obliged to. 

5657. What did the black flag indicate ? 

It was a skull and cross-bones, and indicated no quarter. 

5658. No quarter to whom ? 

To the enemy in fight. They were making preparations for repulsing the attack which 
they expected on the city, and this was a review to show their strength. 

5659. You spoke of Governor Hahn having presented a flag to a confederate company ; 
was he not also a member of the secession association of which you spoke ? 

I do not know. I only knew the members that I came personally in contact with. 

5660. Did he not hold office under the confederate government ? 

Yes, sir ; he was State notary, and took the oath exactly like Judge Howell. 
" 566 1 . Do you know to what company Mr. Hahn presented the flag ? 
It was to a regiment that was to go to Virginia. 

5662. Was he not leaving for Shiloh at the time ? 
I am not certain. 

5663. Do you know anything in reference to Colonel A. P. Field, and his association 
with the confederacy ? 



390 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

No, sir. He was a Union man all through. I know I gave him money after the fleet 
came up, and before General Butler arrived, to enable him to live. 

5664. Do you know anything of Frederick Dunoy, who was a volunteer in the confed 
erate service ? 

I knew him very well. I think he was in the seiwice before the battle of Shiloh. 

5665. Do you remember his card in the papers about taking the oath of allegiance ? 
Yes, sir. General Butler was in command here at the time. 

5666. Do you know what General Butler did with him for that? 

He had him arrested, but whether he was imprisoned, or whether he backed out, I could 
not say. 

5667. Do you remember that he was sent to Ship island ? 
I do not remember that. 

By the Chairman : 

5668. State whether upon the whole, from your knowledge of the condition of things in 
your State, it is not your judgment that the true way to proceed now, in view of the future 
of Louisiana, is to have a provisional government lure, appointed by Congress. 

I think myself that if a provisional government could be formed for Louisiana it would be 
much better for it in the future, if there is such a possibility as the appointment by Congress 
of one that is made up of those who understand the feelings and wants of the people here ; if 
that might be, it would be for the advantage of all parties. 

5669. Is not that, upon the whole, the course for this State to get out of its present con- 
dition .' 

It is in my mind a question which would be the best, to let the thing work itself through 
or to start another government. There is so much dissatisfaction with eA-erything done here, 
and so much imperfection in it, that I do not think but it would be years, at least, before 
there could be peace and quiet. 

5670. Have you any idea as to whether the constitutional amendments that have been 
proposed by Congress will be ratified here ? 

No, sir ; I think not, under present circumstances. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

5671. Is your idea with reference to the provisional government based upon your con it- 
eration as to what the action of Congress is likely to be ; or is it based upon a theory inde- 
pendent of the present complications of Congress ? 

I take both matters into consideration, and hence I cannot say, because I cannot tell what 
Congress would do. 

5672. I suppose, then, that in view ot the present uncertainty of the political condition of 
the State, and of the future, you think that an imperfect government that is certain would be 
better than the uncertainty as to the future which now exists? 

That is my idea precisely. I would prefer the present imperfect state of affairs to an un- 
certainty, which almost any government that could be devised would carry with it. 

5673. If you had the making of the provisional government, would you make and impose 
upon the people of this State a government, one feature of which would be universal negro 
suffrage, and another the disfranchisement of those who had taken part in the rebellion I 

No, sir ; I would not do it. If I were to make a provisional government, I would sweep 
away everything that had been done since 1862, and take the constitution of 1852 as my basis, 
and act under that till it was changed. I would sweep away every officer, and have some 
provision, of course, to temporarily fill vacant places till proper elections could be held. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5674. Do you mean to be understood as saying that in establishing the State governmen 
under the constitution of J8f>2 you would establish slavery? 

No, sir. It was a mere act of the legislature, to be abolished at any moment by the legis- 
lature of Louisiana : and there never was a distinction in Louisiana between whites and 
blacks, provided they were free. 

5675. There is no civil distinction, then, under the constitution of 1852? 

No, sir ; no civil distinction; and there are only three political disqualifications — voting, 
serving on juries, and serving in the militia. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 

Judge KELLOGG, desiring to add to his testimony, appeared before the committee, 
and testified as follows: 

Referring to my testimony on a previous occasion, in reference to the test-oath particu- 
larly, I desire, to say what I omitted to say before. I had had a great deal of trouble in ref- 
erence to this test-oath in the custom-house, and I find my difficulty mainly consisted in 
this — that there are so many applicants, from all classes of the community, who, under cover 



TESTIMONY OF JUDGE KELLOGG. 391 

of the test-oath, seek to get into the custom-house, though they may have been what is 
termed registered enemies, and even have been in the rebel army, because it is a matter of 
interest to disguise the fact. Those men are the most worthless of the class that apply tome; 
as a general tiling, the least reliable. 

My great difficulty is, that I am very much in need of a class of employes that I am un- 
able to get for the compensation that is given by the department; and those residents of the 
city — for I aim to appoint residents where I can — have either been registered enemies, or in 
the rebel army to a greater or less extent, but still they are intelligent, and efficient, and ca- 
pable ; they are also noble and high-minded, and having conscientious scruples, will not 
take the oath : as soon as they ascertain that they have to take the test-oath, they refuse and 
turn away. But the dishonorable, who are not so high-minded, will take the oath ; and I 
cannot, of course, among so many, inquire into their antecedents; besides, many of them 
impose upon me by bringing credentials and recommendations from Union people. 

I desire to say that if that test-oath could be modified to embrace heads of departments, or 
chief officers, leaving it in such a manner that it would not exclude the class of people I 
speak of, who are efficient and capable, it would very much facilitate the collection of the 
revenue here, and in the south. 

I staled the other day that I would not have the test-oath repealed. I was speaking gen- 
erally in reference to that oath, and in reference to the question of the law on the statute 
book ; but if it could be modified, I think it would be vastly better. It is a dead letter here; 
members of Congress can control that ; I cannot, and other officers situated as I am cannot. 

I desire to state further, in reference to another portion of my testimony called out by a 
question of Mr. Shellabarger. I think there is a great misapprehension in the south in ref- 
erence to what is called the constitutional amendment. Many, the majority perhaps, seem 
to think that a constitutional amendment, if adopted, would cany with it the right on the 
part of Congress to legislate on suffrage in the States. I said the other day that I was in fa- 
vor of it. I said so because I considered that question definitely settled by the recent elec- 
tions ; and that it would be better to adopt that than go further and fare worse. Still, if 
they could voluntarily accept it, as I said before — general amnesty and universal suffrage — 
I am satisfied it would have a far more beneficial effect upon the people of the south. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

567C. Do I tmderstaud you now as recommending the abolition or alteration of the test- 
oath 7 

O, no, sir. I only suggest a modification of it, if it could be consistently done, as I 
conceive it might, in reference to the offices of the south ; because in many localities it is 
impossible to get good and qualified men to collect the revenue. 

5077. You say, if I understand you, that a class of noble and intelligent men present 
themselves to you for office, who have been in the rebel army or in the rebel service, and 
that the test-oath, as it now is, compels you to reject them, and that you would have it 
changed so that they could be appointed. Is that your idea ' 

I would, sir. 

5678. You say that auother class present themselves who are equally traitorous in their 
antecedents, but who, by reason of their worthlessness, will take any oath in order to get an 
office ? 

Yes, sir. 

5079. Do you understand the law, and so to construe it, to permit you to appoint a man 
that you know has been in the rebel service, and who is incapable of rightly taking the 
oath/ In other words, do you not deem it your duty to reject a man when you know he 
cannot truthfully take it 7 

I do, in every instance where I know it. 

5680. "Why, then, cannot you reject the worthless, although they may be willing to take 
the test-oath, and appoint a loyal man who can take the oath 7 

The difficulty is this: I do not know, not being able to inquire into the political antece- 
dents of every man to find out whether I am appointing a rebel or not. I am requiring 
clerks at this moment, experts, that I could find in this city ; but, unfortunately, they are 
objectionable under the law, as they cannot take the test-oath. 

5681. Do you wish to be understood as saying that there are not enough men in this city 
who have not been rebels to fill the offices efficiently 7 

No, sir ; except in this, that for certain positions I find great difficulty in procuring men 
that will take them and discharge the duties properly for the compensation connected with 
them. They must come from the north and bring their families; and I cannot induce a man 
who can live in Washington for $1,800 to run the risk of the climate and bring his family 
here for the compensation offered. Thus, there are not enough men to take the offices. 

5682. Not such as are fitted for them 7 

Yes, sir ; and especially liquidating clerks. I want- fifteen, and I cannot find five fitted 
who would be able to take the oath. 
568o. What pay do they get 7 
Some §1,500, some $1,800. 

5684. Cannot you find plenty of young men willing to take those positions at those rates 
No, sir ; not such positions, because they require thorough accountants. 



392 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New Orleans, January 1, 1867. 
Mrs. N. MARIA TAYLOR sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5685. Do you reside in this city? 
Yes. sir. 

5686. I lave you a husband living ' 

Yes, sir. His name is John T. Taylor. We have been living seventeen years in New 
Orleans and vicinity ? 

5687. Have you been employed in the public schools of this city as a teacher? 

Yes, sir ; all that time, with a few exceptions. I was dismissed from the schools in 1860, 
and reappointed when the federal forces occupied the city. I retained my place then four 
years — until the schools opened this year after the summer vacation. 

5688. Are you now in office ? 
No, sir. 

5689! Was your name dropped or were you dismissed ? 

I do not know but that amounts to the same thing. The teachers generally have held 
their office during good behavior. A clause in the by-laws says that no teacher shall be dis- 
missed without cause. 

5690. Why did you not resume your school at the commencement of the term ? 
Because they notified me that my services were no longer required. 

5691. To what cause was that attributable? 

I know of no other cause than political differences of opinion. I think it is because I have 
always been decidedly for the Union. There was no reason assigned. I passed all the ex- 
aminations that were required, and they gave no reason for dismissing me. 

5692. Are you acquainted with the other school teachers in the city ? 
I am with a great portion of them. 

5693. About how many female teachers are employed ? 
About two hundred and thirty. 

5694. Have there been other cases where teachers have been dismissed within your know- 
ledge ? 

Yes, sir ; I think there were one hundred and ten dismissed. 

5695. So far as you know, for what reason ? 

So far as I know, for the reason that they took the oath under the federal authority; some 
out of real love for the Union, and some, probably, for the sake of getting employment. I 
presume a good many of them were really for the Union. 

5696. How many who were really for the Union are left in office here that you know of 
among the lady teachers ? 

I do not know of one; there may be some ; I could not say positively. 

5697. Were you in the habit of teaching singing in your school ? 
Yes, sir. 

5698. What kind of singing? 

They sung national airs, sentimental songs, &c. 

5699. Have you any reason to think that your teaching of singing and other exercises, 
inculcating a love for the Union, were among the reasons that induced them to remove you? 

I certainly do think so. 

57(10. (State the reasons you have for thinking so. 

Once on a visit of the superintendent to my school, he said he would like to hear some 
singing. I asked him what kind. He said nothing political. He knew there was nothing 
political sung there except on one side. The girls could not sing anything else, and there- 
fore did not sing. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

5701. Look over the list of teachers furnished you, who are reported to have been dismissed, 
and point out such as you know to have been decided in their Union sentiments. 

Mr. H. R. Hammond was decidedly fur the Union, and was in the army for a long time. 
He was the principal of the beys' High school. The following teachers who I know were 
dismissed were all for the Union: Miss F. A. Cogswell, Mrs. M. L. Richardson, Miss J. 
Liddell, Miss M. E. Murphy, Miss M. E. Fined, Miss E. C. Crane,- Mrs. W. N. Meilly, 
Miss C. McBride, Miss R. D. Edwards, Mrs. A. Sheean, Mrs. H. A. Duboc, Miss M. A. 
Armstrong, Miss F. A. Chadwiek, Mrs. A. Boyden, Miss E. A. Miller, Miss C. E. Wool- 
fray, Miss F. A. Flanders, Mrs. S. Getehell. These are names I recognize in looking over 
the list as those I know positively in reference to. 

5702. What kind of national airs did you sing in your school? 
Such as Hail Columbia, Star-spangled Banner, and Yankee Doodle. 

5703. Did you use any songs in your school that were political in any other sense? 
We had these war songs, such as "Just come home from battle." 

5704. Do you know what the antecedents are of the teachers who have been employed in 
place of those who have been displaced ? 

They are in every instance, I believe, those who taught before the war and who would 
not take the oath when the federals took the city. Most of them have been in the confederacy. 



TESTIMONY OF MRS. N. MARIA TAYLOR. 393 

5705. Do you know whether these national songs, such us Hail Columbia and Star-span- 
gled Banner, arc now excluded from the schools ! 

They are not sung at all. I do not know whether they are formally excluded by the 
board, but thev are not sung. 

5706. Do you know how the children are taught in reference to love of the country and 
of government ! 

I do not think they are taught to love it very much. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

5707. When did you cease teaching school here? 

On the 17th of June; the schools then closed for summer vacation. 

5708. How long did the vacation continue? 
Until the 1st of September. 

5709 In what way did you receive notice that your services were no longer required? 
Through the papers. 

5710. Of what school were you the teacher? 
The Washington school. 

5711. What sort of a school is that? 

It is a school preparatory to entering the High school. 

5712. Were you ever informed by the superintendent or board of school directors that they 
objected to your Union sentiments, and that you were dismissed for that reason? 

No, sir; I never was; I never saw the board that dismissed me ; they were a new board, 
elected during the summer. 

5713. You continued your position as long as the old board continued in power? 
Yes, sir. 

5714. Do you know who was appointed in your place? 

I do ; she was my first assistant when I was there ; she was a lady who has been out in 
the confederacy. 

5715. Were you in the confederacy during the war? 
No, sir ; I never acknowledged any confederacy. 

5716. What do you mean by saying that she was in the confederacy? 
When the federals occupied the city she left as others did. 

5717. If she was not a Union lady, how came she to be your first assistant? 

She returned after the close of the war, and through the influence of friends obtained the 
appointment. 

5718. Was she your assistant during the time the federal authorities had control in the city ? 
O no, sir; she would not teach under them ; she would not take the oath. 

5719. When did she cease teaching' 
When the federals occupied the city. 

5720. And when did she resume ? 

After the war was ended. She only taught three months under me. 

5721. Were any other songs sung in your school than those you have named ? 
Songs of that nature only. 

5722. Did you sing "John Brown's body lies mouldering in the ground ?" 
Yes, sir, we sung that. 

5723. Was it a common song in the school? 

It was pretty hard to get some of the girls to sing it. 

5724. Did you insist on their singing it? 

Yes, sir; I insisted on their singing anything that was determined to sing. 

5725. What other songs of that nature ? 

"Rally round the flag. ' We sung all the Union songs and all the war songs as they 
came out. 

5726. When these songs were sung, of how many scholars did your school consist ? 
There were about thirty -five in my room. I think the singing was only in my room. 

5727. Were they the children of residents here? 
O yes, sir ; they were young ladies principally. 

5728. Where were you from, originally? 
From New York. 

5729. What are you doing now ? 
Nothing; I am merely residing here. 



394 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
WILLIAM STIACKELTON sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5730. State your residence and business. 

I live in New Orleans ; have lived here ever since 1851. My general business is working 
in an ice-house. 

5731. Were you ever on the police in New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir. 

5732. At what time ? 

I was on when General Butler was here, under a man who was chief of police, by the 
name of Colonel French. 

573:!. How ltniff did you stay on the police? 

I staid on, with some intervals, until the election of Mayor Monroe. 

5734. Were you retained on the police by Mayor Monroe ? 
No, sir ; I was discharged soon after his election to office 

5735. Did you make application to get on again ? 

Yes, sir; I made application to Mayor Monroe after he had been to Washington and got 
his pardon. He questioned me as to where I was from and who I was appointed on the 
police force by. I told him I was appointed by Colonel Freuch, under General Butler. He 
then said, " These men were my enemies, and I consider any man who served under them as 
bad as themselves. I will not employ you on the police." 

5736. State who he means by men who were his enemies ? 
I suppose he meant Colonel French. 

5737. Who was Colonel French? 

He was one of General Butler's staff. He was appointed chief of police by General 
Butler. In those days they could get no man to go on the police except stanch Union men. 
They had a military guard to escort the police to their beats; to protect them against some 
citizens who now call themselves Union men. 

5738. Do you know the character of the men who are on the police force now ? 

As to their personal character I cannot tell you. They are most all returned confederate 
soldiers. I know of several of them who have returned from the rebel army. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

5729. Did Mayor Monroe tell you the kind of people he was going to appoint on his 
police ? 

No, sir ; he did not. 

5740. What are you doing now ? 

I am doing nothing at the present time, except occasionally, when some ice comes in from 
Boston. I have worked for Mr. Tudor, of Boston, for the last ten or twelve years. 

5741. What countryman are you? 

I am an Irishman born, but a citizen of the United States since 1848, when I declared my 
intention of becoming a citizen. 

5742. Did you hear from any of the police what they were e'oiu£ to do with the pistols on 
the 30th of July ? 1 

No, sir ; I never had any conversation with them. When I was not reappointed on the 
police, I withdrew from them altogether. I said to Mayor Monroe, "It appears to me that 
no Union man can get an appointment on your police." He did not return to me any an- 
swer. 

By Mr. Buyer : 

5743. What date was it that you made your application to Mayor Monroe for appointment 
on the police force? 

I am not very sure, but think it was about the middle of August last, as near as I can 
guess. 

5744. Were you a Union man ? 
Yes, sir. 

5745. You must have thought in August last that Union men would stand some chance of 
being appointed by Mayor Monroe .' 

Yes, sir. I thought, as long as he got his pardon from Washington, that he would act im- 
partially. 

5746. Do you infer from the fact of his being unwilling to appoint you, that Union men 
had no chance ? 

That was my opinion, and is my opinion. 

5747. Can you name any of the police officers who were in the confederacy ? 

I know several of them. I do not know them by name, exactly. I know several of them 
by countenance. I know they were not in here previous to peace being made. 

5748. Do you know any by countenance who you are sure were in the rebel army ? 
Yes ; I do know some, sure. 

5740. How many ! 

Perhaps I may know two or three, whose faces are familiar to me. 



TESTIMONY OF E J. JENKINS. 395 

New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
E. J. JENKINS sworn and examined. 
By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5750. Where do you reside? 

I reside in this city. I have been here since 1834, with the exception of two years I spent 
in California. 

5751. Did you have any conversation with any alderman or member of the city council of 
the city of New Orleans in regard to the riot that occurred July 30 .' 

No, sir; I had no conversation with them. 

5752. Did you hear anything said by any of them with regard to the matter? 

I will state all I know in reference to that matter. I am one of the city assessors up to this 
time. My time expires next Monday. I was appointed by the military authorities as such, 
and was dispossessed by the present council, who are rebels. I am a Union man. I was, on 
the 30th day of July, the day the riot occurred, at my office as one of the assessors. I heard 
a noise in the street which attracted my attention. I went to the window from my desk to 
see what was the matter. I had previously understood the ringing of the bells was to alarm 
the citizens in case any difficulty occurred. I went to the window and observed policemen 
bearing wounded persons — negroes principally, and some members of the convention — to the 
lock-up that is right opposite the City Hall. I went down stairs from my room, which is in 
the upper story, to the side door. There I noticed several members of the city council, who 
were cheering on the policemen and encouraging them in their bloody work — that is, in 
bringing in these poor, wounded persons to the lock-up. So far as the members of the con- 
vention were concerned, I do not think it was undeserving, because they were instrumental 
in bringing on that occurrence. If they had performed their duties properly as members of 
the convention in 1864, they would have disfranchised rebels, and prevented their having 
power again in this State. 

5753. You have testified that several members of the city council were cheering on the 
police in their bloody work, and encouraging them. State what they said and did in the way 
of encouraging them. 

The amount of what I said, or what I mean was, encouragement by hurrahing and using 
to the police some expressions like, "That's right; go ahead," and so on. I could not now 
distinctly state the terms they used. I know that they cheered and used words of encour- 
agement. Several members of the council I knew and recognized as such. I noticed them 
particularly as I stood at the door. 

5754. Was not the encouragement given to them to try to save the negroes and bring them 
in and try to take care of them, instead of trying to kill them? 

No ; I think the very reverse was the case. 

5755. Why do you think the very reverse was the case ? 

Because they were bringing in the negroes, and pursued their bloody work by massa- 
creing them, instead of putting down a riot, which they pretended to be doing. I think they 
carried the tiling entirely too far. They could have suppressed it without using any violence. 

5756. You have said, if I understood you right, that the police served the convention right ? 
I said that, so far as the members were concerned, it was, perhaps, a just retribution for 

their not having done their work properly three years ago. 

5757. You do not mean to justify, then, the slaughter of the members of the convention, 
but simply that they had done wrong, and that this was a retribution upon them for not 
having done right \ 

That was my impression, because Union men have been rendered unsafe here by their acts 
in the convention in not disfranchising rebels. 

5758. What is the condition of men who are known as staunch Union men, and have been 
so during the war, as to their being in favor in Louisiana, receiving public employment, &c? 

They are deprived of all public employment, even by the government of the United States ; 
that is, the collector of this port, and the collector of internal revenue, and the postmaster 
have appointed the worst rebels to office, and they have deprived Union men of their offices, 
and given rebels employment. 

5759. What kind of men are Mayor Monroe's police force ? 

I believe that with hardly any exception they are confederates or rebels. They are Irish- 
men and Germans many of them ; but they were on that side of the question. I distinctly 
state it, as my opinion, that Union men have no say whatever in this State. 

5760. You have said that officers of the United States here, the collector of the port, the 
collector of internal revenue, &c, have appointed rebels to office. Do you know that per- 
sonally, or from general reputation ? 

This I confess is from general reputation ; it is the general talk throughout the city. 

5761. Do you know yourself of a well-known rebel who has received office from either the 
collector of internal revenue, or from Judge Kellogg, the collector of the port ? 

I would have to refer to the last incumbents to know. I was here at the time of the seces- 
sion of the State, and long before it ; and I do know, at least it is my impression, that two- 
thirds of the white inhabitants of the State were rebels, and that one-third at least were loyal 
citizens. I do not believe now that more than one-fourth are loyal, and the rebels are 
worse now than they were when they laid down their arms. 



396 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

5762. Why do you think that ? 

Because I see their acts of hostility in reference to the board of assessors, with which I am 
now connected. There were others appointed by the military authorities; I was oile of the 
first and was known as a Union man. I have never taken the oath of allegiance to the south- 
ern confederacy at all. I avoided it. General Weitzel appointed me to the position. I had 
that under the new charter of the city. The council and board of aldermen, or the board of as- 
sistant aldermen, as they are called, have to make the election of the board of assessors. 
There are twelve members of the board ; and in making the elections they displaced every 
one of those who were Union men. Every one of those members that were appointed by 
the military that were Union men were displaced. The present board consists of stanch 
rebels, all of whom were in the confederacy. 

5763. What would be the effect of the withdrawal from Louisiana of the United States mili- 
tary protection, upon the interests and safety of the Union people of the State ? 

My impression is that the Union men, the loyal Americans, would be seriously incom- 
moded — would be annoyed beyond measure. Everything would be done to make their resi- 
dence disagreeable to them. They would be persecuted and deprived of employment, and 
as citizens could never hold office of any description. They would be deprived of any sup- 
port to which they might look forward, so far as proscription could accomplish it. I was 
told in the office of the secretary of the board of assessors, who was appointed, that he was 
surprised that any Union man would run for office. They are supposed to be Union men, and 
yet this is the style of their conversation. These men are supposed to have taken the oath 
of allegiance to the United States, and call themselves Union men, but when they utter their 
sentiments without restraint they are always against the Union. 

5764. Then, when they utter their sentiments, they are not friendly to the government of the 
United States, or in favor of its permanence ? 

I never heard any remark in connection with that from any of them. They would profess 
to be friendly towards the United States to me, but they contradict themselves. I judge 
from my observation more than from anything else of their hostility to the United States. 
They have not yet got over the mortification of their defeat. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5765. Were you a candidate for assistant assessor ? 

Yes, sir. It was understood that all the members of the board would retain their places if 
they were reappointed. I was not anxious in the matter myself, but I was disposed to ac- 
cept, provided I was retained. 

5766. But the city council selected some other gentleman to fill your place ? 
Yes, sir. 

5767. For which, if I understand you, you think the city council did you injustice ? 

I think, as I said, that the city council, in failing to reappoint any one of that force, were ac- 
tuated by hostility to the incumbents. 

576S. By whom were your colleagues in the board appointed ? 

They were appointed by the military authorities. There were other new appointments 
made by the present council. 

5769. Who do you mean by the military authorities ? 

I mean those who had control or command of the city, General Butler and General Banks. 

5770. By whom were these men appointed, by General Butler or by General Banks ? 
Under General Butler. General Weitzel was placed as mayor of the city, or acting mayor. 

I was appointed by him. The other members of the board were appointed by a military 
commander. 

5771. You say that you were present and saw, on the 30th of July, several members of 
the city government encouraging the massacre ? 

Encouraging the policemen. 

5772. Which of the city council did you see so engaged? 

I saw several members of the board. Their names, so far as I can recollect, are McKnight, 
of the board of aldermen, Prague, and, I think, Keyser, as far as I can recollect. I was not 
intimate with members of the city council. 

5773. Are you sure these members of the city council whom you have named were those 
who were engaged thus ? 

I am sure I saw them at the door so engaged. 

5774. What did you see Mr. Moore doing? I desire you to be precise. Recollect as dis- 
tinctly as you can what these men severally did? 

I saw Mr. Moore with the other members. 

5775. Speak specifically of what Mr. Moore did, and I will inquire of the other members 
afterwards. 

I did not notice particularly more than this, that they appeared to be encouraging the po- 
licemen. 

5776. Confine your answer explicitly to what Mr. Moore said and did. 

I did not single him out any more than I did the other members ; I saw them collectively 
as a crowd encouraging the police. 

5777. I ask you again what you saw Mr. Moore do ? 



TESTIMONY OF J. E. JENKINS. 397 

T have answered that I saw him apparently encouraging the bringing- in of the wounded 
men. 

5778. In what way ? 

Hurrahing, &c. ; making a demonstration as if he approved their conduct. 

5779. Give ns the words Mr. Moure used. 

That is all I heard him say, "Hurrah, go ahead," or something of that kind. It was a 
demonstration simply to encourage them. 

5780. Where was he at that time? 

When I met these persons they were down at the lower door of the City Hall, opposite what 
is called the lock-up. 

5781. Where were you? 

I was at the door. I run to see what was going on. 

5782. Can you give me more than you have already done of the language used by Mr. 
Moore on that occasion? 

I cannot. 

5783. What did Mr. Prague say? 

The same words were used ; I cannot do more than repeat what I have said. 

5784. Do you say, upon your oath, that you have heard him hurrah? 

Yes. he cheered the police; I did not take any special notice of any words used ; I did not 
expect to be called upon with reference to it. 

5785. What did you see Mr. Keyser do ? 
The same thing. 

5786. Can you give any words that he uttered? 
No, sir. 

5786-J. What did you see Mr. McKnight do ? 

The same thing; the encouragement was the same given to the police. 

5787. Then you cannot give any particular words or describe any particular acts ? 
Nothing more than to merely cheer on the police. 

5788. How often did you hear any man cheer? 

I do not remember more than once. I observed it only for a very shortwhile. I saw these 
men merely encouraging the flame on. I left after a few minutes, disgusted with the scene. 

5789. Can you mention any other Union man who was present and saw these men doing 
anything or saying anything or cheering > 

No, I cannot ; there was a crowd of city authorities and returned rebels there. 

5790. You stated before that you saw these members of the city council, or heard them say- 
ing, "Go ahead, go on," &c, and you have just sworn that you do not know whether you 
heard them utter any word 1 

I said I heard them cheering and saying "Go ahead; go on," and using such expressions 
of encouragement. I do not recollect the precise terms used. 

i 5791. Then, when you said before that they said "Go ahead, go on," &c, you did not 
mean that these were the precise words used, or that they used any particular words ? 

I expressed myself as I do now, that they irsed words of encouragement. I did not take 
any particular notice of the expressions used. The general impression produced upon me 
was that they used words of encouragement. 

5792. Why did you swear that you could not say that either of them uttered a particular 
word ? 

Their encouragement was by cheering and using those expressions. 

5793. Then you now swear again that they did use those expressions ? 

I simply state that they used some words of encouragement. But I would not pretend to 
swear positively to the statement given as exactly the words they may have used. That is 
the impression I arrived at at the time. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5794. W 7 as this encouragement you speak of given by words such as are given in public 
assemblies when approbation is expressed ! 

Precisely ; by shouts and such language. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5795. You say that the Union men of the city were driven to the wall because they did 
not disfranchise the rebels ? 

That is what I say, that the present convention were derelict in duty in not disfranchising 
the rebels — returned rebels. 

5796. And according to your statement they comprised a majority of the white people? 
Yes, sir; the rebels did. 

5797. How, then, could a minority disfranchise a majority ? 

The minority were in power, and were Union men. The majority were rebels, and had 
left the city and State and gone into the confederacy, and were no longer citizens. The 
minority were really the citizens, and the majority were not any more citizens than were 
foreigners. 

5798. But the convention was a convention for the whole State, not for the city of New 
Orleans merely? 



398 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

Yes, sir. 

5709. Then, if they disfranchise those you term rebels, in the city of New Orleans, they 
would have been obliged to disfranchise the same class of men throughout the State, would 
they not 1 

Precisely. 

5800. Which, in your opinion, were in a majority in the State, those who took part in 
the i - ebellion or those who took part with the United States government ? 

In my opinion two-thirds of the citizens of New Orleans took part with the rebels. I 
think, however, that originally in the State a bare majority of the citizens were in favor of 
secession ; hardly a majority iu the State at large. 

5801. You say that the members of the convention deserved their fate by reason of their 
neglect of their opportunity to disfranchise. Do you mean to say that the punishment and 
the injuries which they received on the 30th of July was not more than they deserved, so far 
as the members of the convention were concerned ? 

I think so, decidedly; though, as I expressed myself before, while it was a just retribution 
for their neglect, there was no apology for the authorities here. 

5802. Hail you no sympathy for their sufferings that day? 

I did not observe them. I did not know anything about them. 

5803. Then, when you say they deserved what they got, you mean to say they deserved 
what you afterwards understood they received? 

I did not know at that time that any one of them had been killed who was a member of 
the convention. My impression was they had received severe punishment, though they had 
not been killed. 

5804. What is your descent ? 

I am a native of the city of Charleston, South Carolina. 

5805. What business did you pursue in this city before the war ? 
I have been in various occupations and pursuits. 

5806. What were you engaged in at the time the war broke out ? 

I have been more or less engaged in the custom-house. I left just before the war broke 
out. 

5807. Under whom ? 

A former collector, Mr. Hatch. 

5808. When was that ? 
Just prior to the war. 

5809. When the war broke out, what position were you in ? 

I was the measurer of the port. Mr. Hatch, although a friend of mine, knew my opinions 
as a Union man, and he displaced a great many of his personal friends. 

5810. Did you hold office under the confederacy? 
Not at all. 

5811. Did you hold office after the ordinance of secession had been passed by Louisiana? 
No, sir. 

5812. Did you resign, or were you dismissed? 

Mr. Hatch displaced a great many officers owing to their Union sentiments, and among 
them myself. 

5813. Were you willing to remain? 
No, sir. 

5814. Did you resign? 

No, sir; I looked forward to a dismissal, as a matter of course. 

5815. Did not you in the beginning profess allegiance to the confederacy? 
No, sir. I have never given allegiance to the confederacy. 

5816. Did you not contribute anything toward the support of the war? 
No, sir. 

5817. Did you remain in the city during the war? 
Yes, sir. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
Miss M. A. ARMSTEONG sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5818. State your resilience. 

I reside in New Orleans and have lived here all my life. 

r>sj;). Were you at any time engaged as a teacher in the public schools ? 

Yes, sir: for twelve years ; since J 85 4. 

5820. What school did you have charge of? 

The last school I had was the Robertson girls' school. I was the principal. 

5821. About how many scholars were there in your school? 
About three or four hundred. 



TESTIMONY OF MISS M A. ARMSTRONG. 399 

•-', Wire they all under your supervision? 
Yes, sir: with the aid of an assistant teacher. 

5823. Bow many assistant teachers did you have ? 
Six. 

5824. For how long a time were you instructor in that school ? 

I was in that school four years, and in that district twelve years. 

5825. Are you a teacher at this time ? 
No, sir : I am not. 

5826. When were you dismissed, and why? 

I was made t<> believe that I could have my position until I saw the list of appointments 
in the papers and found my name was omitted. I had had conversations with the board who 
elected tin- teachers, and they made; me believe that I should be reappointed. I saw Mr. 
Richards time times. He left me with the impression that I w*as perfectly safe in my posi- 
tion. Afterwards I went to ascertain, if I could, why they dismissed me. They gave me 
no reason, and I left convinced it was on account of my Union sentiments. 

5827. At what time were you displaced .' 

We left on the last Friday in July for a month's vacation. 

5828. How many teachers, as near as you can state, failed to receive appointment for this 
reason ? 

I cannot state the reason for any one except myself. I believe that over a hundred were 
left out, and every one who made any display of unionism in school, or encouraged the 
children to love the Union or to sing national airs. That was one of the circumstances given 
to me. 

5829. What do you mean by national airs ? 

Hail Columbia, Star-spangled Banner, America, and airs or songs of that description. 

5830. Do you know the sentiments of those who were dismissed, whether Union or 
secession? 

As far as they came within my personal acquaintance they were Union people. 

5831. Were there any exceptions ? Do you know of a single secessionist who was dis- 
missed that department ? 

I do not. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5832. As far as you know the sentiments of the teachers now employed, state what they 
are in regard to the Union. 

I know them to be confederates or secessionists. They were put back into the positions 
which they refused to accept when the federals came here. 

5833. Then so far as you know, none but Union teachers were turned out, and none but 
secessionists were retained ? 

Yes, sir. 

5834. Do you know what the children now are taught in regard to loving their govern- 
ment or hating treason? 

I cannot say. I know there is no more singing allow r ed. I was requested previous to the 
school closing that songs obnoxious to the people should not be permitted. I handed the 
list of songs we were in the habit of singing to the superintendent and asked him to point 
out any that were obnoxious and I would leave them out. There were nothing but Union 
songs among them, and what were called war songs. 

5835. Did he point any out ? 

No, sir. He bade me good morning. He knew that I understood perfectly well what he 
meant. I saw him afterwards and asked him why I lost my position. He said he could not 
but admire those who refused to teach and refused to take the oath under General Butler. 

583(5. Who is he ? 

Mr. Kelley — one of the school directors. He was in the confederacy. I sent him a peti- 
tion to know why I was discharged. I was willing to have any investigation made, but 
thej' would not accept it. I have here my school diploma, given me in lb54, and two months 
before I lost my position they awarded me a complimentary diploma for my services, signed 
by Mr. Richards, the superintendent, and then they left me out. 

5837. You are a southern lady ? 
Yes, sir ; from New Orleans. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

5838. Is Mr. Richards, the superintendent, a Union man ? 
As far as I can understand, I think he is. 

5839. Is he considered a Union man ? 
No, sir; he is not. 

5840. Has he professed to be a Union man ? 

No, sir. He has never expressed his sentiments that I know of. He said a year ago 
that I was a good teacher, and that he would like to have me retain my position, and he told 
me I had better not have anything sung obnoxious to the people. 

5841. Is that the reason why you thought he was a Union man? 



400 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I should judge that any person who would not countenance the singing of Union airs was 
not a Union man. I do not think any one who would not countenance what was right, to 
be a Union man. 

5842. Could not there be a difference of opinion among Union people as to what was right? 
I think not. One of the directors said that I had Union songs sung in my school, and in- 
culcated Union sentiments among .my scholars. 

5843. In what way ? 

By teaching the children what was right. 

5844. What do you mean by doing what is right? 

I can go through the whole system of my school, if you desire. 

5845. Do you mean teaching that the confederate cause was wrong, and that the Union 
cause was right 1 

I never allowed the children to dispute on that subject. The confederate cause was not 
permitted to be brought up on any occasion ; but whenever I could bring up the Union cause 
I did so. 

584G. When you brought up the Union cause would not the confederate cause naturally 
come up too ? 

No, sir; because I brought up Union sentiments. I did not necessarily interfere with 
anybody. 

f>^47. Were your scholars all residents here? 

Yes, sir. 

58 18. Was there anything in the school made use of which related to war times? 

They had in a new edition of histories a chronological record, which spoke of the whole 
war, giving different items. I had that in my second division. I have understood since 
that that has been dispensed with. 

5849. Were there any comments upon the war in the books ? 
No, sir, only facts : that such an event occurred on such a date. 

5850. Did you talk to the children about Unionism ? 

I do not know how to answer that. I took every proper occasion to encourage Unionism. 
I had children there who had lost parents in the war. I always spoke to them in the kindest 
manner, and I succeeded iu obtaining their confidence. 

5851. Cannot you answer the question as to whether you conversed with them on Unionism? 
Yes, sir. I did whenever I could bring it up. 

5852. You say you know two hundred teachers were left out. Were you personally ac- 
quainted with the reasons why they were left out, or is it only a matter of inference on your 
part ? 

I say I cannot answer for any one but myself, and I said that I had had conversations with 
the members of the school board to ascertain why I had lost my position. One g - ave Union 
songs as a reason ; another said I had lost my influence with southern men ; the third one 
told me I was a radical. 

5853. Do you consider yourself a radical ? 

I am a lady ; I am not a gentleman. I have not interfered with politics. I believe in 
what is right. 

5854. That is what we all profess to believe in. Do you believe in the right of radicalism ? 
I do not know how to answer the question. I am for the Union in every way. Whether 

that is radicalism I do not know. I am for the country. I have never been in politics. I 
have no father nor brother. I think I have been shamefully treated. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
JOHN SIDNEY (colored) sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5855. State where you live. 

I have lived in New Orleans for twenty-two years. I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, 
and raised in Alabama. 

585G. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July last? 

Yes, sir. I was one of the procession and marched at the head of the column. I had been 
in the 73d regiment. 

5857. Were you in the procession on the 30th .' 

Yes, sir; and lost all of my musical instruments and got wounded besides. 

5858. Do you know who tired the first shot that was fired then? 

Yes, sir. His name I cannot recollect. 1 know the young man whenever I see him ; he 
is now on the police down at the levee. 

5859. Who did he fire at? 

At a colored man. The colored man he fired at is in the same building with me. 
58G0. What building is that ? 
It is ou Good Children street. 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM JOYCE. 401 

5861 . When was that done ? 

At about ten o'clock. We marched up Dauphin street; then marched up Burgundy to 
Canal street, and then entered into Philippa street. Just as we got across the corner of the 
street this Irishman tired a shot. The way it was done was this: A colored boy and a white 
boy got into a dispute. .John McClernand hissed the white boy on. John McClernand used 
to be chief of police. He urged on the fight. Then oue of our men went to part them. 
John McClernand shoved him off, and then the Irishman shot at the colored man. 

5862. Did he hit the colon-. 1 man I 

No, sir: he did not hit him with the shot. He struck him with a stick. Then we imme- 
diately rallied together, and our drummers beat the long roll. We marched on to the Me- 
chanics' Institute and went up into the hall. After we got into the hall we thought everything 
would be quiet; but, very soon afterwards the whole mob came up. They surrounded us. 
We rushed out. There was a pile of bricks lying: in the street. We colored men gathered 
these bricks and defended ourselves as long as the bricks lasted, and then the mob closed in 
on us. 

5863. What was your procession going to do? 

We just merely came there to see what could be seen and what was to be heard. We did 
not go there with any aims. 

5864. How many were there with you? 

I suppose there were about one hundred in the procession. There were more when we got 
there. I suppose there were three or four hundred colored people in or about the building. 
I was standing close by Dr. Dostie when they shot him. 

5865. Who shot him? 

I do not know: a man shot him out of a window on the corner of Philippa and Canal 
streets. I saw him raise a gun and draw himself back, when he found out we saw him. 
Then our attention was turned to the mob going up the steps. I was standiug at the right 
side of Dr. Dostie when the ball hit him on the arm. He just whirled around, and said: 
" I am shot !" Said I, " Where abouts ?" He said: " In the arm ; keep yourselves quiet." 

5866. Where was he when he was shot? 

He was standing upon the platform in the hall up stairs. 

5867. Where did you get wouuded ] 
In my side. 

5868. Who shot you ? 
A policeman. 

586'J. Where were you when you were shot ? 

I was climbing out of a window in the back part of the building. The police told us that 
if we came out and delivered ourselves up, we would not be disturbed. One of then* said : 
"John, come down ; I will not hurt you." But there were other policemen standing there, 
and one of them shot me. 



New Orleans, Da., January 1, 1867. 
WILLIAM JOYCE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

5870. How long have you lived in New Orleans ? 
About thirteen years. 

5871. What is your occupation ? 

I am not confined to any certain business. I have worked at many things — such a3 
clerking, iLc. I have been on the poiice lately. 

•>7-2. How lately? 

I was discharged on the 8th of May last. Mr. Lynch got me on again, about eight days 
ago, as a supernumerary. He tried to get me on as one of the regular number, but could 
not succeed. 

5873. Where were you on the 30th of July ? 

I was at home, I believe, part of the day, on Magazine street. 

5874. Were you at the Mechanics' Institute ? 

I was not. I was at the meeting on Friday night previous to the day of the riot. I went 
down about ten o'clock to Canal street. I ran home again. I thought it was not very safe 
for me to go down there. 

5875. How long did you stay there ? 

I staid there half an hour ; not at Mechanics' Institute ; I did not go within two squares 
of it. I was talking with my friends, and they told me I had better go home, which I did. 
I had a soda-water shop on Magazine street. I remained at home until about half-past six 
o'clock. Then an order came out that the shops must be shut up. A policeman came around 
and notified me. 

5876. Did you see any firing on the negroes before you went home ? 
No, sir ; the fighting had not commenced. 

26 N o 



402 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

5876|. Yon do not know anything in regard to the fighting? 

No, sir. I know nothing but what I have heard. I heard threats made. I was standing 
at my door in Magazine street and saw Lucieu Adams, sergeaut of police, with a guard pass 
my door. One ot them remarked, "Now, God damn you, we have got the convention at 
last." They were going at double-quick. This was about eleven o'clock. I thought they 
were to have bloody work and I remained at home. 

5877. Who made that remark? 

It was made by a policeman. They all made remarks because they knew me. When this 
man made the remark that they had the convention now they all hurrahed. They all deter- 
mined, as I understood, to clean the convention out; as much as to say, shoot them down, 
I presume. One man, in particular, said, "God damn you, we have the convention men at 
last." 

5878. Were their pistols in sight ? 
I could sec. their pistols. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

5879. How many were there in the crowd 1 
I should judge about forty. 

5880. All in police uniform? 
All in police uniform. 

5881. Did they seem to have been drinking ? 
No, sir ; I did not see them drink. 

5882. Did they seem excited 1 
Very much so. 

5883. Had the riot commenced ? 
No, sir. 

5884. Did you hear the alarm bell ? 
I did. 

5885. Did you notice whether that brought other companies of firemen or police ? 

I do not know. I saw two firemen running down. They had revolvers iu their hands. 

5886. What engine did they belong to? 
I do not know. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

5887. What time of day was it that you saw the police pass along as you have described ' 
About half past eleven. 

5888. Did they notice you ? 

There were four or five of them who knew me, and remarked that they were going to fix 
the convention, or something of that sort. One of them who has been familiar with me hit 
nie a slap iu the face and said, "We have the convention men now, damn them." 

5889. Did he say that in a good-humored way ? 

Well, I do not believe the man who said it would take my life; but I believe if he had a 
chance he would kill the members of the convention. 

5890. I did not ask you to give your opinion as to what he would do ; I ask you whether 
he appeared to be good-humored ? 

He appeared to lie excited ; still he did not appear to be iu a bad humor towards me. 

5891. Did he seem to be pleased at something / 
He seemed to be very much pleased at something. 

5892. He was in good humor .' 

He seemed pleased because he had made the remark that " We have got the convention 
men now." 

5893. Neither he nor any of them said what they intended to do with the convention 
men? 

No ; there was no other remark made personally to me. 

5894. They said they had them now, but they did not say what they meant 1 
No ; they did not say they were going to kill them. 

5895. You say you are on the police now ; who appointed you ? 
Mayor Monroe promised Mr. Lynch he would appoint me. 

Ry Mr. Shellabarger : 

5895^. Had you anything to do with the convention yourself? 

Yes, sir ; I was assistant sergeant-at-anns in the convention awhile under Mr. De Courcey. 

5896. That was in 1864? 
Yes, sir. 

5897. Did these men seem to know you had held that position ? 
Some of them, I believe, did. 



TESTIMONY OF DR. M. D. SOUTIIWORTH. 403 

New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
Dr. M. D. SOUTIIWORTH sworn and examined. 

By fhe Chairman: 

5898. How long have you lived in Louisiana? 

Previous to the war I was a practitioner of my profession and city physician in Houston, 
Texas. At the beginning of the war I was a refugee from the State, and entered the United 
States service as Burgeon. Since the war I have been again a refugee and resident in New 
Orleans. I have been living in New Orleans about one year. 

5899. Why were you a refugee from Texas ? 

Because it would not be safe for me to live again in the city of Houston. 

5900. Have you, since you came to New Orleans a year ago, resided here continuously ? 
I have. 

5901. Were you in the city on the 30th of July? 
I was. 

5902. Were you a witness of what took place on that day at the Mechanics' Institute? 
Pretty much all of it. 

59u:'>. State, if you please, briefly, what you saw. 

It chanced that on the day of the riot, or a few moments before twelve o'clock, I went up 
to Canal street, immediately behind Mr. Cutler, Mr. Henderson, and others of the convention. 
I was surprised at the appearance and remarks of the crowd, that they were not assaulted 
upon the street. I entered the Mechanics' Institute or assembly room about twelve o'clock. 
At that time there were upon the steps of the Institute about forty persons, mainly colored, 
and upon the opposite side of the street upon the pavements, between fifty and one hundred 
women and children, mainly colored, in their holiday attire. In the assembly room when I 
entered it I think there were about eighty persons present, mainly whites. In a few moments 
colored men principally began to come in, singly and in small parties, arranging themselves 
outside of the railing. At that time on the outside of the Institute and in the Institute there 
was no boisterous and loud talking, or any indications of proposed disturbance. The 
majority of those who were present were evidently spectators There was an unusual number 
of aged persons, quite a number of cripples, and several who were apparently feeble from 
sickness. Because of the custom of the negroes, and the fact that many of them were with- 
out coats, it is certain that if they had been at all generally armed I should have seen their 
weapons, for I partieularly observed them while I had this idea in my mind. Many of those 
in the room and those in front of the building I saw, and know of no weapons whatever save 
those which I carried, and one large club iu the hands of a negro. Most of the negroes had 
ordinary canes, as is their usual custom upon Sundays and holidays. About fifteen minutes 
after the first adjournment of the convention I left the room and went into the street, and 
walked towards the crowd at the corner of Canal street. The appearance of it was rather 
ominous and turbulent. I went through it and walked down Canal street. A few moments 
after I reached Canal street the firing commenced. I saw firing on the cross streets by the 
citizens. The police had not then arrived. After this I saw firing on Canal street on the 
levee, which was quite a long distance from Diyades street. I could not tell by whom it 
was. I saw firing there, and negroes running away from the firing. The blinds of the stores 
on Canal street were also being closed when I reached the street, and preparations being 
made for closing them previous to any firing taking place of which I was 'cognizant. If 
there had been any in the neighborhood of the Institute I certainly would have known it. 
That is just^about all I know of the riots. I would like to add that the supposition that the 
persons in front of the Institute intentionally excited the riot, attributes to them more courage 
than is now claimed by any white man, for the police and citizens outnumbered them more 
than five to one. 

5904. During your stay in New Orleans have you had such an acquaintance with the 
people of the city as to give us a judgment of the sentiment of the people towards those 
who have stood by the Union dining the rebellion, and who are now the friends of the gov- 
ernment ? 

Most decidedly my acquaintance is almost universally among the better class of Union 
men here. 

5905. State what the feeling is here upon the part of the people towards those men who 
have been friendly to the government during the war. 

I made a little minute of what I thought you might want, and I can state it in better 
phraseology by looking at my minutes. 

Chairman. You cau look at your minutes for the purpose of refreshing your recollection. 

Witness. That is all I would like to do. But for the proclamation of martial law by 
General Baird, the riot would doubtless (I speak of the information I have, for I know 
nothing about it personally) have become general on Monday night, and the massacre con- 
tinued, for at least five-sixths of the white citizens of Louisiana and all the leading news- 
papers approved arid indorsed it ; and so great was this influence on society and on the 
press that an ex-major general of the United States army, a gentleman of education and re- 
finement, was led to say, when he heard that Dr. Dostie was killed, 

Mr. Boyer. Did you hear this ? 



404 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

"Witness. No. 

Mr. Boyer. Then I object to your stating it. 

Witness. Very well, then ; I will say this, that so great was the influence upon society 
and the press, that Major General Sheridan was led to state in an official report 

Mr. Buyer. I object to that ; we have the report before us. 

(Objection overruled by the committee.) 

Witness. I was proceeding to say that so great was the influence upon society and the 
press, that Major General Sheridan was led to state, in an official report, that the leaders of 
the convention (although they are known to be gentlemen of irreproachable public and 
private character) were bad men. So great have been, and still are, these influences, that 
many who were good and true men before the war have yielded to them ; and ex-United 
States soldiers in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Texas, habitually declare that they were in 
the rebel service in order to obtain employment and live peaceably. 
By Mr. Boyer: 

5906. Do you know that? 

Yes, sir ; I will swear to it. In the State of Louisiana, which furnished probably alto- 
gether nine thousand white soldiers in the United States army, I do not believe that to-day 
three thousand could be raised to fight for the Union cause in a similar rebellion. 

5907. State your reasons for that opinion. 

Because they and I fought for protection and for justice, and we have received neither ; 
and because many of them feel, as I feel, that our government has compromised our honor 
in not protecting the freedmen and the defenceless. Perhaps I should state that shortly after 
the riot, on or about the second day of August, I, with nine or ten other gentlemen, made 
an affidavit before United States Commissioner Ezra Hiestand, in due legal form, charging 
Mayor John T. Monroe and other parties named among the citizens and police, with inciting 
and perpetrating riots and minders on the 30th of July. 

The Chairman. It is perhaps unnecessary for you to go into that. 

Witness. This massacre would have been impossible six months after General Lee's 
surrender. I believe it would have been impossible at the time it occurred had Benjamin F. 
Butler been in command of this military department ; therefore, the remote causes were the 
re-encouragement of the late rebels and their immunity for all past offences ; and the imme- 
diate causes are the assembling of the convention and the public hatred to its members, and 
perhaps anticipated action. 

5908. Were you present at the meeting prior to that convention ? 
I was not. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

5909. Did you observe any fact indicating that the massacre was pre-arranged and the 
parts set beforehand ? 

None but the general appearance of the facts ; I cannot swear to the affirmative fact. I 
had stated that the impression was general and almost universal, and not in my hearing once 
denied by those whom I call disloyal, after the riot. 

5910. Did you hear it charged as being pre-arranged in the presence of leading secession- 
ists here, and they not deny it at the time? 

I cannot swear that I did. but I do swear that I heard it asserted in the presence of seces- 
sionists. I cannot swear they were leading secessionists, for I heard it in a railroad car. 
By Mr. Boyer : 

5911. Did you hear it while the car was in motion ? 

No, just as the car was starting. I live in Jefferson City. This conversation occurred in 
a Jefferson City car just before, starting. It was of the kind we very frequently heard in the 
cars about those days, simply the declaration that the thing was not really completed and 
ought to be done more thoroughly. 

5912. By whom were these declarations made ? 

I cannot recollect the man's name ; I know him by sight ; I know him very well. He 
lives in Jefferson City. 

5913. Have you, since the close of the rebellion, been in many parts of the State of 
Louisiana ? 

No, sir ; but very little. 

5914. Then how can you speak of the number of soldiers likely to be raised in this State 
in the contingency of which you speak ? 

Most of the loyal soldiers of the State of Louisiana are now in the city of New Orleans, 
or in the northern States. I speak from a knowledge of their officers, obtained while in ser- 
vice with them, a knowledge of the soldiers personally, and statements made to me by men 
living in the country. 

5915. Do you not know that there are both officers and soldiers who served in the United 
States army, who now reside and prosecute their business successfully in the city of New 
Orleans, but who do not deny, or find it necessary to deny, that they served in the federal 
army ? 

Most decidedly. 



TESTIMONY OF DR. M. D. SOUTHWORTH. 405 

5916. I should like to know from what sort of calculation, or by what moans, or from 
what statistics, you arrive at the conclusion that but three thousand men could be raised to 
fight for the United States government in the event of a rebellion breaking out again ? 

I have no figures. I do not get these figures from statistical reports. I expressed the 
opinion from things within my own knowledge, and statements made to me very frequently 
by those who have been loyal soldiers from the State of Louisiana, and who come to New 
Orleans, and who say that in any other attempt they will not bear arms for the United States, 
because they cannot even go to their own homes. 

59 1 7. And these loyal soldiers have denied the fact of their service in our army, and claimed 
to have been in the late confederate service. Is that so ? 

It is not so, but in half. It is so in respect to numerous loyal soldiers. I stated that very 
many, and that I believed a majority of them would not again enter the United States ser- 
vice in a similar rebellion, because they felt that our government has not dealt justly with 
them. 

5918. How would they have the government deal with them so as to be just ? 
I am not criticising the government. 

5919. You say that you think the government has compromised your honor in not pro- 
tecting the freedmen and the defenceless. What do you mean by that ? 

I mean that, as a soldier of the United States, I, by my position, personally indorsed the 
made or implied promise to loyal men and to freedmen, among those so promised, of life, lib- 
erty, and property, and these promises, I fear, have not been fulfilled. 

5920. Is not your life, and your liberty, and your property safe where you now reside, in 
the State of Louisiana ? 

Of myself I would prefer not to speak. The life, liberty, and property of the black man 
in the country parishes as much concern my honor as my own ; but his life, liberty, and 
property are not secure. 

5921. Are you pursuing your profession now in Jefferson City? 
I am not. 

5922. What occupation are you at present engaged in ? 
None. 

5923. Are you in the habit of expressing your opinions where you now are ? 
Pretty freely; more so than most loyal people. 

5924. Have you suffered any violence on that account ? 
No, sir ; not physically ; not in violent encounters. 

5925. Have you any property in this State ? 
I have. 

5926. Landed property ? 
No, sir; stocks. 

5927. Are they secure or otherwise ? 

I apprehend they are. May I be allowed to state very briefly that there are but two principles 
or political parties in Louisiana, namely, the loyal and the disloyal; that the loyal party 
never could have organized in Louisiana since the war without military support, and that it 
cannot continue possibly to exist while the disloyal element retains its present power an d 
the majority of the voters, if the United States military authorities are to remain neutral. 

5928. You have volunteered that statement without being questioned on that point. Do 
you swear to that as a matter of opinion or as a matter of fact ? 

As a matter of opinion, obviously and plainly — of my own private opinion. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

5929. How can the loyal sentiments of the people of the State of Louisiana best be pro- 
tected, and the general loyalty of the people secured? 

These things can best be done by immediately superseding our present State and munici- 
pal political organizations by such as are republican in form and loyal to the general gov- 
ernment. 

5930. How can that thing which you have just described be done? Bv what instrumen- 
tality? 

By an act of Congress in virtue of which certain persons shall be designated to carry into 
effect a clause thereof assembling a State convention consisting of loyal delegates, elected 
by loyal citizens without distinction of race or color. 

5931. How would you fix a practical test or standard of loyalty in an act of Congress so 
as to determine who were loyal and those entited to vote? 

I would exclude from the ballot every one who had been in the confederate service as a 
volunteer, over and above a certain rank, and subject all others, when challenged, to the 
oath embraced in Mr. Stevens's bill, which requires a man to swear that he was opposed to 
the rebellion, is glad that it failed, and at the same time swear allegiance to the Constitution 
of the United States. Very few disloyal men would publicly swear that they were opposed 
to the rebellion, and glad it failed. A great many men perjure themselves in many ways, 
but very few would in that form, if it were to be made rmblic. We have no difficulty in 
recognizing the disloyal among ourselves. 

5932. You have now described how you would bring into existence a convention for the 



40G NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

purpose of forming a constitution ; what would you do in the way of defining the qualifica- 
tions of electors for the permanent government? 
I would leave that to the constitutional convention. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

5933. Would not the oath which you would prescribe for the qualification of electors have 
the effect of disfranchising honest and conscientious men who had taken part in the rebellion, 
and to admit to the exercise of the right of suffrage those whose conscience and sincerity 
were not so scrupulous about taking the oath ? 

To a limited extent it is liable to that objection, beyond a question ; but generally the 
good would be greater than the evil. 

5934. Would you fix a penalty to a violation of the oath, or, in other words, would you 
punish criminally those who falsely made oath? 

Of course I would. 

5935. When would you consider actual service in the rebellion as prima fuciae evidence of 
falsehood in a person who took the oath ? 

If he swore that he had not been in the service I would. I stated I would exclude all in 
the rebel army above a certain rank, and apply the test oath to others. 

5936. Then those who were excluded by being above a certain rank, you would have take 
the oath .' 

If the person thus swearing was not excluded because he had been in the rebel service 
above a certain rank, I would by no means consider the fact that he took the test-oath as 
■prima facie evidence that he had committed perjury ; because there are many who went 
into the rebel service wno are now truly loyal men. 

iV.):!?. Then you would consider having been in the service as prima facie evidence of 
perjury in the case of those who volunteered in the rebel army above a certain rank ? 

Not necessarily. 

5938. Then you would not consider it -prima facia evidence at all ? 

Decidedly, 1 mean to say that a man may have been conscripted or volunteered into the 
rebel service from the pressure of public opinion and other causes, and still be at heart glad 
that the rebellion failed. 

5939. Are there very many who served in the rebel army of that class ? 
There are some of that class ; but a decided minority. 

5940. Do you not think there are many who thought the rebellion was right, and served 
in the rebel army, who are now convinced they were in error, and are anxious to obey the 
government in good faith, arid desire to stand by it hereafter ? 

Many, you say ? I do not. 

By Mr. Shellabarger. 

5941. Where were you born ? 

I was born in the city of New York. 

5942. Where were yon educated? 
In New York, in my profession. 

5943. Where have you spent the most of your life ? 

Until about eleven years ago, at the north. About eleven years since I removed to Texas, 
and have there resided until I was a refugee at the beginning of the war. 

5944. You have been eleven years continuously in the south ? 
Yes, sir. 

5945. Have you become pretty familiar with the views and opinions of the southern people 
and thbse engaged in the rebellion? 

Relatively, yes : my acquaintance is very general among them. 



New Orleans, January 1, 1867. 
Hon. A. P. FIELD sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

5946. For how long a time have you resided in Louisiana ? 
Since 1849, in New Orleans. 

5947. Were you here during the war? 

I have been here ever since I came here, in 1849. I believe I have not been out of the 
State except during two winters, when I was in Washington. This is my residence, and it 
has been continuous, 

5948. You were in Washington as a Representative, elected from the district in which 
you live? 

Yes, sir. 

5949. What is your profession ? 
A lawyer. 



TESTIMONY OF HON. A. P. FIELD. 407 

,5950. Have yon held other offices of trust? 

I was secretary of State of Illinois for thirteen years. 

5951. Were you in the city on the 30th of July? 
I was. 

5952. Were you a member of the convention of 1864? 
1 was nut. 

5953. Were you at the Institute during that day? 
I was for a few minutes. 

5954. Did you, in the streets, witness any especial acts of cruelty that you could state to us ? 

I will stale, very briefly, that on the morning of the meeting of the convention, the mem- 
bers of dial body had an informal meeting at the custom-house. They expected to he in- 
dicted, and called me, as a friend ami as a lawyer, in the event that they were indicted and 
arrested, desiring me to lie on hand to get them released from prison. I did not attend, for 
certain reasons, although I really apprehended no danger; I did not think there would be 
any, but I was importuned by my wife, who begged me not to go there. I had made a speech 
at the Institute on the 27th — a very mild one. I have that speech, written out by Mr. Andem, 
which I will show to this committee if they desire. I did not think I should go down at all 
until I was informed that there was every indication of a riot. I then went down to the In- 
stitute : when I got to the corner of Canal street and 1 (ryades, where the Mechanics' Institute 
is situated, I found a very large crowd. I was assailed by most odious epithets by the ex- 
cited crowd in the streets, (some fifty, probably,) such as "There goes a damned nigger 
worshipper, " "A damned scoundrel," and every epithet of that kind. I paid no attention 
to it. My object in going there was to see Governor Wells, (because I apprehended then 
there would be difficulty,) and get him to go with me to the military authorities. When I 
got there the convention was about to meet; I went into the governor's room and found he 
had gone ; I immediately left the building. I beard firing upon the corner of Canal street — 
a pistol or two; I immediately went in another direction, and got around into Canal street. 
I saw a large crowd moving down in that direction. I got to my office, where I remained 
until it was safe for me to go home. In the mean time I met my wife, with some person, 
coming to seek me. I know nothing about any of the difficulties that occurred. 

5955. Martial law was declared that evening? 

That evening it was declared, and military protection given to the city, so far as I know. 
I did not go out of my house; I did not consider it safe. 

595G From what you know of the condition of things in the city, was that necessary ? 

I believe it was necessary. My impression, and I am firm in that belief, is that we would 
not have been safe without it. 

5957. I would like to have you state to the committee, from your knowledge, the state of 
feeling here in New Orleans upon the part of the people in regard to the men who stood by 
the Union here, and are known as Union men? 

It is a matter that, in my opinion, does not admit of any doubt. I have never had 
any doubt upon the subject. I know it, in fact, from my own relations with men in my 
business. I know that Union men are not looked upon with favor. 

5958. How is that feeling shown? 

It is shown in various ways ; in our social relations and in our business relations. I could 
give the committee instances of it. I was employed in October last to go to Alexandria ; I 
did not know until I got there wdio had employed me. My client waited upon me with one 
or two other gentlemen, and told me it would not be safe for me to appear there in court. 
He said he regretted it very much, and I did not appear. After what I heard, I told him I 
thought it would be doing him an injury for me to appear. I had prosecuted some men from 
that parish under the civil rights bill some weeks previous to that, and I bad become some- 
what odious to these men. Judge Cooley, who is here in the ante-room, was present on that 
occasion. 

5959. Say whether or not that feeling to any extent, and to what extent, exists here? 

I have felt it in my business — in the diminution of my business. Before the war I was 
getting a large practice. I have thought that some of these people would rather be hung by 
a rebel lawyer than be acquitted by a Union one. 

5960. In connection with this matter of the administration of justice, can you state the 
facts in relation to the prosecution of a man by the name of Kendrick ? 

I am defending him. He is charged with obtaining money under criminal pretences by 
Jacob Barker. 

5961. What were the facts in respect to the increase of his bail ? 

I know that after the trial,- in which the jury failed to agree, his bail was increased by 
Judge Abell from one thousand to two thousand dollars. The judge told me he thought the 
man was clearly guilty. The jury, however, failed to agree, and the man is still in prison. 

5962. Have you any other facts within your knowledge tending to show what the chances 
are here for true Union men in the courts, and before jurors ? 

We have a good many Union men in the city, and sometimes get very good jurors. My 
practice has been pretty extensive in the criminal court. I was a very close observer of the 
events that transpired here immediately preceding this convention, and of the conduct of our 
criminal judge, and I could refer you to decisions of his upon matters uncalled lor, and not 



408 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

in issue at all. lie went out of a case to decide the civil rights bill unconstitutional ; to de- 
clare Congress a bogus Congress, and I suppose every two or three weeks he charged the jury 
upon the subject of this convention that was to meet. The grand jury that was formed (I 
do not think there was a Union man on the grand jury ; there may have been a single ex- 
ception) was of men who had been officers in the confederate army, and I believe all of them 
had been selected with strong proclivities in the same way. 

5963. Suppose the protection of the government should be entirely withdrawn, and the 
military withdrawn, and affairs left to take their own course in New Orleans, what would 
be the effect upon those men who have been true to the Union ? 

They could not live here; there is no doubt of that at all. 

5964. In your judgment, could those men who committed murders and outrages on the 
30th of July be successfully prosecuted in the courts? 

Not one of them ; their names are known, some of them well known, and I am satisfied 
not one of them could be convicted here. 

5965. Do you know whether there have been attempts made in the criminal court by the 
civil authorities, or through their agency, to prosecute any one in connection with that riot? 

Not one of them to my knowledge ; if there had been 1 should certainly have known it. 
By Mr. Shellabargeu : 

5966. Has the city government or State of Louisiana made any provision for families who 
were deprived of their heads by the slaughter of the 30th of July .' 

I think the city authorities have appropriated money for some one or two policemen who 
were injured or killed on the day of the riot. I only know that from public rumor. 

5967. Do you know whether they threw the care of the wounded upon the Freedmen's 
Bureau, or not ? 

I know I visited a friend of mine, Mr. Henderson, who died, and he was in the marine 
hospital where a great many others were; and I believe all the expense of taking care of the 
wounded and of those who died were paid by the government there. I visited Mr. Hender- 
son two or three times. 1 le was in my office with me, or rather we occupied adjoining offices. 

5968. What has been the leading qualification, so far as you know, required by Mayor 
Monroe, in order to get appointment upon the police force in this city ? 

I do not know anything of that personally. 

5969. What are the military antecedents of the police officers engaged in the riot? 

I think most of them were in the confederate army. Some of them I know were, because 
I know them personally. Mr. Adams, chief of police, was in the confederate army. 

5970. So far as you know the purpose of the members of that convention, was it their in- 
tention to put any amendments to the constitution into operation without first submitting 
them to the people of Louisiana and the action of Congress ? 

It was not. It was the intention of the convention to meet and await the result of the 
elections throughout the State. Governor Wells had issued his proclamation for elections in 
the unrepresented parishes ; and their intention was to meet and adjourn until after the elec 
tions. 

597J . After the convention was full, and they had adopted amendments, was it their pur- 
pose to put those amendments in force without submitting them to the vote of the people ? 

Not at all. 

5972. What means had you of knowing the purposes of the convention, and the members 
thereof ? 

I had daily intercourse with them, and with the president, Judge Howell, and most of the. 
members of the convention. 

5973. Were those purposes of the members of the convention such as could have been 
easily ascertained by the people of New Orleans and the authorities, had they desired to do 
so? 

I presume so, if they had desired to have known them. 

5974. Was there any necessity for committing any violence there in order to stop or pre- 
vent the meeting from convening on the 30th of July ? 

There was certainly no necessity for that, for the members of the convention were unarmed. 
It is customary in this country to find men who are armed ordinarily, but I do not believe 
there were two members of that convention who had arms. I know I had none. I never 
carry any. So far as my information extends, I believe the members of the convention were 
satisfied that Judge Abell and his grand jury would get up an indictment against them for 
an unlawful assembly, and they intended to submit to arrest. 

5975. And made arrangements for it? 

They made arrangements with me before the meeting to get them released in case they 
were arrested. They were to apply for release upon bail. Nearly all the members of the 
convention who were at the Mechanics" Institute met at ten o'clock in the custom-house, in 
Judge Durell's court-room, where they had a consultation with me, and that was their con- 
clusion. 

5976. As a lawyer in this city, permit me to inquire of you whether there is any law ren- 
dering criminal the assembly of any such convention, even admitting that the convention 
had no power to propose amendments. 



TESTIMONY OF HON. A. P. FIELD. 409 

Of course not. They have never brought these cases to trial. The indictments have been 
pending ever since. Certainly not ; there is no law, neither here nor anywhere else, against it. 

5977. Was there any other method of trying the authority of that convention to propose 
amendments to the constitution than by arresting them? 

It' the convention had no power, all their acts would have been void. 

5978. How would that void character of their acts have been determined by the courts? 

If, for example, the convention had superseded the sheriffs or judges, they would have re- 
fused to surrender their offices, and the question would thus have been brought to an issue. 
We have various ways of passing upon the legality of acts of that kind. 

5979. So that the legality of that convention, even had it gone so far as to declare amend- 
ments, could have been decided peaceably, without any necessity of violence? 

Without any difficulty whatever. If the convention had no power and no existence, if it 
was functus officio, then all its acts were perfectly void, and the courts would have so re- 
garded them. 

5980. Suppose these men had been arrested peaceably, how would the question then have 
arisen ' 

It would have arisen whether they were assembled for an unlawful purpose or not. 

5981. So that at the beginning or at the end, there were peaceable means ^'accomplish- 
ing the ends sought ? 

There were peaceable means of accomplishing everything they could desire. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5982. Was not the apprehension entertained by the people that this convention would 
undertake to make a radical change in the constitution of the State, and then Congress 
would interpose its authority to enforce the constitution so made? 

There is no doubt of that fact; and that all the office-holders — those men who had the 
offices — expected that, if the convention had met and accomplished its purposes, they would 
have made a change that would have prescribed a qualification which would have disquali- 
fied those who held the offices. There was great trouble among those who held the offices. 
It was not the people ; it was the men who held the offices who feared that the convention, 
if they met, would make a change by which their tenure of office would be affected. The 
convention, so far as I understood, expected, if amendments were made to the constitu- 
tion, they would be voted on by the people, and. inasmuch as Congress had not admitted the 
State, the constitution would then be submitted to Congress. 

5983. And if Congress had ratified it, what then ? 

Then I suppose it would have been the supreme law of the land. 

5984. But the office-holders resisted it for fear of losing their offices ? 
That is my impression. 

5985. Did not those who favored the convention engage in the movement in order to get 
into the offices ? 

Not that I know of. They had been deprived of office, and it is natural to suppose that 
men who had universally been ignored as Union men had, of course — I will not deny that — 
a desire of participation in the government. 

5986. If these men had been almost universally ignored in obtaining offices, then the people 
must have been opposed to them and their designs, must they not ? 

The people — the large mass of them — are controlled by the element which prevails here, 
and, of course, they were opposed to them. 

5987. Then it was an attempt upon the part of those who got up the convention to change 
the organic law of the State against the will of the people, was it not ? 

1 can answer that question perfectly well. A large majority of the people of the State 
were against the loyal men having any office whatever. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger: 

5988. When you say a large majority, do you include the black people ? 

No, sir; I am not including them. I say a large majority of those who were entitled to 
vote, as the elections show, ignored every Union man who was a candidate for office. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5989. Did they not elect Governor Wells to office ? 
Yes, sir. 

599U. Was he not a Union man ? 

Governor Wells, originally, was a Union man, or said to be ; but he did not identify him- 
self particularly witli that party. 

5991. Did he not himself favor the convention? 

He did. He identified himself really with the Union party when he became disappointed 
with the men who sent him here. They organized the old democratic party. Governor 
Wells favored not that organization, I believe, but a different organization. Governor Wells, 
it is true, was supported by pretty much all sides, but he was particularly identified with 
those prominent men, such as Mr. Wickliffe, Governor Voorhees, &c. They all went off 
together. 



410 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

5992. Was not one objection that the men who controlled the convention which attempted 
to assemble on the 30th of July, had, some of them, in the beginning been identified, in one 
way or another, with the rebellion, and afterwards set themselves up to be the exclusively 
loyal men of the State? 

No, sir, I do not think so. The very platform laid down by the democratic party — that I 
call the secession party of this State — ignores this very constitution — this constitution of 1864. 
They repudiated it in their resolutions — not on account of the men — nothing is said about 
them. There was a great deal said about the respectability of the men who composed that 
convention, and how they were elected. The legislature, after having met after this election, 
undertook to inquire into the mode in which these men had been elected, and to declare the 
acts of the legislature that assembled under that constitution void, and the legislature abogus 
legislature. They elected Mr. Hunt and Judge Boyce in place of lfaliu and Cutler. They 
repudiated the whole of the constitution. One of the judges decided that the acts of Gov- 
ernor Wells, under that constitution, were perfectly null, and that all his appointments were 
void. The legislature that met under the new regime had before them a bill calling a con- 
vention. They sent a committee to Washington, and when they returned, or replied, it was 
determined not to call a convention. 

5«>93. AndHHien those engaged in the movement of this convention, on the 30th of Jnly, 
got word from certain members of Congress, they determined to proceed with their conven- 
tion, did they not? 

I do not know that they ever got any such word from members of Congress. I know the 
records of this" legislature will bear me out when I say that their purpose in calling a conven- 
tion was to ignore all that had been done up to that time, and that they appointed a com- 
mittee to go to Washington ; that, when they returned, it was with the answer that Mr. 
Johnson was opposed to disturbing the convention of 18G4, and therefore they decided not to 
pass a bill calling a convention. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

5994. What was the method proposed by the legislature to amend the constitution ? 

It was not to amend the constitution, but calling a convention to ignore the constitution. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

5995. You know that Judge Howell was in Washington a few weeks before the conven- 
tion was called, and you know he came back and immediately called the convention, do you 
not ? 

I do not know how long after he returned ; it was not very long. 

5996. Now, to go back to the point from which we have wandered, were not some of the 
prominent leaders at one time identified with the secession movement ? 

I do not know it only from the way you know it. It was said that Mr. Hahn and Mr. 
Cutler — and it may be some others — were in favor of the southern movement. I have no 
knowledge, personally, of anything of the kind. I was not a member of the convention. I 
do not believe I was there half a dozen times while they were in session. 

5997. You say that your professional business is not as good now as it was before the 
war ; may not that be attributed to other causes than your participation in any political 
movement ? 

I do not pretend to say that it may not be. It may be because there are better lawyers 
than I am here. It may be because men prefer other men to me. 

5998. And it may be, may it not, because you take more part in political affairs now than 
before the war ? 

No, sir. I have always been somewhat of a politician all my life. 

5999. There are those here who are known as Union men, and yet who are successful in 
business, both in your profession and in other occupations, are there nut .' 

I do not know the people. I know men pretend to be Union men who have always acted 
against Union men. I can name you merchants; I can name you lawyers. I recollect that 
Mr. Rosier and myself took the oath the two first men here. I know that since then Mr. 
Rosier has denounced the government and the acts of Mr. Lincoln. I know that when Gen- 
eral Butler came here we went into the court, and were the two first lawyers who took the 
oath to practice in the courts; and I know that men who then took the oath have since de- 
nounced the government and the acts of Mr. Lincoln in the bitterest terms. I do not con- 
sider men of that kind good Union men. 

6000. You are acknowledged to be a Union man ; are all the acts of the President to be 
indorsed ' 

I did not say that; but I do say this, that if I am a Union man I will support the govern- 
ment, although I may differ with the government in some of its acts. I look upon the gov- 
ernment as being able to judge of the propriety of its acts better than I am. 

6001. Do you mean by "supporting the government " abstaining from criticisms of its acts? 
I do not ; I mean as a whole. Some men, known as Union men, doubted the propriety 

of Mr. Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. I may have doubted it myself, but I said still 
I will support the administration ; they know better about those things than I do ; and al- 



TESTIMONY OF COL. HENRY N. FRTSBIE. 411 

(hough I may not agree with tbem in all the details of their acts, I will still give the govern- 
ment my hearty support. 

6002. Then you think, for the time being, loyal men should surrender their judgment and 
indorse, whether in accordance with their convictions or not, the policy of the administration? 

I answer you now as I did before, that in the administration of the affairs of this govern- 
ment in the prosecution of a war, there maybe things that I would not think right or proper, 
and still, on the whole, I would support that government, believing, as I always did, that it 
was better able to judge than I was. 

(inn:!. What I desire to know is, whether you consider a criticism of the acts of the admin- 
istration as opposition to the government? 

I do not consider that a man, because he differs with the administration in matters of 
opinion, opposes the government. But when a man throws his whole weight against that 
administration ; when he says I will vote against that administration, as many who pro- 
fessed to be Union men did vote against Mr. Lincoln, I sa^ they are not supporting the gov- 
ernment. 

6004. Do you think all who voted against Mr. Lincoln are to be counted among those 
who were disloyal to the government at that time? 

I do. I frankly tell you I do. 

60U5. I only w 7 anted to know by what standard you judge others. 

I judge others by the same standard by which I judge my own acts. I looked upon the 
government as struggling for its existence. I looked upon the contest between Lincoln and 
McClellan as one for the very life of this government, and that the man who would not stand 
by Mr. Lincoln was not a friend to the government, and was not a friend to the suppression 
of the rebellion. 

6006. Then you did not account those who voted for General McClellan as among the 
friends of the government ? 

Some may have been; I do not say all; but I count those who voted against Mr. Lincoln 
here as enemies to the government. 

6007. No matter what they had done to prevent secession before? 

A great many men tried to prevent secession here, who, when the rebellion came on, be- 
came its most strenuous supporters. 

6008. Do you consider those who are opposed to the present policy of Congress, in this 
community, as men who are not to be accounted as Union men ? 

I do, decidedly so ; because I look upon the acts of Congress as the acts of the govern- 
ment, and as an expression of the will of the people. 

6009. And you adopt that as a standard of their loyalty? 
I will take that as a standard of their loyalty. 



New Orleans, January 1, 1867. 
Colonel HENRY N. FRISBIE sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

6010. Where do you live ? 

In the parish of Rapides, Louisiana. 

6011. For how long a time have you lived in Louisiana ? 
About four years. 

6012. What is your occupation? 

I have been in the army, except the present year. 

6013. What during the present year? 
I have been farming. 

6014. Carrying on a plantation ? 

Yes, sir ; in the parish of Rapides — a cotton and sugar plantation. 

6015. Have you been most of the time there, or thereabouts ? 
Yes, sir. 

6016. Had you opportunities of mixing with the people there? 
A considerable opportunity. 

60J7. And of knowing their sentiments? 

Yes, sir ; though I have not heard them express their sentiments very freely. 

6018. Give us a statement, from your knowledge, of what the condition of feeling is there 
towards Union men, or men known as friends of the Union. 

It is very hostile towards army officers, and those persons known and recognized in the 
community as Union men. There are certain classes of men known as Union men who re- 
main without exciting any hostility towards them. 

6019. W T hat has been your experience? 

I have had some difficulty with the people up there, and I have not a very high opinion of 
their loyalty or honesty, although I went there without prejudice, only desiring, as I told 
them, to be let alone ; but I was not let alone. 

6020. Have you mixed in politics any there ? 



412 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

No, sir; I have had nothing to do with polities in any way, shape, or manner. 

6021. In what way has the feeling of the people been manifested towards yon ? 

It has been manifested by threats, by arrests, frivolous suits, by attempts to decoy and 
draw off my hands by false stories, and in almost every conceivable way wherein a commu- 
nity united could and did try to break up, ruin, and drive out a man. 

6022. So far as your observation goes, is that the manner in which Union men have been 
treated there ? 

That is the prevailing sentiment of that community, although I believe there are a good 
many good men there who would do differently if left to themselves, but they are controlled 
by these other men, who are the leaders, and who give tone to the public opinion. A fear that 
war may again arise, when these men will be totally ruined to a certain extent, yet prevents 
them from that degree of violence which these leading men would be glad to produce. I 
think in that community about two-thirds of the people sympathize with tln-se leading men ; 
the others, about one-third, are a moderate, peaceable set ot men, and a majority of that third 
might, perhaps, be termed Union men. 

6024. If the protection of the United States by the military forces should be withdrawn, 
and that people left to manage matters as they pleased, what would be the condition and 
safety of person and property of the men who have stood by the Union through the wat .' 

I canuot live there with the protection the government gives me, and I do not think it 
would be any improvement if all our soldiers were removed. Of course it would be impossi- 
ble for any Union man to live there. 

6025. Do you mean that you have left there ? 

I mean that I have left there. I have come down here, and brought my property away 
by almost force of arms. 

6046. When did you leave ? 

I left there nearly a week ago. 

6(127. Did you leave for any other reason than the condition of things you have described ? 

No, sir. I went up there with a very large force of hands, some four hundred who belonged 
to my regiment. I took with me a very large amount of capital, not less than a quarter of a 
million of dollars. I let everything alone that would interfere with my success in planting. 
I cultivated five of the largest plantations in the parish ; successfully made a crop, but the 
jealousy and hatred of these people have compelled me to abandon future prospects there and 
leave the parish. I brought away what I could, and sold out the balance. That has been 
my experience. I established a store there, and stocked it with over fifty thousand dollars' worth 
of goods ; established a post office, but had to abandon everything, because I found I was not 
safe. In fact, two or three meetings were organized to drive me out. Some of my men had 
arms, and I immediately sent and got more, aud armed my regiment throughout, and that 
alone has enabled me to get through. The last few days while I was there I sent my people 
away, or sent away some four hundred of them by a boat. I was left with only my teamsters, 
and they had gone to town one day, leaving only four or five people with me, when a party 
came upon one of my places and seized two men there with a team, and held them all day. 
They carried off the team, wagon, corn, fodder, &c, from the place, and hold it to-day by 
force of arms. Their object was, as near as I could ascertain, to draw me into a quarrel, 
which they have tried several times before, and then shoot me down, and nobody to blame. 

6028. Did you put up any buildings there ? 

Yes, sir, I erected a very large gin, an office, and some other buildings. 

6029. Did you build your store ? 

No, sir, I rented that. Two or three attempts were made to shoot me in Alexandria. I 
was carried up there by prosecutions, under frivolous pretences, several times ; one was that 
I had attempted to induce some peoples' hands to go away and leave them, and come to me. 

6030. What regiment was it that you formerly commanded ? 
The ninety-second colored. 

6031. A Louisiana regiment? 

It was raised in Louisiana. It did not bear that designation. It belonged to a series of 
United States colored troops — the ninety-second. I came into the service in an Illinois 
regiment. I went out as captain, and served until the surrender of Vicksburg as captain, 
major, and lieutenant colonel of the thirty-seventh Illinois I then came down here, and 
General Banks wanted me to take a position in the colored regiments. I did so, and raised 
a colored regiment in thirty days. When, last year, they were mustered out, I took the 
whole regiment on a steamer, put them on a plantation, secured means, and went to work. I 
have not disbanded them at all, but hold them still. 

6032. Did you make contracts with the men for their labor ? 

Yes, sir. It is utterly impossible for me to live in the parish where I have been during the 
last year. I find that the sentiment is very hostile to any one who has commanded colored 
troops. I have several suits pending against me now for acts done in the army. There 
seems to no be protection only to fight it out. What they will be able to do, I do not know, 
but as to living outside of New Orleans, as far as I know, I am unable to do it. Even here 
prejudice is brought to bear very strongly against me, so that almost every house here is 
afraid to advance me. They say, if you have money, intrust it to us. We understand the 
negro ; northern men do not. We will manage it ; but as to having other men come among 



TESTIMONY OF COL HENRY N. FRISBIE. 413 

us, we do not want them. Money is not safe. Of course capital is timid, an<l that has its 
influence. Therefore it is very probable that my experiment is broken up, though I still 
maintain the regiment, with their families, together. What disposition I shall make of them, 
I do not know yet. I have never found any difficulty in the city, and up there I was quiet, 
minding my own business. Before I started 1 had every assurance of success, but the whole 
community became organized against me. I had bridges torn down at night, and patrol 
parties were organized on the road to shoot me down. I have the evidence of a white man 
that he was asked to join a party to take me out of bed and mob me. I do not feel very 
friendly towards these men. If in the place of the bad men who have control of affairs, good, 
peaceable Union men were put forward and given the control, in my opinion, it would very 
materially better the condition of affairs in the country. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger : 

6033. How can that be done? 

J know of no way, unless by congressional action through a territorial condition, or by uni- 
versal suffrage, by enfranchisement and disfranchisement combined. I do not believe that 
the enfranchisement of the negroes, without disfranchisement, will secure the result, because 
there are not half the negro population who yet believe they are free. 

6034. Would the negro vote be controlled by his former owner pretty much, if enfranchised ? 
I think it is possible, outside the river parishes. As soon as you get back into the interior 

it would be almost fully controlled. Of course, they would, in a tew years, become enlight- 
ened and know their rights ; but, I think, at first they would be controlled by their employers. 

By Mr. BOYER: 

6035. Where do you keep your regiment now ? 
I have it on a plantation up at Point Coupee. 
6H36. Where is the parish of Rapides ? 

Up the Red river about one hundred and fifty miles. 

6037. Is that in Louisiana? 

Yes, sir ; in northwestern Louisiana. 

6038. Are there other persons, who have also been Union men, who have leased planta- 
tions in your parish, and successfully worked them without molestation upon the part of the 
inhabitants ? 

I do not know of one. 

6039. Do you know of any other experiment besides your own of that kind ? 
I do not. 

6040. Do you not think that if you were not known as the colonel of a colored regiment, 
and if your hands were not negroes who were formerly in a colored regiment, that you could 
have succeeded better? 

Yes, sir ; I think, beyond a doubt, if I had changed my principles and gone against the 
cause for which I fought, and made obeisance to the chivalry, my neighbors, 1 have no 
doubt I could have got along very well. 

6041. Suppose you had been simply a federal officer and a Union man, and not the leader 
of a colored regiment, do you think the fact of your having been in the federal army, and 
being a Union man, would have led to any molestation ? 

If I had been known as an officer of a white regiment it would have been in my favor. If 
I had been a staff officer it would have beeu still more in my favor. If I had been a for 
eigner, and served in our army, I should have been pretty popular. There are all grades. 
The negro officer is the lowest. He is looked upon as utterly unworthy of any consideration 
whatever. 

6042. Does he not also come in his most objectionable shape among these people when he 
comes with the regiment he commanded as hands on a plantation? 

I presume he comes in his most objectionable shape to them. 

6043. Did you take any means before you went into the neighborhood where you settled 
to consult the inhabitants, or come to a proper understanding as to your feelings and dispo- 
sition towards them ? 

I took my regiment with me, not having previously gone before. I associated myself with 
the owners of the places, and gave them every reason to know that my disposition was to be 
friendly and peaceable. For a long time I was well received by them. They used their in- 
fluence to favor me. My hands were not molested. The people in the neighborhood wanted 
very much the hands I brought. They tried very much to influence them to remain there. 
At first I had the acquaintance of all the owners of these pi antations, of Colonel Pickens par 
ticularly, the owner of one of the largest places I rented. 

6044. Did he influence the people in the neighborhood in their treatment of you ? 
I think he did at first ; but he, with all the others, turned against me. 

6045. In what way did they turn against you? 

By withdrawing their friendliness, and advice, and influence in my favor. They showed 
in various ways, by their disposition and conduct, that they had become opposed to me. 

6046. Were there any complaints made by them of anything in your own conduct which 
was objectionable ? 

No, sir ; not that I know of. 



414 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6047. Were there any complaints made by any of the people in the neighborhood against 
yon on account of anything which they found objectionable iu your conduct ? 

I do not remember anything now. They never complained to me, nor did these friends 
ever tell me that they made any complaint. 

6048. I understood you that you were accused of enticing away hands from neighboring 
plantations ? 

Yes, sir ; this was long afterwards. 

6049. Then, during your residence there, you were accused of trying to operate against 
them .' 

Yes, sir. 

6050. Did you get hands from neighboring plantations ? 

No, sir ; I never received any laborers except those I took with me. 

6051. Were there any other accusations against you than that ? 
No, sir; I do not remember of auy. 

6052. You spoke of false stories and arrests upon frivolous pretexts, from which I infar 
that there were some causes of difference between you and the surrounding population. How 
do you explain what you have said in that reaped \ 

I was arrested under a charge of enticing their hands away, on which charge I was tried 
and cleared by their own courts there. 

6053. Then you were on trial in one of their courts, and you obtained justice? 
I obtained an acquittal. 

6054. Were you tried by a jury? 
Yes, sir. 

6055. Were there any complaints made of the conduct of your hands towards the sur- 
rounding population ? 

I think not. My hands were very popular. Everybody was desirous of obtaining them. 

6056. Then there was no attempt in auy way to endanger or oppress them? 
No, sir ; the desire was to get them away from me. 

6057. The difficulty was, then, with you, and not with the hands? 
More with me than with the hands. 

6058. Did you seek opportunities of conversing with the people of the surrounding country, 
and of making yourself personally known to them ? 

Yes, sir, in a business way. I had a very large store there, and became personally ac- 
quainted with a great many of the people. 

6059. Did you merely meet them there, or did you go to them ? 

I met them there. I had too much business to run after anybody. 



New Orleans, January 1, 1867. 
R. T. FELLOWS, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens as one able 
to lay before the committee facts of importance relating to the subject of their investigation, 
sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6060. Of what judicial district are you the judge ? 

The courts of New Orleans are divided into six districts. I have jurisdiction over cases 
in the parish of New Oilcans from a certain amount to a certain amount. I am judge of the 
third district, but I have concurrent jurisdiction with the others, with the exception that I 
have appellate jurisdiction from justices' courts. 

6061. What is the limit of your jurisdiction? 
From fifty dollars to an unlimited amount. 

6062. When did you receive your appointment? 
In November, 1864. 

6063. From whom ? 
From Governor Halm ? 

6064. Have you been presiding in that court ever since? 

Ever since I was appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the senate, for six years. 

6065. We desire to know something in relation to the administration of justice in the 
courts of this State. Please say, from your experience as a judge in the State, whether jus 
tice is fairly administered between all classes of citizens who appear before your court ? 

I can say, without hesitation, that it is. I make no distinction of party and no distinc- 
tion of color. They come before me on the merits of their cases and on the merits alone. 

6066. That is doubtless true so far as you are personally concerned. How is it, so far as 
your observation goes, with the juries ? 

It is the same. 

6067. Are you acquainted with any instance in which any man who, as a suitor in j'our 
court, failed to obtain justice because of his Union sentiments? 

I am not. 



TESTIMONY OF R. T. FELLOWS. 415 

COGS. Is that, so far as your knowledge goes, the case in the other courts in this State and 
in the city I 

It is, in regard to the courts of this city. I can't speak as positively in regard to the 
courts of the Si ate 

6069. Can you speak in confidence in regard to the courts of this city ? 
I can with perfect confidence. 

6070. Do you reside in the city of New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir. 

6071. How long have you resided here ? 
I was horn here. 

6072. From what you know of the sentiments of this community, state whether, in your 
opinion, they may be relied upon for fidelity to the government of the United States ? 

I can say, from my observation, that they can be relied upon. 

6073. If Louisiana were restored to her position in the Union, and the military forces 
were withdrawn, in your opinion would the civil authorities and courts preserve the rights 
of society and administer justice impartially? 

I think they would. 

6074. Would the freedmen obtain impartial justice ? 
Yes, sir. They do now, and they would. 

6075. State whether, in your opinion, the expression of political sentiments in this com- 
munity is free I 

I think it is. 

6076. Can men utter their opinions in this community in safety as respects their persons 
and property ? 

I have known no instance where the expression was not entirely free to others and to my- 
self upon any topic they wished to speak upon. There was no molestation that I knew of 
or ever saw. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6077. You never either knew of or saw any molestation of any person in Louisiana on 
account of his sentiments is your last answer. Is that answer one that has been deliberately 
made and you are willing to abide by ? 

Yes, sir. I should like, however, to have the meaning of the word molestation more fully 
explained. 

6078. It is for you to explain the sense in which you give your answer ? 
Then I unreservedly maintain what I said. 

6079. You know of no case, and there has been no failure in administering the law either 
in the punishment of crime or in the administration of civil remedies of the courts and juries 
of Louisiana ? 

That has been done, I can say, in the State of Louisiana. 

6080. And in the city of New Orleaus ? 
Yes, sir, and in the city of New Orleans. 

6081. That answ*er is carefully and deliberately made and that you abide by ? 
Yes, sir. 

6082. Several scores of persons were killed on the 30th of July last, and between two 
and three hundred were severely wounded on that day in this city. Will you have the good- 
ness to state how mauy persons committing these crimes have been either convicted or in- 
dicted ? 

I left here on the 28th of July and returned, I think, on the 25th or 27th of October. 
That occurred during my absence, and I am unable, therefore, to answer the question. I 
was in the city ot New York and on the Hudson river. 

6083. You have, in your former answer, sworn that you deliberately and cai'efully state 
that you neither knew nor heard of any case where justice, civil or criminal, had failed to 
be administered by the courts of the State. Do you now repeat that answer in view of the 
suggestion I have made with regard to the 30th of July and the failure to punish any of the 
rioters? 

I do, for the reason that I do not know what transpired, and don't know what parties 
were indicted, or what parties were punished, during the time I was away. Since I have 
returned I have not heard of any information being filed against any of the parties you 
speak of. 

6084. You never heard either of the July riot, or of anybody having been punished or 
prosecuted for it ? 

I heard of the July riot by receiving a newspaper from New Orleans. That was the first 
intimation I had that a riot had taken place in New Orleans. 

6085. Do you swear that there has been no failure to administer the criminal law in the 
matter of the July riots ? 

I would not like to swear that. 

6086. Then do you modify your former careful and deliberate statement that you never 
heard any case in which the criminal law had failed to be faithfully administered ? 

No, sir; I do not. 



416 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6087. When you stated that you know of uo case in which the criminal law had failed to be 
impartially administered, did you refer to cases which had come before the courts and as to 
administration between individuals, or did you mean to say that all cases in which the crim- 
inal law might be applied had been brought before the courts ? 

For that very reason I still maintain that the answer I made was correct, because I referred 
to the former class of cases and not to the latter. 

By Mr. Shellaiurger : 

60SS. Do I now understand you to mean that the laws of Louisiana are fully and fairly 
administered when there is failure on the part of the grand jury to indict men for these fla- 
grant crimes such as those of the 3(Jth July ? 

I do not. 

By the Chairman : 

6089. I understood you to say that the freedmen in the State of Louisiana could obtain 
their rights in the courts the same as white persons, and that that, in your judgment, would 
be the case if the military forces should be entirely withdrawn from the State. Do you mean 
to say that ? Do you mean to have it understood that if the whole military protection should 
be withdrawal from the State the freedmen of Louisiana would stand as fair a chance as the 
whites to get their rights as between them and the whites? 

I say that they not only receive their rights before the judiciary of the State now, but that 
they would then receive them. 

6090. And that you state on your knowledge of the condition of affairs in Louisiana? 
I do. 

6091. You think that a negro could sue a white person and go into court, and that if the 
military were all away he would have just the same chance of success, if his case was good, 
as a white person would have against a Avhite person. Do you mean that ? 

I do. I may say this, that so far as I am concerned — and I may say the same for the rest 
of the judiciary — the military exercise no control over the judiciary, so far as influencing their 
judgments is concerned. These colored people sue every day, and if they are entitled to a 
judgment they get it. 

6092. The negro witness is regarded and respected by the jury just as the white witness is ? 
Yes, sir. 

6093. And his testimony is taken with the same willingness to believe him that it would 
be if it came from a white man. You mean to say that, do you ? 

There might be a want of confidence arising from the manner in which the witness on the 
stand would testify. That would of course be weighed, whether he was white or black ; but 
so far as distinction of color is concerned, I do not think their testimony would be of less 
value for that reason. 

6094. Did you ever see any of the reports of the Freedmen's Bureau in respect to the ad- 
ministration of justice in Louisiana? 

No, sir, I can't say that I have. I have read two accounts from this State. I was in New 
York at the time the report of Mr. Conway was made, and also at the time the report of Mr. 
Steadman was made. 

6095. Where were you during the war? 

For two and a half years in the confederate army. 

6096. In what capacity ? 
As captain and paymaster. 

6097. When did you cease to be a confederate captain? 

1 came in when Mr. Lincoln issued his amnesty proclamation in 1863. I left the confed- 
erate lines and came into the Union lines. I was discharged on account of physical disa- 
bility. I did not want to remain there any longer, and seeing the proclamation of Mr. Lin- 
coln for amnesty to those who would return, I returned. 

6098. There was no other reason for your leaving except your physical disability ? 
That was all. 

6099. It your physical disabilities had not existed you would not have left? 

That is a question I can hardly answer now. I would have been governed by circum- 
stances. 

6100. I thought you just now said thtit the reason why you left the service was because of 
physical disability? 

Yes, sir ; but I might have been put into other service. If the physical disability had not 
existed I would not have left. 

6101. Then it was not because of the fact of Mr. Lincoln having offered amnesty, but that 
you were physically unable to perform the duties of captain, that you left the confederate 
service ? 

No, sir. I could have remained and assisted in some special department made for those 
having physical disability ; but I did not choose to do so. I saw the advantages that were 
offered and I chose to avail myself of them. I came back here and took the oath of allegi- 
ance to the United States government. 



TESTIMONY OF DAVID WALLACE. 417 



New Orleans La., January 1, 1867. 
DAVID WALLACE, a witness called at the request of citizens to make such stal 
of facts within his knowledge as ought to be communicated to the committee, swo'td and ex- 
amined. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

6102. Arc you a resident of New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir, now. 

6103. How long have you been living here ? 
For three years. 

6104. Where were you residing previously ? 
In Boston. 

6105. Are you carrying on business here ? 
Yes, sir. 

(5106. If you know anything connected with the riot of the 30th of July last, go on and 
state all the facts within your knowledge. 

I don't know anything about it, for I was in Europe two months before it took place, and 
two months after. 

6107. What business are you in here? 
Dry-goods, shoes, hats, &c. 

6108. Have you had an opportunity of mingling with the people here, and understanding 
their feelings and sentiments? 

I should judge so, from the fact 'that we do a very large business in every portion of the 
adjoining southern States. 

6109. What is the name of your firm? 
Wallace & Co. 

6110. Are you a native of Boston ? 

No, sir, I am a native of Scotland. I have resided in Boston about twenty-odd years. 

6111. State what your opinion is of the feelings and sentiments of the people of this com- 
munity in regard to the government of the United States ; whether they are loyal or otherwise. 

There are two classes of people here, as everywhere, in regard to opinions. The great 
majority of the people have laid down their arms and given up their hostility to the United 
States ; there is no doubt about that. 

6112. Might they be depended on for faithful obedience to the law ? 
I think so. 

6113. Do you think there is any disposition here among the masses of the people again to 
rebel against the government ? 

1 think it is entirely out of their minds. They know it is perfectly useless. It does not 
enter into the calculation of the great majority at all. 

6114. Did you take any part in the rebellion against the government? 
No, sir ; I am a Union man, most assuredly, then and now. 

6 1 15. Do you find that your opinions and feelings are any obstacle in the way of your suc- 
cess in business here ? 

I do not think they are any.obstacle in the way of my success, because my success has 
been more than that of the other houses. There are people who say they would not buy 
from' that house on account of their being such and such. They call us Yaukees, but the 
great majority don't pay any attention to such things, as is shown by the amount of our sales 
bHug much larger than that of any house in the city; so that I answer that it. cannot be an 
injury to our business that I am a Union man. 

61 16. Is the profession of loyalty and obedience to the government of the United States at 
this time an unpopular sentiment in this community ? 

I do not think it is unpopular. 

6117. With the present sentiments of the people, and the present state of the public mind, 
do you believe that the civil authorities would be adequate for the preservation of the pi 
and good order of the community ? 

I cannot really express any opinion in regard to that matter, from the fact that I have so 
lately returned from abroad. My opinion, therefore, would not be worth much. So far as 
it goes, I should certainly say, from what 1 know of the feelings of the majority of the peo- 
ple in this community, that there would be no question as Jo their maintaining good order. 

6118. Do you feel well grounded in the opinion you have given as to the sentiments and 
feelings of the community in regard to the government of the United States .' 

I do, veiy fully, in regard to it, because I have often heard it expressed and talked of. 

6119. Do you think the expression of individual opinion in this community free and safe? 
I think so. At least I know I have always expressed mine very freely, and it is always 

the one way. 

6120. Do you move about by day' and by night as you please, without- danger? 
I do, without danger, so far as I know. 

27 N o 



418 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By the Chairman : 

6121. Do not you think the best test of popularity of a man's opinions would be found if 
In should happen to be a candidate for an elective office, and submit the question to that 
result ? 

1 should say that that was a very good test. 

6122 Coming from where you do, I should suppose you would say that it would be 
about as fair a test as you could have? 

I am in favor of the majority ruling, certainly. 

612:!. Suppose it should turn out that the officers chosen by the people were all of them 
substantially men who acted in the rebellion, should not you think that furnished a proof 
that the popular sentiment of the people was on the side of what was the rebellion ? 

I do not think so. I think it would prove that they stuck to their friends, and stuck to 
their old opinions in regard to what they at that time believed to be right. But I think 
they waived all that. I think they were honest in believing what they did to be right, but 
that that has all passed away. . 

6124. The power that puts in, office is the majority, is it not? 
' Yes, and I believe the majority waive that. 

612"). It that power is shown only by putting rebels in office, would not you say that the 
popular opinion is on the side of the rebels? 

1 should not say so. I should not receive it in that way. I should rather say that these 
men whom they elect are men they are accustomed to trust, and that they still trust them 
to do their business for them. I should not expect they would take me up, a stranger down 
here, instead of one of their own friends whom they knew, and who had been a friend 
through this whole thing. It would be an unprecedented course if they should do that. I 
should not expect, in the election of people to office, they would feel called on to part with 
their friends. 

6126. Then if the party who controlled the offices in the State should happen to fill all 
these offices with rebels, you would not think that would show any other feeling than that 
oi slicking to their friends ! 

I think it would not. 

6127. How would it be if they declined on every occasion to put into office men who had 
stood by the government, preferring those who were in rebellion? Would not that still be 
standing' by their friends? 

It would show that the majority prefer to adhere to their old friends in preference to others 
whom they do not know as well, and have not trusted. 

6128. You believe that the rebellion was treason, do you not? 
Jt is so called, and 1 believe it. 

6129. You believe that the leaders of the rebellion committed treason? 

I am not prepared to answer that question. I believe they were rebels. That sentiment 
is generally understood. It has not been proven, I think, whether they were traitors or not. 

6130. You feel satisfied that they were sincere, that they were all sincere? 

Not all. It would be strange to find all men sincere. I think the great majority were 
sincere, some as much so as w-e were' in the north ; and there were some there who were 
traitors in the north. There were rebels there just as much as here. 

6131. Such men as who? 

I don't know anybody's name. 

6132. What do you mean by saying what you did ? 

I repeat that I don't know any one name. We know there were parties who opposed the 
government, and who were encouraging and aiding the rebellion. 

6133. That is, you mean opposed to the war.' 

We were all opposed to that. I was opposed to the war, and many were. I refer to cer- 
tain men who went to extremes in opposition to- the government, who were not willing to 
waive what was apparently an opinion on their part lor the general good. ' 

6134. You think they were as much to blame as those leaders in the south ? 

I don't say as niueh 1 say they were not probably honest, some of them. I say I do not 
think tin- people in the south were ad honest in their opinions any more than we at the north 
were all honest. 

6135. 1 suppose you would not hesitate to say that this rebellion that has just been con- 
trolled by the government was a criminal rebellion on the part of those who instigated it, 
would you? or would you think thai they were not criminal because of theli being honest in 
their intentions? 

I think honesty of intention excuses a great many things. 

6136. And on the whole you think w dial ' 

I think that honesty of intention w lien the thing was settled, aud no one proceeded to do 
any more damage, would excuse them. 

6137. You said just now, as I understood you, that the people here were loyal and sub- 
mitted to the government because it was of no use to resist further. 

I said they ail know very well that it was no use to resist. 

6138. Ami that was the reason? 
I say that is one reason. 



TESTIMONY OF DAVID WALLACE. 419 

6139. Ts that the reason why they are loyal? 

I have uot beard it expressed so. It is verypossible it may be in their minds. 

6140. My inquiry w as as to what was in your mind as a reason. 
That might be a reason. I could not say it was a controlling reason. 

6141. Could you say that it was not? 

I could not. I could not say cither way. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

6142. Of how many members is your house composed? 
Only two; myself and my brother. 

til 13. How main have there been in your house along during the war? 

There has In en only one other active partner. Others have been interested in the business. 

614-4. How many of them have been contributing to the rebellion in one way or another, 
either in money or otherwise? 

The one partner that I have just got through with, or, I might say, just got rid of, was 
Irving here during the war. He was understood to he a Union man. Whether he contributed 
to the rebellion or not I don't know. He did not to my knowledge. He was known to be 
a Union man. 

(1145. Is it not a pretty good way to get business to be connected with parties on all sides 
of this question of loyalty? 

I do not know. I have not suggested any such fact. 

6146. Did you not say that the partner alluded to was not engaged in the rebellion? 

No, sir ; he is a Huston man. He lived there just before the war. He was a clerk for 
Beebee & Co., in Boston. 

6147. He did not contribute to the rebellion in any way ? 

I don't think he did, for he was known to lie a good Union man. 

6148. Suppose you could find a community who would select out of their number and elect 
to office only those who were gamblers, would you deem that an evidence that the people 
were opposed to gambling? 

I would agree with you that it did not show evidence of their being opposed to gambling. 

6149. Suppose they invariably elected men to office who were horse-thieves; would that 
show the community as such to be honest ? 

I should give the same answer. 

6150. Suppose you found a people selecting only for office such persons as had been 
engaged in rebellion; would you deem that an evidence that they weie opposed to rebellion, 
and in favor of loyalty to the United States ! 

I do not think it would prove that they were opposed to the rebellion that they had just 
got through with. But I do not think, either, that it would prove they were fn favor of 
another one. 

6151. You think that would have no tendency to show that they elected a man because he 
had been engaged in the rebellion, rather than a man who was known to have remained 
loyal ? 

It would not prove anything of that kind to me, because, living here as I do, I have known 
the feeling and the sentiment that prevail, and I think it would prove, as I have already said, 
that these people stick to their friends and stick to each other. I do not think any such feel- 
ing instigates a preference in business matters, for those who have been in rebellion, and my 
success in business here proves that it does not. 

6152. What I want to drive 1 your mind to is, the consistency that is to' be found in this fact, 
to wit : that they refused to elect to office all the people who remained true to their allegiance 
to the government of the United States, and that they selected alone those who were in the 
rebellion. Now when yon find a people doing that, the Union men being just as fir for office 
and just as much formerly the friends of those electors as the rebels, the difference being that 
one engaged in rebellion, and the other did not, do you still find in the fact that they selected 
only rebels, no indication that they are in favor of rebellion ? 

I have said that they are in favor of each other ; that they stick to their friends; and I 
think that is all the result of the elections proves. They stick to their friends as they stuck 
to their cause. 

6153. And their cause was rebellion, and they are in favor of those who were rebels? 
I think so. I would lie surprised if it were otherwise. 

6154. But still you think that a people who prefer rebellion to loyalty area loyal people. 

I do uot state thai. I think the people in this community, the majority of them, are loyal 
even after what has taken place, and more loyal than they were before it took place. 



420 NEW OELEANS EIOTS. 

New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 

WILLIAM T. STOCKER, a witness called at the request of the committee of citizens, as 
one whose testimony they desired to have taken, sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6155. Are you a citizen of New Orleans? 

1 am, since the first of January, 1864. 

6156; Are you engaged in business here? 

I am, in the Lumber and general commission business. My principal business is lumber. 

6157. Where did you reside before you came to New Orleans? 

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on the 19th of July, 1825, according to my mother's 
statement. I arrived in New Orleans some time in 1836. Then I went to Mississippi and 
lived there for a time. But I have lived most of the time in New Orleans. 

6158. Are you acquainted with any facts connected with the riot of the 30th of July ? 
I am not. 

6159. Have you considerable intercourse with the people of this community? 

I have. I know a very large number of people here, and mix a great deal with them. 

6160. We desire to know what your opinion is in regard to the feeling with which they 
regard the government of the United States ; whether they, in your opinion, are true to their 
allegiance in good'faith or not. 

The mass of the people, I think, are. A minority, I think, are not. 

6161. What proportion would the minority bear to the whole number? 
I could not say. I should say one third, or perhaps more. 

6162. Are you a Union man? 
1 am. 

6163. Have you always been so during the war? 
Always unconditionally for the Union. 

6164. 1 lave you found that in the way of your success in business ? 
None in the world. 

6165. Can a man with Union sentiments, such as yourself, reside in this community with 
safety, and prosecute his business successfully? 

I can only speak for myself. I have done so, and I piesume many other men can do so 
who are conducting themselves as good citizens. 

6166. Have you always fearlessly expressed your opinions whenever you thought the 
occasion called for it ? 

On every occasion. 

6167. ll^ve you met with any violence in any way in consequence of that ? 
None in the world. 

6168. Did you ever feel any apprehension on that subject? 
Not the slightest. 

6169. Need any good citizen who expresses himself in a reasonable and temperate way 
fear any danger in this community in consequence of an expression of his opinions? 

In my opinion he need not. 

By the Chairman : 

6170. Among the one-third you spoke of who are not friendly to the government, do you 
include the leading men who instigated and got up this rebellion ? 

1 most undoubtedly do. 

6171. Do not that class of men, that minority, in communities like this, control the action 
of the community ? 

Most unquestionably. 

6172. And is it not true that that portion of the community control the affairs of the other 
in the State and in the city I 

I don't know about the State. I can only speak for the city. It is certainly so in the city. 

6173. Do not you know the fact to be that all places of appointment by officers or of elec- 
tion by the people are tilled now by men who have been in the rebel army .' 

1 think in nineteen eases out of twenty they are. 

6174. Do not you know that it is a fact that men who stood firmly by the government 
through the war cannot get a situation from the hands either of the people or from the hands 
of officers whom they have chosVn, as a general thing ' 

Leaving out the executive of the Stale, I should say yes. I believe the governor dow 
would give an office to a Union man. Aside from that, I do not think the other officers 
would. 

6J75. Do you think, as a Union man and a lover of the government, that (lie same people 
who had been fighting four years against the. government and have been conquered should 
now be nut back into tie- same position they occupied before ' 

No, sir; I am unalterably opposed to it. 

tilTli. lint yet, is it not a fact that, under the present state of things, so far as you know, 
that has been done ! 

No, sir ; 1 cannot say that except in our elective officers. I was a candidate myself at the 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM JASPER BLACKBURN. 421 

last election. I was a member of the secession convention, so called, and also a member of 
the convention of 1864. I was also a candidate for tax collector of the first election district, 
and 1 was most ignominiously defeated in consequence of my being a Union man. 

6177, Sou saj you were a member of the secessionist convention ' 

Yes, sir; Mr. Rosier and myself represented the parish of New Orleans. 

<11T~. llnw did Mi'. Roselius vote on the resolution approving the conduct of the governor 
in seizing the forts and arsenals .' 

That is correci ly stated on the record. lie made a speech against it, and then voted for it, 
and cave his reasons for voting for it. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. - 
WILLIAM JASPER BLACKBURN sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 
6179. What is your age? 
Forty-six years. 

6181 i How long have you been a resident in New Orleans ? 
I do not live here at all. 

6181. Where is your residence ? 
Claiborne county, in this State. 

6182. What is your occupation? 
I am editor of the Homer Iliad. 

6183. How long have you resided in Louisiana ? 
Since 1848. 

6184'. How long have you conducted the Iliad? 
Since 1859. 

6185. Have you had a pretty fair opportunity to know the sentiments of the people in your 
part of the State, particularly of the men who love the Union and have stood by it during the 
war 1 

Yes, sir. a first-rate opportunity. 

6186. Please tell us in your own way what it is. 

I can tell you my own experience as a Union man. 

6187. You may state the sentiments of the people, and illustrate it by your own experience, 
if you please. 

Since the nomination of Breckinridge for President, what are termed the Union men in 
the south have been held in social and political contempt by the masses of the people, and 
their lives endangered. 

6188. How has that manifested itself in your experience in the place where you live? 

It commenced by a manifestation towards myself on the part of the populace in hissings 
and scoffs, because I would not support Breckinridge instead of Douglas. 

6189. We don't care to go back as far as that. Please speak of the condition of things as 
you find them now. 

The predominant feeling of the people is that of hatred to the United States government, 
and contempt for what are called Union men or radicals, as the term is used. 

6190. 1 1 the protection of the government should be withdrawn entirely what would be the 
condition of the Union men as to their property, persons, and business? 

I don't think their persons or business would be safe at all. I don't know as to their 
property, whether it would be destroyed or not. Men in business would be embarrassed or 
driven away by an entire failure of patronage. 

6191. Have you had any difficulty in your business in conducting your paper? 

During the war I have. My paper was suppressed, and I had to take refuge in the woods. 

6192. How is it now .' 

During the pendency of the late election I was advised, in a friendly way, by my rebel 
personal friends— and they are all more or less personal friends of mine — that all northern men 
and men of my political sentiments could not live in the south if the elections were carried in 
their favor. " I agreed with them, and it was well understood that if the election went in 
their favor, I did not expect to try to live longer in the south ; I mean if the northern people, 
in their election, sustained Johnson over Congress. I remarked to them that the case was 
entirely different on the other hand; that notwithstanding Congress was indorsed over the 
President, they, as rebels, could live in peace and safety in the south, for the reason that 
the Union men of the south were not assassins. 

6193. What difficulty has there been in sustaining your paper? Where do you print it ? 

I print it at Homer, Claiborne parish. The only difficulty I have had has been proscription 
in my business, and failure of patronage from the people on account of my Unionism, or, as 
they 'term it, my radicalism. They call Union men of the south radicals or abolitionists. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6194. Have you had any observation in the matter of the administration of justice in the 
courts in your part of the State of Louisiana? 



422 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I have Lail very little personal observation. I hardly ever go inside a court-house. I have 
heard lawyers talk a good deal about such things, particularly the district attorney. 

6195. In case a secessionist should commit an injury on a Union nian because he was a 
Union man, so that the case assumed a political complexion in the court, could the Union 
man get justice before a jury in Louisiana? 

I don't think he could. 

6196. When crimes are committed against Union men because they are Union men, are 
these crimes generally successfully prosecuted before the. grand jury and in the courts? 

I do not believe I can give a single case within my own observation either one way or the 
other. 

6197. In speaking of the Union men of the south do you mean men of extreme radical 
opinions, as they tire called, or. men who have stood by the government, and refused to go 
into the rebellion ? 

I mean men who have stood and now stand steadfastly by the Union government over all 
whims of State sovereignty, as they term it. I mean men who look on the Union government 
as the great sheet-anchor of their safety. 

6198. Your paper is supported, is it not ? 

No, sir : not as a general thing ; it is not supported like other papers, and it is not supported 
because it is a Union paper.. 

6199. Is it not because it is a radical paper, and not because it is a Unon paper, that you 
fail to get support ? 

The word radical is used by the people here in an offensive sense, meaning men who are. 
in favor of negro equality, as they call it. My Unionism consists simply in a single-hearted 
devotion to the Union government, and not in any particular theories about negro suffrage. 

6200. Aiid that is the kind of Unionism which you say is under the ban here ? 
Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6201. By single-hearted devotion to the Union government, do you mean single-hearted 
devotion to the policy of Congress ? 

I believe my class of Union men look on Congress as a fair exponent of what they con- 
sider national loyalty. 

6202. And those who are opposed to the policy of Congress you do not regard as national 
loyal men / 

Not in a strict sense, as a general thing. There may be exceptions, but those who adhere 
to Mr. Johnson's policy look to him for something they expect to realize from his policy, 
such as the support of their sectional pride, State sovereignty, southern rights, and a repos- 
session of the supreme power and wheels of the national government. 

6203. Is not the President a part of the government ? 

I suppose he is, and a very large part in his reconstruction policy. 

6204. You are opposed to his restoration policy 1 
Yes, sir. 

62115. And you advocate opposition to it in your paper? 

Yes, sir; 1 sustain Congress in contradistinction to the policy of Mr. Johnson. 

6206. Do you sustain Congress in all things in your paper'/ 

There may be wayside issues in which I do not. There are certain individual members of 
Congress who have particular notions that I wpuld not indorse. Generally speaking, I sus- 
tain Congress as to the whole of its policy in opposition to thatof Mr. Johnson. 

6207. The Freedmen's Bureau bill, tor example, the civil-rights bill, and the constitutional 
amendment ; do you sustain those ? 

I don't know that I sustain the Freedmen's Bureau bill particularly, and I do not know 
that I am particulary in favor of the constitutional amendment, but I am in favor of that 
policy of restoration which will render loyalty in the south, not a badge of reproach, not a 
badge of danger, but a bado-e of honor and of patriotism, as a badge of safety, instead of 
being, as it is, of dishonor, of proscription, and almost of infamy. 

0208. Vou stated a while ago that Union men, in your opinion, were such as had single- 
hearted devotion to the government, and from what you afterwards stated, I infer that you 
consider Congress as the rightful controlling power in the government? 

We consider it as the rightful controlling law-making power of the government. 

6209. Then, inasmuch as you do not approve of the Freedmen's Bureau bill nor of the. con- 
stitutional amendment, you are not yourself in single-hearted devotion to the government. 

As a general rule, in a paramount sense, I am. As I remarked, there may be some way- 
side issues, some particular clauses in the bill, that I do not indorse. For instance, I do not 
think the constitutional amendment is strong enough. 

6210. How about the Freedmen's Bureau lull' Is not that strong enough ? 

If Congress had the appointing of all the officers, it might be. I do not know whether it 
would under the appointing power of Mr. Johnson or not; but I tell you that, although I 
am branded in the south by my political enemies, I am not what they term a negro equali- 
tist, or a negro worshipper. 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM JASPER BLACKBURN. 423 

6211. Do not yon think that the negro ought to be made^ equal with the white man ? 

I do, in their political rights; but,, sir, I am a southern man; I have never been in the north 
yet, and T will say that there are Certain equalities that I do nol believe in. 

6212. You think they ought to vote, or not? 

I have never advocated universal suffrage in my paper, although I will say this, that I 
would rather trust a loyal negro than a reconstructed rebel, under Mr. Johnson's plan of 
reconstruction. 

6213. The sentiments advocated by your paper are not exactly, then, in accordance with 
the views entertained by the people in your vicinity? 

They are not. 

6214. Is it not very natural to account for the want of patronage you complain of in that 
fact > 

Yes, sir, it is very natural; but whether it is just or not is a different question in my esti- 
mation. 

6215. You think that to subscribe for the Homer Iliad would be a good standard by which 
to measure a man's loyalty? 

No, sir; I think that when I am proscribed simply and solely on account of my devo- 
tion to the Union ; that when I stand up for the national government which has triumphed 
over the rebellion and crushed it. and those who are secessionists undertake to proscribe me 
and break down my business, I think that is. a very poor kind of loyally. 

6216. Do you think Congress ought to make them subscribe for the Iliad at the point of 
the bayonet? 

No, sir ; I am as far from that as you or any other man dare be. 

6217. If they were to subscribe for the Homer Iliad, would not you consider that a pretty 
good test of loyalty 1 

I might not put any more confidence in the sincerity of their sentiments. I think it would 
be a better test than to proscribe a man on account of his loyalty to the Union. 

6218. Do you speak your mind freely in your paper 1 
I do. 

6219. Is the Homer Iliad a very outspoken paper? 
It is; the most so of any paper in the south. 

6220. And it is allowed to be printed in your neighborhood ? 
Yes. 

6221. Your press has never been demolished? 

It has never been demolished, but my paper has been stopped several, times by threats of 
mobbing. 

6222. Since the war ? 
No, sir. 

6222$. Since the war it has been regularly issued ? 
Yes, sir. 

6223. Is it a weekly or a daily paper ? 
It is a weekly paper. 

6224. Does it circulate some in the neighborhood ? 
Yes, sir. 

6225. How many subscribers have you in Claiborne parish ? 

I can't toll. I think I have about perhaps one hundred aud twenty-five. 

6226. Where else does it circulate besides in Claiborne county? 
Mostly in New Orleans. 

6227. How many subscribers have you in New Orleans? 
1 think about one hundred, probably. 

6228-. You spoke of having been threatened ; did you ever receive actual violence in your 
person ? 

No, sir ; I may say that I did have one fight on account of my unionism. 

6229. At what time was that? 

It was about the commencement of the rebellion. 

6230 Since the rebellion you have had none ? 

No, sir; as I said before, I had to take to the woods and lay out a little while sometimes. 

62:! I. Since the war you have continued to publish your paper without hindrance ? 

Yes. sir; but with a distinct understanding that if the northern people in the recent or late 
elections sustained Mr. Johnson, I would not be permitted to publish it. 

6232. With a distinct understanding with whom? 
These rebel friends of mine. 

6233. Had you a bargain made ? 

No, sir, not at all ; but they were personally friendly to me, and warned me to that effect. 
They were personal friends, otherwise I would not have been permitted to publish ury paper. 

6234. Then notwithstanding your neighbors were rebels, they were personally friendly ? 
Yes, sir ; very much so. 

6235. Then tne press is free in Claiborne parish, is it not ? 
It is free to express its sentiments at the risk of starvation. 

6236. That is at the risk of the paper not being subscribed for? 



424 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Yes, sir; on account of its loyalty. 

6237. Then that is the principal thing which you have to complain' of? 
I don't complain of it. 

6238. Then you have nothing to complain of? 

I have no complaint to lay before this committee at all. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
WILLIAM H. COOLEY sworn and examined. 

By the Ciiaikman: 

6239. You are a judge of what court in this State? 
Of the seventh judicial district of this State. 

6240. Where is your district? 

It is up the river about 1">0 miles. 

6241. What is your jurisdiction? 

I have unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases. 

6242. What is your place of residence ? 

I reside alternately in the city of New Orleans and in my district. 

6243. For what length of time have you lived here? 
In the city of New Orleans two years. • 

6244. How long in your district ? 

All my life; thirty-four years, with the exception of the two years I have been in the city. 

>'r2 15. Since the suppression of the rebellion have you had occasion to know what the sen- 
timent of the people is towards the men who have been, through the rebellion, true to the 
Union and the government? 

I have had considerable intercourse with the people personally and officially, and through 
this means I have obtained some information in regard to the sentiments and opinions of the 
people. 

6246. In holding your courts, have you had opportunities to see what the opinions of jury- 
men were in reference to Union men who have been faithful and true ? 

I do not think there has ever been a case of that description in my district in which white 
men were concerned. I have sent cases to the juries repeatedly between black Union men 
and white citizens. 

C>-J47. How. in such cases, was the result? 

The black men have not stood anywhere at all. I do not think those who were formerly 
slaves stand a particle of show before any jury in my district. I have tried these eases in 
repeated instances, and I have had, ex officio, to set aside the verdicts of the juries. Not long 
since, at West Feliciana, the jury returned a verdict in a criminal case point blank against 
my charge as a matter of law in court. 

6248. You have stated that you have had a good deal of knowledge as to the opinions and 
sentiments of the people towards those who have been friendly to the Union ; state what it is. 

My opinion about the matter is probably not so strong or exaggerated as that of others yen 
ha \ e heard ; still I think there is a good deal of ill feeling on the part of the population here 
towards those who have been Union men all through the war; those who have been stanch 
supporters of the United States government. I have had some occasion to know that, very 
recently, in a parish in which my duty called me to hold court, and in which I had to call on 
<; aeral Mowei for the assistance of United States forces for the protection of a certain class 
of persons, and myself among the number. 

C-.'U). Where was that .'. 

In the parish of Point Conpee. 

6250. State the circumstances. 

There was an anticipated trial there. I found out, on mixing with the people, that there 
was a great deal of excitement on the subject, and that in ease a verdict of guilty was 
returned, the court, jury, and everybody rise would bo mobbed by the populace. I wrote 
to General Mower to send a detachment of troops there for the protection of the court as 
well as the jury; 

6251. What case was that? 

It was the ease of the State vs. John A. Hamilton for the murder of a freedman. General 

Meahor enl there a detachment of sixty-five troops, United States infantry, and I understood 

from parties in the parish — I knew nothing of them myself — that a company of 150 men had 

a organized to come down and whip the troops out and whip me out. Representations 

to thai effect were made to me. 

<'p-j.vj. 1 low w as the proof in that case? 

The case was not Died. The State witnesses were not present at the trial and the trial did 
not come off at all. I may state, in relation to that ease, that 1 had almost to force the grand 
jury to find a true bill. There were two accusations before the grand jury for the murder of 
freedmen. The district attorney came tome on the bench and told me he had listened to 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM IT. COOLEY. 425 

the evidence in both cases ; that the grand jury had ignored both hills ; that it was an outrage; 
thai they should have found bills in both cases. I called the grand jury before me and 
explained to them that it was not their province to say whether a party was guilty or not 
guitly ; that it was for them to inquire whether an offence, criminal againsi the laws of the 
State, had been committed; if they found the act had been committed it was for them to so 
find without reference to any facts justifying or palliating the offence. 1 made the charge so 
pointed to them that they returned to their room, and in the course of the same day returned 
a true bill against one of the parties, Hamilton. Against the other they returned no bill at 
all, although I am told they had the evidence before them of its being a most atrocious 
murder. 

62531 In how many parishes does you district extend? 

Three parishes. 

6254. You have spoken of having called upon General Mower for a detachment of troops. 
Suppose the military forces of the United States should be withdrawn and military protection 
taken from the State, what, in your judgment, would be the condition of things as to the 
safety of persons and property, where you are best acquainted in Louisiana, for Union men 
who have stood by the government through the rebellion and are known as Union men? 

So far as that is concerned, I can tell you very positively what I would do if the protection of 
the troops were withdrawn. I would not remain as judge and dare try a case of a white man 
for killing a freedman ; I would not do it unless I was assured that I could have the protec- 
tion of the United States troops. At the same time, in my intercourse with the people, no 
harm would he done me outside of these acts which my position as judge would involve me 
in. I do not think I would be in any danger of my life ; but at the same time I am per- 
fectly satisfied they would make it a rather hot place for me ; that I would be tabooed in 
every way, shape, and fashion. I cannot say that I believe either my life or the life of any 
one else would be in danger merely from the fact of being a Union man, but I believe they 
would have to leave the parish ; that influences would be brought to bear upon them which 
they could not resist. They would have every door closed upon them. They could not 
associate with the balance of the population. Such influences would be brought to bear 
against them, and are even now brought to bear against them, as would make their remain- 
ing very uncomfortable. 

6255. Is there more than one parish in your district in which that state of things exists? 

I have had occasion to be in only two of the parishes of my district — the parish of West 
Feliciana and the parish of Point Coupee. I have never held a term in the other parish. 
Judge Lewis exchanged with me, he going to that parish and I to one of his parishes. 

6256. How long have you been judge of that district 1 
Since March last. 

6257. Who appointed you ? 
Governor Wells. 

6258. Where did you reside at the time of your appointment? 
In the city of New Orleans. 

625'.). And now, as I understood you, you only reside in your judicial district while you 
are holding court? 

No, sir ; I reside there more than that. I have lost my wife, and have lost my son, and 
have passed my time half in the city of New Orleans and half in my district. My regular 
home is in the parish of Point Coupee, in my district. 

6260. Then your experience of such incidents as you related refer to one parish in your 
district 1 

To the two parishes — the parish of West Feliciana and the parish of Point Coupee. 

6261. Are there any other instances you can relate, such as that of the State against Ham- 
ilton? 

There was no such excitement in the parish of West Feliciana. I found there some diffi- 
culty in getting a grand jury to act in such charges against white persons. There is a case 
standing there now where, after my charge to the grand jury, they would not find a bill 
against a party by the name of Hale for killing a negro. 

6262. Have there been many murders in your district since you have been judge there? 

1 am speaking now in reference to the parishes. In these, since I have been appointed, 
there have heen six murders. 

6263. Whether the parties charged are guilty or not you don't know? 
Of course I don't express an opinion upon that. 

6264. In how many instances of these was the victim a negro ? 
In four instances. 

6265. And in the other two they were white men ? 

Yes, hut both reputed to be very strong Union men. One of them was a freedman's agent, 
in the town of Bayou Sara, in the parish of West Feliciana. 

6'2(i6. Were the murderers of the white men you speak of white men or negroes ? 

White men. 

6"Jt>7. Is the sentiment or feeling in respect to the freedmen, such as you spoke of, general 
among the people ' 

I can't say that it is general among all classes, because since the war has stopped these 



426 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

parishes have filled up to some extent by persons from the north. Of course I do not think 
the> have such sentiments towards the blacks. 

6*268. 1 mean among the resident population of these parishes; is the feeling general 
arnon^- these ' 

It exists in nine cases out often. 

6269. Arc not the negroes protected by the presence of the Freedmen's Bureau ? 

Not in my district, because the action of the Freedmen's Bureau in my district lias always 
been of a character rather to favor the planters against the freedmen. 

6270. Are the negro population, in your opinion, less kindly treated in the parishes or 
district in which you arc acquainted now than before the war? 

A great deal less kindly treated. They have to shift" for themselves entirely now. 

6271. Is there any wanton or unnecessary cruelty exercised towards them as a general 
thing? 

There is nothing of that kind as a general thing, for the simple reason that the parties know 
very well that such a thing will not be allowed. 

6272. Then the laws are maintained to a sufficient extent to deter men from committing 
such outrages ?■ 

It is not the laws of the State they are afraid of, or that restrain parties, but it is the action 
of the bureau and the action of the United States authorities under the civil-rights bill. 
Those arc the only restraining influences that I know of. 

627:!. Without their assistance, then, in your opinion, the law within this parish would not 
be likely to be enforced ? 

Not where the law punished white men for doing anything towards a negro. Wherever 
the rights of a negro came in contact with those of a white man, so far as they favored the 
rights of the negro, they would not be enforced. 

6274. In all other respects could they be duly enforced ? 
I think so. 

6275. What is your descent ? 

I am a mixture of what is called Yankee and Frenchman. My mother, on one side, is 
French, and my father was a Massachusetts man. 

6276. Have you ever resided in Massachusetts ? 
No, sir; I never was in the State at all. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

6277. You have been asked whether the law could be fully and impartially .admin- 
istered in all cases except where a negro was concerned with a white man; I want to ask 
you whether juries, grand or traverse, would administer the law impartially and fairly in 
such cases as the one mentioned by you just now, where a murder was committed on an 
agent of the bureau .' 

If the person murdered was a white man I believe the grand juries would find a bill against 
him, but I doubt very much whether you would find a petit jury who would convict him on 
his trial. 

6278. Where offences are committed under circumstances involving political feeling or 
prejudice, such as a crime committed by a secessionist against a Union man because he is a 
Union man, as was the case in New Orleans on the 3Uth of July, can a jury be found to 
convict on thai sort of case? 

No, sir, 1 do not think you would find ajury to convict under such circumstances. There 
was a case occurred before me in Alexandria, the facts of which, as reported to me, (I do not 
know whether they were true,) were these: That a man by the name of Hayes had been 
shot and killed entirely on account of his Union feelings. I found that case pending when 
I went to Alexandria, and I tried my best to bring the man to trial; in fact, he had not been 
arrested, although the offence had been committed six mouths previous. 

6279. Had there been an indictment against him? 

Yes. sir; and the warrant placed in the bauds of the sheriff. He was really arrested finally 
through a mistake, J suspect. A friend of his asked the sheriff. why he did not arrest this 
man. The sheriff replied, " T can't find him." The man said, ''"You know that is not true; 
he paid his taxes yesterday, and was in your office j" at the same time, casting his eyes out 
of the window, he remarked, "There he goes, now." That conversation attracted my atten- 
tion; I turned round and spoke, to the sheriff, and he started out and brought the man be- 
fore me in tic course of an hour. I gave him three days to produce witnesses for the State, 
but he could not find any. 

628Q. Was there really any difficulty in finding the witnesses? 

From general reputation I was told that the sheriff never would find witnesses to con- 
vict that man, although they lived within four or live hundred yards of the court-house. I 
was a perfect stranger in the parish, and knew nothing about the matter; I found pending 
in the court fourteen or fifteen indictments for murder, but I never could try auybody. 

6281. Why not? 

Because in that parish there is no law at all. They are in a perfect state of anarchy. 

6282. What parish is that? 
The parish of Rapides. 



TESTIMONY OF CLARA M'BRIDE. 427 

628/!. What kind of a show would a Union man stand before a jury in that parish, in a 
suit between him and a rebel ! 

I don') know; I would dislike to be in the place of the Union man. Colonel Frisbie got 
a verdict in his favor in that parish last summer, under peculiar circumstances. There were 
certain charges againsl him coming under a statute made by the recent legislature, for entic- 
ing hands away from their employers. There was no more evidence of his guilt than there 
was ot' mine, yet the jury deliberated for three-quarters of an hour before finding a verdict 
of not guilty. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6-284. But they acquitted him ? 

They did ; and I believe they did it because they knew I would set aside their verdict as 
soon as they brought it in, unless they did. They tried a young man who had been in the 
service of the confederacy, lor carrying a concealed weapon. The weapon was proved 
to have been something of the nature of a very large butcher's knife, about fourteen or fif- 
teen inches lone-; his coat was buttoned up and the evidence showed that no part of it could 
have been seen, but the jury returned that the"weapon was in full view — that it was not pos- 
sible for a weapon of that kind to have been concealed, and therefore the verdict was not 
guilty. Half an hour afterwards I tried the case of a negro for carrying a concealed weapon, 
and they found him guilty without deliberating two minutes. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
CLARA McBRIDE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6285. Where do you live? 

I have lived in New Orleans for the last six years. 

6286. Have you been employed in New Orleans as teacher in the public schools ? 
For four years I have. 

6287. In what school have you taught? 

In the Jackson's boys' school as an assistant. 

6288. About how old are the boys? 
Their ages run from nine to sixteen. 

6289. About how large a school had you? 
It has averaged from '24 to 45. 

629U. Are you how employed? 

No, sir; I am employed in the colored schools of the bureau. I lost my position in the 
public schools. I have only been teaching a month for the Freedmen's Bureau. My time 
expired last September iu the public schools. 

6291. Why were you dismissed? 

I never made an inquiry, but I felt satisfied it was on account of my loyal principles. I 
commenced teaching when General Butler was here. My first application was made then, 
and I have always been identified with the Union pebple, No other reason could be found, 
nor can be found against me. I never went to ask any one why I lost my place, because I 
had no favors to ask, ami have never been near them since. I made my application at the 
time all the teachers made theirs. 

6292. What reply did you receive? 

There was a public notice given that all teachers wishing to retain their positions should 
make written application to the board. I did so ; when I handed - it in I asked if that was 
all that was expected; they said yes. The appointments were made and I was not included 
in the number. I have never seen any of the board; they were strangers to me, and knew 
nothing of me; they only knew that I had been put in with those they termed Yankee 
teachers. 

6293. Did you have in your school exercises in singing? 

Yes, sir; that was required by the manual; the first manual which was published during 
the administration of the first board we had. We continued to follow the same manual. 

6294. Was the collection of songs discretionary with the teacher? 
It was. 

6295. What was the nature of the songs you were in the habit of teaching? 

Nothing but national airs were ever taught in that school — Hail Columbia, Star Spangled 
Banner, Yankee Doodle, &c. 

6296. Did you sing among the national songs any war songs ? 

No, sir ; not in that school. Singing was not practiced in that school as much as in many 
of the others, because none of the teachers, except one, sang. For some time that had been 
discontinued because one teacher had left and there was no one to take her place: the singing 
was therefore discontinued. My sister, Mrs. Smith, who was also subpoenaed to be here to- 



428 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

day, is very sick- She. bad singing in her school because the manual required it. The su- 
perintendent of the present board made a visit to her room and asked her what airs she saiig. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

6297. Did you get this information from her? 

Yes, .sir ; she was the only one in that whole school who lost her place. 

By the' Chairman : 

6298. You know she taught in that school? 

Yes, sir; I know a conversation that passed between the superintendent and my sister, 
and that my sister was first removed to an interior position, and then left out altogether. 

6299. What kind of songs did your sister sing? 

The same national airs. The superintendent of the schools made it his business to find out 
how long I had lived in New Orleans, where I was from, and how long I had been teaching. 
Alter that he paid very little attention to my school; he never heard a recitation, and at some 
of the examinations he never came in until about five minutes before the school closed. The 
firsl visit to my school he made it his business to rind out where I was educated. 

6300. Were you included with other teachers who have been removed for their Union 
sentiments? 

Yes, sir. 

6301. About how many have been removed for that reason, as near as you can state ? 

To my personal knowledge, of those with whom I am acquainted, I could not count more 
than •■J5 ; but my acquaintance is very limited among the teachers. There is Mrs. Richardson, 
one of the oldest teachers, who was dismissed for no other reason than her loyalty. She has 
been permanently identified with Dr. Newman's congregation ever since he has been here. 
She has occupied one of the highest positions in the schools ever since I have been here; her 
name is L. M. Richardson. Miss A. F. Coggswell, Miss Burgess, Mrs. Shehan, Mrs. C. E. 
Crane, Mrs. M. Y. Mielly — she was the principal in the school in which I taught; Mrs. Tay- 
lor was the principal of the Washington school; Miss E. Buggy, Miss J. Benedict, Miss M. 
A. Armstrong, Mrs. G. W. Hoxworth, Mrs. H.Smith, Mrs. M. Perry, Miss H. Zaugerlie; 
these are the only ones I recollect at this moment. 

6302. Were these ladies competent, qualified teachers as far as you know? 

Yes, sir; those I have mentioned. I know that they passed the required examinations 
ami received the usual certificates. I also know that the teacher in the school where I was 
was notified to appear for examination. Those who had been teaching five years were ex- 
amined regardless of their qualifications. She received the notification but would not ap- 
pear. She was quite outspoken in her expressions as a secessionist. She wrote a note to 
the superintendent, saying that she would forfeit her place rather than appear. She is teach- 
ing there still, while the others, including myself, went and passed an examination, received 
their certificate, and did not get their places. 

By Mr. Shellabargf.R: 

6303. Ate certificates required at the beginning of each school? 
No, sir; they have not been. 

6304. Arc examinations required to be gone through with by the teachers who have been 
already teaching in order to entitle them to apply lor the next year .' 

This last examination was an exception to all the other examinations since I have been 
here; it was called during the school season in January last year. 

6305. Do you know of any one not of secession sentiments, who has been retained since 
the new board came in ? 

No, sir; 1 do not know of one. 

6306. Were all those you have named over of Union sentiments, as far as you know? 
So far as I know they all have Union sentiments. 

6307. Of what number floes the board having the power of appointing and dismissing 
teachers consist ! 

Twenty-four, I think. 

6308. What is that hoard called? 

The hoard of school directors for the city of New Orleans. 

6309. How are they selected \ 
They arc appointed by the mayor. 

6310. Who appointed the present board? 
Mayor Monroe. 

631 1. So far as you know, have the board during the last four or five years been composed 
of Union men or secessionists ? 

The board has been new ly appointed, and is usually composed of new members each time. 
The hoard la-t year and this year 1 am not acquainted with at all. These men, so far as I 
can learn, are old men of the place; many of them were not in the city at all last year. 
The first two years 1 taught the hoard was composed entirely of Union people. Dr Gold- 
man was in the hoard two years; he knows more of the teachers than any other gentleman 
who is in the board. 



TESTIMONY OF CLARA M'BRIDE. 429 

6312. State whether, from. the facts coming within your knowledge, a teacher can gel a 
situation ia New Orleans who has known Union sentiments and has been opposed to the 
rebellion ! 

I ill. not feel thai H would be worth while for any one to make application for it. 1- never 
felt thai I bad any reason to ask the present hoard tor anything, knowing that I was from 
the north. They have, as tar as I have known, shown themselves indifferent to any claims 
that could ho broughl in favor of applicants the present year, if they were from the north or 
had Union sentiments. 

6313. [f anj fact has come under your notice in regard to the matter of whether loyalty 
or disloyalty is inculcated in the schools under the present teachers in office, 1 wish you 
would relate it. 

The most striking instance I know of myself is that I have already stated of the lady who 
refused to subsoil to an examination, and yet, because of her secession sympathies, retained 
her place. 

b':JI4. My question is whether the children are taught to love the government of the 
United States? 

I can only tell of that by what I have heard from them and from the reports which they 
have shown to me. 

(Reports objected to by Mr. Boyer.) 

6315. Did you see any of these report s 

I have not seen them; I only know what, the children told me, that their classes were 
designated as the Stonewall Jackson boys, the Robert E. Lee boys, &c. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6316. Where were you from when you came here during General Butler's command ? 

I had been teaching, one year previous to that, on a plantation in Mississippi. Previous 

to that I was from the Cleveland High School of Ohio. 

6317. You say you sang iii your school only national airs; that no others were ever sung. 
Among these were there any of what were known as war songs'? 

No, sir. I understand what you have reference to ; songs which have created so .much 
irritation. The singing in my 'school was limited to the opening and closing; there was 
very little singing comparatively. There was one assistant in my room ; a second assistant 
who sang, but she lost her place before the close of the term. 

63-13. Was there read in the school, or to the school, any portion of the history of the 
war as it progressed ? 

No, sir; history was not in my department at all. 

6319. From whence came the school books that were used in the school? 

They were purchased at Mr. Duncan's hook store, and were sent around from the City 
Hall to all the schools. 

O:\20. Did they contain auv reference to the rebellion or the war that was in progress ? 

Not until the last year; during the last year a history was introduced into the schools 
that has been objected to by the 'present hoard. Their statement regarding that has been 
printed. 

6321. The hook you speak of related to the late war of the last four years? 

Yes: to Lincoln's administration. 

, Was not that hook used in the school where you were teaching? 

It" was used in the principal's room, a few copies were obtained. 

6323. I understood you to say that you made uo application, direct or indirect, to the present 
board for a situation .' 

I made application soon after they were appointed ; since then I have never been near 
them. Many teachers, Ending they had lost their places, went to them, and some of them, 
through the influence of friends, have succeeded in obtaining positions. 

6324. Have you applied to friends to get you a position? 
Never o 

6325. Did you ever go personally to any of the board 1 

No, sir; only at the lime when I handed in my application. 

6326. Ami you did not see any of the present board personally? 
No, sir. 1 have no knowledge of ever having met any of them. 

6327. The application you handed to the secretary was a written application? 
Yes, sir: a written application for a reappointment to my former position. 

6328. The list of names you gave us are' names of persons, as 1 understand, who formerly 
occupied positions as teachers, but who are not now so engaged? 

That is as I have understood. 

6329. You did not undertake to state the principal reasons why they are not teaching now? 
Not in respect to all of them. A few of them are personally known to me, and have been 

for the las! four years I know they were very successful in schools. 

6330. Do yo,i know of any instance in which a reason has keen given by the board of 
directors, or any of them, for the removal of a particular teacher.' 

I ha^e never been present when any of these reasons have been given, and I only have 
it from the teachers themselves. 



430 NEW ORLEANS KIOTS.. 

By the Chairman : 

6331. You stated something just now regarding the organization of classes under the present 
teachers ; will you repeat what you were going to say? 

It was from one of my old scholars. I met him and asked him if lie attended school. He 
said he did, and showed me Ins report, in which I noticed in prominent litters " Stonewall 
Jackson boys." Ee told me his teacher, Mrs. Fisher, who now occupies my position, gave 
to the classes such names. 

Mr. Boyer desired to have his objection placed on record to this hearsay testimony as not 
a proper mode of eliciting truth. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
ELLEN M. BUGGY sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6332. Do you reside in New Orleans ? 

Yesj I grew up in the city. 1 was born in the north. 

6333. How long have you lived in New Orleans ? 
Since I was two years old. 

■ 6334. That is sixteen or eighteen years is it not? 
It is twenty at least. 

6335. Are you employed as a teacher in the public schools ? 

No, sir; I applied, but my application was rejected because I had taught in black schools. 
When General Banks was here I taught in a black school and was paid by the government. 
I was principal of school No. 2, and gave entire satisfaction. I was brought up as a 
teacher. When the salaries were cut down I went over to the white schools, and at that 
period, of course, I got a place immediately, as the Yankees were then in command here. 
I taught two years and gave satisfaction, but this year they left me out. They said I was 
an abolitionist ; that I was one of the Yankees. I have been treated shamefully. I cannot 
live in this community ; I can't getanything to do, and I can't deny being a Yankee. I have 
suffered everything. I am now living on my relatives, and they can't afford to support me. 
1 applied tn these men, thinking that the war was over and that they had taken the oath to 
the United States as well as I. The Yankees went off and left us to the mercy of these 
men. I think that was very singular when women and children have to be driven about, 
as I have been, for being for the Union. My nephews were little children, and were col- 
lecting the taxes for these black schools, but when that man Johnson stopped the tax they 
were thrown out of employment, and when their relatives would get them places these ruffians 
would go and prevent them. 

6336. Have you an acquaintance with the young ladies who have been teachers here? 

I have very few acquaintances with the young indies who were teachers, but I know these 
people have .swept every teacher from the high schools, and from most of the schools here, who 
is for the Union. 1 was in the primary department, and they would not allow me to stay. 

C>:;:;7. When was the last time you taught .' 

The schools closed last June, and we had two months' vacation. My friends told me to 
apply. I did, hut I was rejected. 

6338. Was any reason given for your rejection? 

No; no answer was made. I asked the superintendent if I had not given satisfaction? He 
said I had ; then I asked him why I was left out ? He said he did not know; he had nothing 
to do with the appointment of teachers. 

6339. What was the school you taught last? 
The Webster school, primary department. 

6340. What branches did you teach ? What lessons did you give that fault could be found 
with ? 

There was no fault found with me at all. I gave satisfaction. They acknowledged that 
at my examination. 

6341. Did you teach singing? 

We were oldiged to teach singing, ami the children had to sing when gentlemen came 
there to visit the school. There were about thirty out of the two or three hundred teachers 
who were Yankees, and we had no protection here at all. 

By Mr. Boyer : 
63420. How lone- have you been a teacher? 

1 have taught only since the war ; one .session in the colored schools, and tw/> sessions in 
the white .schools. 

6343. What did you do before that? 

I never did anything; It was not necessary I should until since the war. 

6344. Are there not a great many young ladies belonging to families who were connected 
with the confederacy also who are out of employment ? 



TESTIMONY OF J. H. SYniER. 431 

If they are out it is because they are not well known, or because they have not sufficient 
influence. It is not from the cause they were in. 

0345. You do tint mean to say they could all get employment in the public schools ! 

Kb, sir, every one cannot he employed there ; hut it is customary in these schools to take 
those teachers who have given satisfaction, and who have had some experience as teachers. 
I have had experience and have given satisfaction, and yet they have nut retained me. 

6346. Aie there not many female teachers who have taught successfully longer than you 
have ? 

' iinly; some have taught for thirty years. Mrs. Richardson has taught twenty-six 
years. 

6347. "Were you accustomed to sing in your schools the Union songs generally that were 
popular? 

I always sung Union songs while the Yankees were in power. After the copperheads 
came in they did net seem to care much about it ; hut still the copperheads allowed us to sing. 
But this year it came out in the papers that the national airs would be abolished in the 
schools. 

(3:548. Do they sing any confederate airs in the schools ? 

I have not heard that they do. I do not know. 

6349. Did you sing in your school, "John Brown's body lies mouldering in the grave?" 
No; we sang Hail Columbia, Yankee Doodle, The Star Spangled Banner, &c. 

6350. Were there not other songs sung besides these? 
No ; we only sang national songs. 

6351. How many scholars had you in your school? 

I had seventy on the roll, and an average of about sixty-five. 

6352. Where did their parents reside? 
In the neighborhood generally. 

6353. Were they unionists or rebels in the first place generally. 

They were rebels. There were very few Union people. I was krfown as a Y'ankee, be- 
cause I had been in the black school, and they thought I was not fit to teach white schools. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
Brigadier General J. H. SYPHER sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : • 

6354. Are you in the military service 1 
No, sir. 

6355. Have you been in the service? If so, state your rank and position. 

I have; I held the rank of colonel and brevet brigadier general in the department of the 
Gulf. 

6356. How long have you been in New Orleans 1 
Nine months ; not continuously, but at different times. 

6357. How long have you been in Louisiana ? 
Two and a half years. 

6358. Where have you resided ? 

I was posted at Plaquemine parish, at Iberville, at Donaldsonville, iu the parish of Ascen- 
sion, and a portion of the time at Greenville, a suburb of New Orleans. 

6359. Where is Biloxi ? 

It is across Lake Pontchartrain, opposite New Orleans. 

6300. Were you at Biloxi about the time or prior to the sitting of the convention of July 
30? 

I left the city Saturday, the 28th July, for Biloxi, and arrived there on the '29th — Sunday 
morning. 

636 J. State whether you heard anything at Biloxi concerning the proposed convention 
which was to assemble ; if so, from whom and what ? 

I heard a great deal of boisterous conversation from a fire company while at Biloxi ; the 
exact language I do not recollect ; it was relative to the couventiou and what would happen 
it' the convention should meet. J don't remember the language. 

6362. Give us the substance of it as well as you can. 

That violence would be offered in case the convention should attempt to sit. 

6363. What, if anything, Was said about its members by name? 

The name of Dostie was used in conversation, but I remember nothing in particular about 
it. I paid no attention to the conversation. 

6364. From the character of the conversation, what appeared to be the design of the fire 
company ? 

They showed by their action and conversation that they were anxious to return to the city 
on Sunday night, that they might be there on Monday, it was said; for what purpose I do 
not know. We have our opinions. 



432 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6365. It was said to be in reference to the meeting of the convention ? 
Yes, sir. 

6366. Was it on that occasion on which you heard the name of Dostie ? 
Yes, sir. 

6367. Were you on your way from New Orleans then? 

We arrived at Biloxi, from New Orleans, on Sunday morning, remained until Monday 
evening, and returned to this city on Tuesday morning. 

6368. Was the number of the fire company designated in anyway, so that you knew what 
company it was ? 

I believe No. 5. 

6369. Had they come over to Biloxi from New Orleans? 

Yes, sir ; and they expressed their desire to go back to New Orleans. 

6370. Who was with you? 

General Fuller and his wife and my wife. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6371. You say when you heard the firemen conversing at Biloxi, they spoke, of something 
that was to be done to the convention f in case it met that violence would be offered. Do 
you know whether their conversation referred to the arrests it was proposed to make of the 
members of the convention ? 

I do not. 

6372. Did you hear them say they intended to break up the convention by getting up a 
riot .' 

I did not. 

6373. You remember that the word " violence " was used by them ? 

I do not remember that it was, but that was the purport of their language, as I understood. 
They were boisterous and talked a groat deal. I paid very little attention to what they 
said. I made no note 8f it, and I speak now of the general purport of it. The amount of 
it was that this convention would be prevented, but the manner in which it was to be ac- 
complished they did not state. 



New Orleans, January 1, 1867. 
Brigadier General HENRY W. FULLER sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6374. State if you were at Biloxi on the Sunday before the 30th of July with General 
Sypher. 

I Avas. 

6375. While there, state to the committee whether you heard anything said in reference to 
the proposed convention that was to be held the next day ; and if so, by whom and what it 
was. 

On that day there was a fire company at Biloxi, stopping in the hotel where I was, from 
New Orl( ans. In the afternoon I was on the gallery of the hotel and heard the members of 
this fire company make remarks something like this: "Hays's brigade will all be there, 
and will clean out these damned Yankees." One man remarked, " 1 have spotted Dostie 
myself." That is about all I remember, and that I believe was the exact language, or very 
nearly it. 

6376. What did they say about getting back to the city > 

The boat they came on returned to the city. They were looking out for the boat, and the 
remark was made two or three times that it would not do to miss the boat. 

6377. V>'as that the last boat that day? 

I do not know. I think it was not the last boat, but it was tin 1 boat they came down on. 

6378. How many of the company were together at the time you heard this talk ! 

I should think there were half a dozen. This talk occurred in a knot of half a dozen men. 

(niT'. 1 . State w aether you saw the badge i>( the company, so that \ ou could tell the number 
of it 1 

i can't tell you the number of the company, though I think I remember the inscription on 
the badge; it 1 am not mistaken, it was "Friends in need ^re friends indeed." 

By Mr. BOYER : 

. I till 3 ou communicate what you heard to the military authorities h< re ' 
No, sir, 1 aid not. 
I 381. Did you attach any seriaus import to tin- language? 

I did at the time. 

6382. Why did you not communicate it ' 

I was not in the city. As soi.n as i returned i went directly to my plantation. 

6383. Were you then in the militaig servici ! 



TESTIMONY OF J. W. ZACIIERIE. 433 

No, sir, I was not. I was mustered out of the service last December. 
6384. Could you not have telegraphed from that point? 
No, sir. 

<;:;-:>. Were the men sober or intoxicated? 

I should say they were sober; they had been drinking, but I should say these men were 
evidently sober. 

New Orleans, January 1, 1867. 
J. W. ZACHEEIE, a witness whose name was presented by a committee of citizens as 
being possessed of facts they desired to lay before the committee, sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Buyer : 

6:W>. Are you a resident of New Orleans ? 

I have resided here for sixty-four years. I came here in 1803, and have seen seven flags 
flying in the city of New Orleans. 

6387. Aie you in business in this city? 

I have not been doing much of late. 1 have been one of the prominent merchants of the 
city. I have been president of the Chamber of Commerce, and have done very large business 
hi my time. 

6388. Have you preserved any facts which relate to the riot which happened in this city 
on the 30th of July ? If so, -state your information. 

I was in Carondelet street and saw two or three men taken by the police up towards the 
City Hall. As I crossed from Canal street, from Carondelet into Bourbon, about halfway 
on the square between the custom-house and Canal street, I met seven negro men going 
along with sticks. They appeared to be armed with something in their breasts, which I took 
to be revolvers. They were going along in a boasting kind of way. Said I, " Boys, where 
are you going." They looked at me but made no reply. Said I, "Don't go down towards 
the State House or you will get yourselves into trouble." Then one of them, whom I had 
well known, said, "Boys, Mr. Zacherie is right; don't go there." Five of them turned back 
and the other two went on swearing that they were not afraid of any white men. The com- 
mittee will understand that we have a great many people in this city who do not belong here. 
The greatest trouble we have had has been from river boatmen coining down here, this hav- 
ing been almost the jumping off place until Texas became known ; and we now have a great 
many of the low population, men who would probably be guilty of almost any crime. The 
creole population of the State is the most peaceable population in the world. If they get 
into a fight it becomes a duel at once. I 

6389. I desire to ask you in relation to the public sentiment here with reference to the 
government of the United States, as to whether, from your knowledge of the feeling of the 
people in this community, they may be relied on for obedience to the government in good 
faith ? 

I sincerely believe it. 

6390. Do you believe that the persons and property of Union men are safe in this com- 
munity ! 

Perfectly. 

6391. Do you believe they would be safe if it were not for the presence of the military 
authority? 

1 believe they would be perfectly safe. 

6392. Is the expression of individual opinion in this community free in the press and at 
public meetings? 

Yes, sir. 

6393. In case a war took place between the United States government and some foreign 
enemy, on which side would the people of this community array themselves from choice ? 

I believe that we are Americans, and that we would stick to our American feeling. There 
are a great many exceptions here — men who would be guilty of robbing, who would go into 
persons' houses and take their furniture. There were men here during the war who went 
into houses and robbed men of everything. These men might be in future enemies to the 
government. There are several men here who are pointed out as having gone intohouses 
and demanded furniture and everything else, who actually robbed the people of their jewels 
and everything they got hold of. I should suppose these men ought to be very cautious, for 
they are known here. 

By the Chairman : 

6394. You think Union people here would be entirely safe without the military? 
Perfectly. 

6395. You think it would be better to take all the military and government control away 
and allow things to take care of themselves ? 

I have no doubt it would be better every way. 

6396. Matters would be taken care of here, would they not, by the rebels controlling them 
as they wanted to ? 

Yes, sir ; but everything would be perfectly safe. When secession first broke out I was 

28 N O 



434 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

violently opposed to it. I voted against it. T went to Europe myself in 1800, but three 
of my liny* went into the war and lust their lives. They died, however, from sickness, and 
xji >t from battle. 

6397. In what army were they? 
In the confederate army. 

6398. You say you voted against secession ; how did you vote against it ? 

The question was put at a general election here, and [ voted against secession. That is, 
the question was put between immediate secession and joint secession. I voted for joint 
secession, and against absolute immediate secession. Joint secession was to have the south- 
ern slaVe States all go out together, and separate secession to have Louisiana go alone. 

6399. You thought Louisiana ought not to go alone, but that all the States ought to go 
together .' 

I thought we had better stop it when we could, and that if I voted against immediate 
secession 1 voted to stop it for the present. 

6400. Where did you vote that way? 

In the city of New Orleans, at the polls The city of New Orleaus voted against it. 

6401. But when the confederacy was formed you went with the confederacy .' 

I am a southerner by birth, and when all of our people went into secession I could not go 
against my own people I left shortly after for Cuba. I was away during the whole war. 

641)2. The conttol of affairs here now is in the hands of men who were in some way con- 
nected with the confederate army„is it not ? 

There are a good many of them, I must confess ; but there are a good many also who were 
against it. 

6403. Against it in the same way you were ? 
Yes, sir. 

6404. Did you contribute for the confederate cause by your means ? 
Not the first red cent, although I was asked fifty times. 

6405. But you felt for them 1 

My dear sir, I am a southerner, born and brought up iu the south. 

6406. But you did not feel for them enough to pay any money ? 
No, sir. 

6407. You sent two sons into the confederate army? 

My sons were of age and did as they pleased. I should not have allowed them if it had 
depended on my consent. 

6408. Were you obliged to go away ? 

I had a large ship coming from Calcutta with sixty or seventy thousand dollars' worth of 
goods consigned to me. I owned one quarter, and parties in Boston and Calcutta the re- 
mainder. I asked permission of the federal authorities to communicate with the captain 
outside. I put the communication on board the last British ship going out. The answer 
came to me by telegraph that the ship would not be allowed to come into port. When I 
heard this I started for the vessel. That was the way I was obliged to go ; but I kept away 
for a long time. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

6409. Were you charged with running the blockade for the confederate interest ? 
Some people made out that I had ; but the charge was completely false. 

0410. You have said that Union men are perfectly safe; do you consider Mayor Monroe a 
Union man .' 
He may be now. 

641 1. What do you consider him to be? 

I believe he is willing to come in with all the rest. 

6412. Then you consider him a Union man? 
As much so as any of the others. 

6413. 1><> you consider Attorney General Herron a Union man? 
I believe be is sincere. 

64 14. And you consider him a good Union man I 
Yes, sir ; I do now. 

6415. Do you consider Mr. Voorhees, the lieutenant governor, a good Union man? 
Yes, sir. 

6416. They are perfectly safe here ? 
Yes. sir, perfectly sate. 

(ill?. Will you name any prominent man in New Orleans whom you consider not to be a 
good Union man ? 

I do not knew that there is any. They all appear to acquiesce completely. I know some 
of the most prominent of them have seen their fault, and I do not know of any prominent man 
now in the city who is not a Union man. 

6418. Do you consider that these men, who, you say, are good Union men, have committed 
any crime in fighting against the government of the United States? 

They all had their opinions. 

6419. Were they guilty of any treason ? 



TESTIMONY OF H. T. LOUSDALE. 435 

T do not know that, they were. 

6420. Do yon think (hey did anything wrong? 

To say that they were wrong 1 ih> not know. They all had their opinions. I am satisfied 
that they have come back in g 1 faith. 

6421. My questionis, whether these men engaged in fighting the United States, in your 
judgment, did anything wrong? 

In regard to that, they are the keepers of their own consciences. I do not think they did 
anything more titan the whole south did. I was always opposed to secession, and of course 
they were wrong in that. 

6422. Do you think that, in waging war against the United States, those men did wrong, 
or were guilty of any crime ? I speak new of the leaders of the confederacy. 

Yes, sir, I think they did commit a crime, 

6423. Do you think they ought to be punished for that crime in any way? 
If they are repentant I think they ought to be forgiven. 

6424. Have they professed repentance? 
A great many of them have. 

6425. Have any of those men said in your hearing that they committed a crime by going 
into the rebellion, and have they professed repentance? 

Many of the young men I have heard confess that they committed a folly ; I do not know 
that they said crime. 

By Mr. Boyek : 

6426. In answer to a question which has been asked you in regard to secession, are we to 
understand you as saying that you were opposed to secession, and would have voted against 
it if the question had been presented to you in that form? 

I would have voted against it. 

6427. But the question having been presented as to whether Louisiana should go out 
alone, or should not go out until the other States would co-operate with her, you voted for 
co-operation, which, in your opinion, postponed the question and hindered the adoption of 
secession. 

Yes, sir. 



New Orleans, La., January 1, 1867. 
H. T. LOUSDALE, a witness called at the request of a committee of citizens to state such 
facts in relation to the matter under investigation as he may deem important, sworn and 
examined. 

By Mr. Bover : 

6428. Are you a citizen of New Orleans ? 

Yes, sir. I have been a permanent citizen since 1842. I originally came to Louisiana in 
1828. Since then, part of the time, I have lived in the west. 

6429. Are you engaged in any business here .' 
Yes, sir. 

0430. What kind of business? 

My principal business is the coffee brokerage business. We also are engaged, to some ex- 
tent, in cotton factorage business. 

6431. Are you acquainted with the circumstances of the riots, July 30, 1866 ? 

No, sir. I was not in the city. I have a plantation in Mississippi, and was there at the 
time. 

6432. We desire to know your opinion in reference to the sentiments of the people of this 
community for loyalty to the United States government. May they be depended upon for loy- 
alty in that respect or not? 

I think that since the surrender of the city there has been a loyal feeling manifested by 
everybody here; at any rate by everybody with whom I have been brought into contact. 

6433. The fact of a man's being loyal in this community hinders him none in the prosecu 
tion of his business ? 

None, whatever, to my knowledge. 

6434. Does it subject him to danger in his person or property? 

No, sir, not to my knowledge. 1 have never seen anything of the kind. 

6435. Does it interfere with the free expression of his opinions ? 

No, sir. Opinions have been freely expressed, and I have never known of an instance 
where a man has been persecuted for his opinions. 

6436. Can those who were recently engaged in the rebellion against the government now 
be depended upon in their adherence to the government in good faith ? 

I think so. I think there is no question upon that point. I speak from my own knowledge 
and experience. 

6437. If the military forces were withdrawn do you think that all classes of men in this 
community would still be protected in all respects, without regard to their political sentiments ? 

I do, sir. 



436 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6438. What was your position at the breaking out of the war ? Were you a Union man 
At the breaking out of the war I was a Union man, but afterwards I became a secessionist. 

6439. You were opposed to your State going out, but when your State went out you went 
out with it ? 

No, sir; my feelings were with the Union until Mr. Lincoln's proclamation in regard to 
slavery. 

6440. What are you now ? 

I am a Union man. I took the oath some time previous to the surrender. 

By the Chairman : 

6441. You think that from the time of the surrender the people of Louisiana have been 
loyal ? 

I do, and more so than one would have supposed under the circumstances, because I have 
never heard any expression to the contrary. They surrendered with good grace, and with no 
feeling of animosity. 

6442. Wbat do you mean by loyal ? 
I mean loyal to the United States. 

6443. What do you mean by that expression ? 
The Constitution of the United States. 

6444. Do you understand that to be a faith and an affection to the Union ? 

Yes, sir. Alter the surrender I understood there to have been no feeling of animosity. 

6445. From the time of the surrender there has been on the part of the people of Louisiana 
an affection for the Union ? 

Yes, sir. 

6446. Ami that feeling prevails throughout the State? 

I cannot say throughout the State. It does in the city. 

6447. But, so far as you can state in respect to the other parts of the State, you say the 
same ? 

So far as regards New Orleans I say yes. My business has been altogether in this city. 

6448. You think, so far as your knowledge goes, there was no exception among the leading 
men of the State ? 

I do not think there was any, because I know most of the old citizens, and the most I 
knew regretted the war and were willing to succumb, as it were. 

6449. You were a Union man until Mr. Lincoln made his proclamation, and then you were 
a secessionist? 

Yes, sir. 

6450. When was that ? 
I forget the date. 

6451 You were an owner of slaves ? 

Yes, sir. I owned in Mississippi, at the time of the proclamation, one hundred and fifty, 
and I owned slaves in this city. 

6452. And that proclamation affected your interest? 
Yes, sir ; my pecuniary interest. 

6453. There had not been anything before that which touched your pecuniary interest? 
There was a loss of property because of the war. 

6454. But nothing that affected you particularly in your pecuniary affairs ? 

No, sir. I recollect when the State went out that it was a mournful day to me. But, so 
far as dollars and cents and negroes were concerned, I lost nothing until that proclamation. 

6455. And that seemed to you to be something that properly called upon those who had 
been Union men before to become secessionists ? 

That was my feeling ; I felt that my property had been taken away from me, and that was 
my feeling in regard to it. 

6456. Union men can do business here as well as anybody? 

Yes, sir. I have associated with a great many Union men before and during the war^ 
although I was known at one time to be a secessionist. I admired Union men tor their senti- 
ments and consistency. 

6457. Such men as whom .' 

Such men, for instance, as Jacob Barker. 

6458. Such as Monroe ? 

Monroe is a man I do not know even by sight, personal or otherwise. 

6459. Such as George Clark ? 

George Clark I know and speak to, but I have never exchanged half a dozen words with 
him. I knew him as a notary; but we have never associated together, and I do not suppose 
I ever exchanged fifteen minutes' conversation with him. 

6460. Such a man as Judge Howell ? 
Judge Howell I do not know. 

6461. Such as Colonel Field ? 

Colonel Field I know. We live in the same neighborhood. 

6462. And he has not at all been affected in consequence of his being a Union man? 
No, sir ; I think not. 



TESTIMONY OF H. T. LOUSDALE. 437 

64G3. Has it rather, in your judgment, helped him ? 

As to that matter I cannot say. I cannot go into his private affairs. As to the feeling 
towards him outwardly I know nothing of it. 

6464. You think that the fact of a man being a Union man does not interfere with the 
free expression of his opinion ? 

Certainly not. For instance, here is Judge Whitaker ; I have often talked with him in 
matters of politics. lie does not agree with me upon the matter of slavery, and we talk to- 
gether perfectly freely. 

6465. You never knew a man killed for expressing his opinion ? 
Never in this community. 

6466. You did not know Dr. Dostie ? 
I did not know him. 

6467. You did not know Mr. Henderson? 
I knew him. 

6468. Was he killed ? 

Report says he was. I was not in the city. 

6469. He was killed for expressing his opinions, was he not ? 
That I cannot say. 

6470. What does report say ? 

That I cannot say. I was not in the city. I never exchanged two words with Mr. Hen- 
derson. I knew him and knew his father very well personally before him. 

0471. Did you contribute towards the confederate cause from your wealth ? 

I contributed not to the cause. I contributed to the soldiers, and to relieve persons here, 
so far as I was able. 

6472. You aided in the formation of regiments ? 

No, sir. I did not aid at all in the formation of regiments. 

6473. How did it happen that you did not do that 1 

6474. I contributed to the outfit of my son, who was in the rebel army. 

6475. Was that all the contribution you were ever called upon to make ? 
That was all the contribution I recollect to have made, except to the poor. 

6470. Were you one of the gentlemen who were assessed by General Butler to contribute ? 

Yes, sir. I will state my position in reference to that. I was one of the committee of subsist- 
ence of this city to supply the city with provisions. During the war there was a committee 
of safety in the city, to which a million of dollars was appropriated for the defence and pro- 
visioning of the State. I was appointed by that committee as one of the committee of sub- 
sistence. 

0477. Were yrm chairman of it ? 

No, sir ; I was not chairman, although I acted as treasurer and secretary, and did most of 
the work in my office. 

6478. You contributed pretty largely ? 

I did not out of my own pocket. The city gave the committee a quarter of a million of dollars 
to bring provisions into the city and sell them at cost price to the poor ; for instance, we brought 
flour from Richmond by way of Mobile. General Butler gave us permission to bring the 
flour into the city. 

6479. You did not contribute anything after General Butler took possession of the city? 
If I contributed anything it was very little. I had no means ; I was pretty badly used up. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6480. I understand you to say you were a Union man in some such sense as Jacob Barker 
was? 

I regretted the State going out, and was opposed to the war. I regretted it at the time. 

6481. I find here in a book entitled " The Rebellion in 1861," handed us by Mr. Barker, 
on pages 89 and 90, the following sentiments in a letter dated December 20, 1800. The letter 
is stated to have been published in the Mobile Tribune in December, 1860, in which he says : 

"We have had a severe political contest, in which, owing to the peculiar organization of 
our confederacy, we were defeated but not vanquished, as a majority of near one million 
of legal voters cast their ballots against the candidates elected for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, while a majority of both Houses of Congress was secured to the friends of law and order. 

"For this we are greatly indebted to our northern friends, who fought our battle valiantly. 
Can we abandon them to the tender mercies of our opponents without committing an act of 
direct palpable injustice? I say we cannot. As patriots, men of honor, and lovers of 
justice we are bound to fight on with them side by side, until we can form a separate con- 
federacy of the slave States. Seceding singly would be to leave our opponents a majority in 
both Houses of Congress, in possession of all the funds, property, and machinery of the gov- 
ernment, obliging us to appeal to them for a fair participation therein." 

I want to call your attention to that statement, and especially to the point of his advice 
to withhold action until a separate confederacy of all the slave States could be formed, and 
inquire whether that was your sentiment as a Union man ? 

No, .sir. That was not my sentiment. My feelings were, as I candidly tell you, opposed 
to secession at first and forward until the proclamation of Mr. Lincoln. 



438 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6482. Was this letter (an extract from which I have just read) circulated and generally ap- 
proved in this community? 

Not to my knowledge. I never saw it before. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

6483. When I asked you, with reference to the safety of Union men, you said that in yonr 
opinion they were safe in this community; did you make any distinction between those that 
called themselves Union men 1 

None, whatever. 

6484. Either as conservatives or radicals? 
No, sir ; I include both. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6485. Could Henderson, Dostie, and Horton live here and express their opinion safely ? 
I think they could. I have never seen anything to the contrary. 

6486. The fact that they were killed is nothing to the contrary. 

No, sir ; I do not think it is. 

• 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6487. Did you understand that they were killed for expressing their opinion, or were 
killed in a riot which occurred out of an attempt on their part, by unconstitutional means- 
to overthrow the government of the State? 

That is a matter I do not know anything about. I was in Mississippi at the time of the- 
first convention, and I know nothing of the convention except what the newspapers say. 



New Orleans, La., January 2, 1867. 
Hon. J. MADISON WELLS sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

6488. State if you please what your position is and how long a time you have occupied 
your office. 

I am governor of the State. I was elected on the 7th of November last a year ago to the 
position. 

6489. State whether you were at New Orleans at or about the time of tr* occurrences of 
July 30th ? 

I had been absent some two or three weeks, and returned on Friday before the massacre on 
the 30th of July to my office. 

6490. You will please make to the committee such statements of facts within your knowl- 
edge and proceedings as occurred on that day as, in your judgment, would throw light on 
the incdents of the day. 

I saw but little, and I think I saw none of the riot. As I stated, I had been absent from the 
city some two or three weeks or more, and returned on Friday. I visited my office on Satur- 
day, and found that a great deal of private business had accumulated during my absence. 
I returned to my office on Monday morning and remained until 11 o'clock. 

6491. Where is your office? 

It is on Dryades street, in the Mechanics' Institute, about half a square or a little more from 
Canal street. While in my office a number of the members came in and were discussing 
probability of a quorum and the probability of their being arrested ; for there had been ;>. 
rumor that the sherifl intended to arrest them, and that the judge of the criminal court, upon 
two several occasions, had in his charges to the grand jury referred to the calling of the con- 
vention, and it was expected that hills would he found against the members. About 11 
o'clock 1 left my office, and on going out in front of the Institute I saw a very large collec- 
tion of both colored and white. The collection of the blacks gave me no uneasiness at all, 
because I thought they had assembled there to receive what they expected — a bestowal upon 
them of their political ri<rhts, and it was natural that they should come there. I went awaj 
and attended to some private business, and while passing 1 heard the report of the pistols, and 
the cry was that there was a terrible riot at Mechanics' Institute. I immediately went to 
General Sheridan's office to ask the general to send and protect those innocent men, who 
had collected there, and who designed nothing wrong, as I thought. The general was absent. 
When I returned I found that the riot was increasing to a fearful extent, and a friend of mine, 

whom I happened t set, said, "This is a terrible riot. I am apprehensive your son is killed, 

as'he is a member of the convention. You laid fetter leave the city and go home/' I got 
into a street ear and went to my house, which is situated in the parish of Jefferson, in the 
city of Jefferson, about two and a half miles from Canal street. I remained there expecting 
every moment to have some intelligence of the progress of things. The first person who 
visited me was my son, who described the scene and the part he had taken in it.. That is all 
the information I can give you in regard to the meeting of the convention. 



TESTIMONY OF J. MADISON WELLS. 439 

6492. There wore certain telegrams which were receive. 1 arid communicated by yon which 
have boon published. Besides tlie.se were there any others received by you ? 

No, sir ; no others. 

649!?. Then we are to understand that no other communication except those published 
passed between you and any parties in Washington before or on the day of the riot ' 

None in regard to the subject of' the riot. There is one in regard to calling the convention 
for the purpose of changing the constitution I received, and would have brought il here if I 
had thought for a moment you desired to have it. It is a portion of the telegraphic corre- 
spondence between the President and myself, in relation to the calling of the convention on 
the meeting of the legislature last winter. The gentlemen who composed the legislature 
were, from some cause or another, very desirous of getting rid of the constitution of L864, 
and there were several efforts made in the legislature for the purpose of calling a convention 
to get rid of it. They did not recognize the constitution, although they were assembled 
under a proclamation emanating by authority of it. Although they were elected upon it, 
and had taken an oath to support it, they still denied its authority, and proposed to call a 
convention. A gentleman who had been a member of the confederate congress, an old per- 
sonal friend of mine, although we had differed entirely upon the question, and with whom I 
had always been friendly politically up to the time of secession, was a member of the legis- 
lature. I was very anxious to get his assistance in reconciling our people to the condition 
of the country as we found it at the time of the surrender, and asked this gentleman to go 
and get his pardon from Mr. Johnson, come back, and run for the legislature. I prepared a 
letter and indorsed his application. He obtained his pardon from the President, and at my 
request run for the senate and was elected. When the question relative to calling the con- 
vention came up I relied upon him to prevent it. I told him this was no time to alter or 
amend the constitution — that we must allow things to remain as they were until we saw 
what would be the end of the existing differences between the States ; and by his political 
ingenuity he succeeded in staving it off, and at a suggestion of mine that if he would delay it 
until a certain day until it came within my reach, if the legislature passed a bill calling a con- 
vention I would veto it, alleging as a reason that it was no time to alter or amend the con- 
stitution ; that I had asked Mr. Johnson's opinions of it, and that he stated to me he would 
not advise calling a convention. I made that known to the members of the legislature, but 
they were not satisfied. They were rebels just from the war; they were poor and wanted 
something to live on, and they desired to break up the government. For that purpose they 
formed a committee to wait upon the President for the purpose of ascertaining his views. 
The President sent me a telegraphic despatch to know if it would be proper to call a con- 
vention. I replied to the President that the move was reactionary ; that I disapproved of 
it, and would veto it. The committee returned here from Washington with that idea. All 
other correspondence has been published. 

6494. You will now give to the committee such statements as you deem important showing 
the condition of affairs in Louisiana, and what, in your opinion, should be done to remedy 
them. 

The passive submission on which they rest their allegiance is from a two-fold motive. 
1st. They are powerless to resist the government ; and, 2d. They wish to regain their political 
power, for the purpose of breaking up the Union by trying to separate the eastern and west- 
ern States — an issue which they thiuk is bound to come. I consider it the duty of a loyal 
Congress not only to refuse to recognize the existing State governments in the rebel States, 
but to go further and organize loyal governments in said States, by placing them under the 
control of loyal voters. To accomplish this, I regard it as a necessity, as well as a measure 
of justice, that the right of suffrage should be extended to the colored man. I am aware there 
is a difference of opinion among the friends of that race whether this suffrage should he gen- 
eral or limited. Some advocate that, at the start, it should be confined to the free-bom ; 
others, that all who can read and write should vote; others, that none but those possessing 
property should vote ; and so on. I have endeavored to give to tke;whole subject proper 
thought and attention, and my deliberate conviction is there is no middle course in the prem- 
ises. Anything short of universal suffrage will, in my opinion, fail to effect any satisfactory 
political results. On the contrary, I think the attempt to compromise on either of the plans 
proposed would be productive of evils and complications much more serious than those under 
which we are now laboring. By limiting the suffrage the Union party will still be in a mi- 
nority in the southern States ; hut this, in all human probability, would be the least of evils 
which such a policy would bring in its train. The five-sixths of the blacks thus invidiously 
excluded from political rights would immediately, and very naturally, become the deadly 
enemies of the few ; and it would not be the fault of the rebels if they were not made enemies 
of the Union as well. To make distinction or create castes among races is a dangerous pol- 
icy. I feel satisfied in my own mind that to discriminate, as some propose in giving the 
negro the right to vote, would be the worst policy we could pursue. It would have the effect 
of turning friends into enemies, with a well-grounded reason for their change of feelings. I 
believe the rebel influence svhich now controls the southern States would not hesitate a mo- 
ment in giving the negro the vote, once they were assured of his political adhesion. I am 
aware of one of the objections urged to universal suffrage in the case of the black man, that, 
owing to his ignorance, be Avould be influenced if not be measurably controlled by his old mas- 



440 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

ter or employer. .Very likely the planter would exercise such an influence over the votes nf 
those employed by him to an extent equal to that exercised by a manufacturing company 
over its operatives. It would, however, be far inferior to that exercised by the dispensers of 
official patronage over the beneficiaries of its favors. There is nothing in our history show- 
ing that the extension of the franchise 1ms worked unfavorably to the advancement of correct 
political principles, or to the good administration of government. The white people of East 
Tennessee and of Northern Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina are peculiarly ignorant. 
They had sense enough, however, to discover who was right and who was wrong in the great 
national conflict ; and, in disregard of the representations of those who claimed to be their 
intellectual superiors, and in defiance of bitter persecution, they stood by the cause which 
succeeded, not because it was strong, but because it was right. The Great Creator of all 
has given the black man his fair share of common sense, and I believe if the vote is given 
him he will exercise it wisely and patriotically, as did the white men of whom I have just 
now spoken. All the control and influence of masters while holding the relation of slaves 
was not sufficient to turn him from his loyalty to the government, and I have no fear that 
such influence can ever be as potent again. With the universal enfranchisement of the 
blacks, I am in favor of the disenfranchisement of the rebels as proposed in the constitutional 
amendment, with the additional disenfranchisement of officers in the rebel army above the 
grade of first lieutenant. The rest might be safely permitted to vote under a law recognizing 
universal suffrage, when they would be clearly in the minority, supposing they would all 
vote disloyally, which I am not prepared to believe. 

I believe the extension of universal suffrage to the black race, and the disenfranchisement 
of those who aided and abetted the rebellion, to the extent as I propose, would place the 
loyal people of the south in a majority, and thereby secure the establishment of loyal gov- 
ernments. I believe the power is entirely with Congress to legislate in this matter. I con- 
sider the States in rebellion to have forfeited their status, and go back to Territories. They 
should go through the same ordeal as Territories before being again admitted as States, and 
unless they adopt constitutions republican in form, and guaranteeing equal rights to all 
citizens, regardless of color, I am in favor of their being kept in a territorial condition 
until they do. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6495. Taking the State of Louisiana throughout, so far as your knowledge extends, what 
is the condition, as to the safety of both person and property, of those who have been con- 
stant in their loyalty to the government of the United States throughout the war? 

To sum it all up in a single sentence, I will say, that if I were to go into my native parish, 
and a man were to threaten to take my life, and attempt to do it, and I were to shoot him 
down, I would be hung in twenty minutes. Before these courts, composed as they are, a 
man could not get justice administered to him. 

6496. You have said that you opposed the convention which was proposed by the legis- 
lature to alter the constitution because you did not deem it any time to be making changes 
in the constitution. I wish, in that connection, you would state whether you did not advocate 
the amendments to the constitution which were proposed by the convention that attempted 
to assemble on the 30th of July; and if you did, state why you opposed amendments previously. 

In the first place, I was opposed to calling the convention, as proposed by the legislature, 
simply for this reason : that four-fifths of the members of the legislature were rebels, or who 
had been one way or another engaged in the attempt to overthrow the government of the 
United States. Knowing that, and knowing many of them personally, I knew or believed 
that their object was not one that was calculated to promote harmony, nor were they likely 
to adopt a constitution which would meet the requirements of government or of Congress. 
Upon the other hand, there was another convention spoken of, to be called by Mr. Durant. 
He was the leader of the party, but there was nothing positive in regard to it. 1 opposed 
that. I favored the calling of the convention in 1864 under its adjourning resolution; and, 
1, realise a creature of that constitution, I thought it my duty to obey its mandates. 

Mr. BOYER desired it to go upon the records that, under the circumstance s, he declined to 
ask the witness any questions. 

The witness stated that he would have been before the committee the day previous, but 
did not receive their summons until seven o'clock the night before. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, January 15, 1867. 
General ABSALOM BAIRD sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

6497. State your position in the army. 

I am assistant inspector general, with the brevet rank of major general. 

6498. State what was your position in July last and where you were. 

1 was then brigadier general of volunteers with the rank of major general. I was also 
assistant commissioner of freedmen, refugees, and abandoned lands for the State of Louisiana. 



TESTIMONY OF ABSALOM BAIRD. 441 

I was assigned to duty in June, in command <»f the department of Louisiana. In my first 
position Genera] Howard was my superior; in the second, General Sheridan was the com- 
manding officer, and my responsibilities in the two positions were independent of each other. 

6499. Were you in New Orleans in July last ? 

Yes, sir; I was in Now Orleans during the month of July, and had been there since the 
November previous continuously. 

6500. Please state what act-ion you took and what knowledge you had, and generally -what 
came under your observation concerning the occurrences of the 30th of July in connection 
with the assembling of the convention. 

I was on intimate confidential terms with General Sheridan, and was perfectly familiar with 
the policy which he required in the administration of military affairs. I knew that he required 
as little interference as possible by the military authorities in civil matters. I knew that 
upon application to interfere in their civil disputes he had uniformly refused to do so ; that 
he had told them they might quarrel as much as they chose, but if they got to fighting he 
would interfere with the troops, and he did uot care which party got hurt. General Sheridan 
gave me no special instructions on my taking command, and my knowledge of his policy 
was derived from my acquaintance with the numerous decisions he had made. In the Freed- 
nien's Bureau, the acts organizing it left the control of the matters relating to freedmen in 
hands of the assistant commissioner; but the policy which had for a long time been pursued 
in that bureau was also to leave matters to the civil authorities and interfere as little as possible, 
and to interfere only in case a negro was outraged and the courts failed to do him justice. 
I understood this policy to bo in accordance with the wishes of the government. General 
Grant some time in the spring of that year had issued an order for the protection of citizens, 
\\ Inch required that in case a citizen was outraged and the civil courts failed to do him justice, 
the military commander should arrest the offenders, whoever they might be, and hold them in 
military custody until a court could be found which would try them. This is the order I 
referred to in my intercourse with the civil authorities of Louisiana. For some time previous 
to the riot of July 30th the meeting of the convention of 1864 had been talked of. I did not 
hear of it from any person in connection with it ; but in casual conversation and through 
the newspapers I knew that it contemplated a meeting. I supposed that it might meet to 
transact business, just as it had done the previous winter, when it continued in session for 
some time, exciting a good deal of hostile remark, but no actual outbreak. 

On the 22d of July General Sheridan started for Texas. I had been in the habit of seeing 
him every day as a general thing, but for two or three days before his departure I did not 
see him. He did not inform me that he was going away, and he did not leave any instruc- 
tions with me. For this reason I feel confident that General Sheridan could not have antici- 
pated any extraordinary trouble or disturbance, and I certainly did not On the '25th of 
July I received a letter from Mayor Monroe in relation to the convention. This was the 
first time the matter of the convention had been brought formally to my notice. That letter 
is in my report to General Sheridan, and is as follows: 

"Mayoralty of New Orleans, City Hall, Jufy 25, 1*66". 

"GENERAL: A body of men claiming to be members of the convention of 1864, and 
whose avowed object is to subvert the municipal and State governments, will, I learn, 
assemble in this city Monday next. 

" The laws and ordinances of the city, which my oath of office makes obligatory upon me 
to see faithfully executed, declare all such assemblies calculated to disturb the public peace 
and tranquillity unlawful, and as such to be dispersed by the mayor, and the participants 
held responsible for violating the same. 

"It is my intention to disperse this unlawful assembly if found within the corporate limits 
of the city, by arresting the members thereof and holding them accountable to existing 
municipal law, provided they meet without the sanction of the military authorities. 

"I will esteem it a favor, general, if, at your earliest convenience, you wili inform me 
whether the projected meeting has your approbation, so that I may act accordingly. 
" I am, general, very respectfully, 

" JOHN T. MONROE. Mayor. 

" Brevet Major General Baird, Commanding, Sfc." 

I replied to that letter on the 26th, as follows: 

"Headquarters Department op Louisiana, 

" New Orleans, La., July 26, 1866. 
" Sir : I have received your communication of the 25th instant, informing me that a body 
of men, claiming to be members of the convention of 1864, whose avowed object is to sub- 
vert the present municipal and State governments, is about to assemble in this city, and 
regarding this assemblage as one of those described in the law as calculated to disturb the public 
peace and tranquillity, and therefore unlawful, you believe it to be your duty, and that it is 
your intention, to disperse this unlawful assembly if found within the corporate limits of the 
city, by arresting the members thereof and holding them accountable to the existing munici- 
pal laws, provided they meet without the sanction of the military authorities. 



442 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

"You also inquire whether this projected meeting has my approbation, so that you may- 
act accordingly. 

" In reply, I have the honor to state that the assemblage to which you refer has not, so far 
as I am aware, the sanction or approbation of any military authority for its meeting. 

"I presume the gentlemen composing it have never asked for such authority to meet, as 
the military commanders, since I have heen in the State, have held themselves strictly aloof 
from all interference with the political movements of the citizens of Louisiana. Fur my own 
part, 1 have carefully refrained from any expression of opinion upon either side of the many 
questions relating to the reconstruction of the State government. When asked if I intended 
to furnish the convention a military guard, I have replied, 'No; the mayor of the city and 
its police will amply protect its sittings.' If these persons assemble, as you say is intruded, 
it will he, I presume, in virtue of the universally conceded right of all loyal citizens of the 
United States to meet peaceably and discuss freely questions concerning their civil govern- 
ments, a right which is not restricted by the fact that the movement proposed might termi- 
nate in a change of existing institutions. 

"If the assemblage in question has the legal right to remodel the State government, it should 
be protected in so doing ; if it has not. then its labors must be looked upon simply as a harm- 
less pleasantry to which no one ought to object. As to your conception of the duty imposed 
by your oath of office, I regret to differ with you entirely. I cannot understand how the 
mayor of a city can undertake to decide so important and delicate a question as the legal 
authority upon which a convention, claiming to represent the people of an entire State, bases 
its action. 

"This doubtless will, in due time, be properly decided upon by the legal branch of the 
United States government. At all events, the governor of the State would seem to be more 
directly called upon to take the initiative in a step of this kind, if it was proper and neces- 
sary. What we most want at the present time is the maintenance of perfect good order and 
the suppression of violence. If, when you speak of the projected meeting as one calculated 
to disturb the public peace and tranquillity, I am to understand that you regard the number 
of persons who differ in opinion from those who will constitute it as so large and the law- 
lessness of their character so well established that you doubt the ability of your small force 
of police to control them, you have in such case only to call upon me, and I will bring to 
your assistance not only the troops now present in the city, but, if necessary, the entire force 
which it may be in my power to assemble, either upon the laud or on the water. Lawless 
violence must be suppressed, and in this connection the recent order of the lieutenant general, 
designed for the protection of citizens of the United States, deserves careful consideration. 
It imposes high obligations for military interference to protect those who, having violated no 
ordinance of the State, are engaged in peaceful avocations. 
' ' I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"A. BAIKD, Brevet Major General, 

" Commanding Department of Louisiana. 

" Hon. JOHN T. MONROE, Mayor of the City of New Orleans." 

On Friday evening a meeting of radical men and negroes took place in New Orleans, at 
which a number of speeches were made; it was followed by a torchlight procession, and 
speeches were made by Dr. Dostie and others on the steps of the City Hall. I was not 
present at tins meeting. On Saturday morning a member of the convention came to me and 
told me they proposed to meet the following week. I think the member was Colonel Fish. 
He told me they had understood the authorities intended to interfere with their meeting. I 
told him 1 had had a correspondence upon the subject with the mayor. I did not relate the 
particulars of the correspondence. I told him my impression was the convention would not 
be disturbed after what bad taken place between 'the mayor ami myself. Shortly after that, 
Mayor Monroe called, with Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, whom he introduced for the first 
time. After speaking of my correspondence with the mayor, the lieutenant governor, who 
carried on the conversation, spoke of Governor Wells being absent from his office : that they 
found it impossible to find him before to have intercourse with him; that they had tried to 
find him in every way. I knew the governor had a short time before been at his plantation 
on Red river, and asked'if he had returned ; they said he might be in the city, but that they 
could not find him. I understood this as having reference to the objection in my letter to 
the mayor, that proceedings against the convention should be taken by the governor, if by 
any one. The lieutenant governor spoke of himself as the chief official who could be found, 
and therefore called with the mayor. They then informed me that instead of arresting the 
convention by the mayor and city police, it was proposed that the grand jury of the parish 
should indict the members and that the writ should issue tip the sheriff, who would make the 
arrest. 1 replied to this, "Tell the sheriff not to do it ;" that, with my view of the case, I 
thought these persons had a right to meet, and that it would be a violation of their rights to 
arrest them; that if the sheriff did arrest them they would undoubtedly, failing to procure 
redress from the courts issuing the writs, appeal to me for protection, and that under General 
Grant's order I would feel bound to release them and possibly to arresl the sheriff himself. 
It was not my intention, had I been required to act under General Grant's order, to have 
proceeded, unless called upon by the individuals themselves, if they had satisfied me that the 



TESTIMONY OF ABSALOM BAIRD. 4-13 

courts refused to release them. The lieutenant governor then paid, the sheriff ■would noi 
serve the writ without my permission, and that he would bring the writ to me before acting 
upon it for my indorsement. I asked him if it would not require several days for the con-, 
vention to complete its work? He said it would. 1 then told him there was no necessity for 
haste, that the memhers could be arrested on Tuesday or any subsequent clay as well as on 
Monday, and that we could have time to communicate with the authorities at Washington 
and get definite instructions, lie told me he" had already telegraphed to Washington to the 
President. 1 said that I would telegraph to the Secretary of War immediately, it was 
agreed then that the convention should go on until we received instructions to the contrary. 
I told him that in case it was decided that the sheriff should be permitted to make these 
arrests, 1 would make indorsements to that effect upon his writ, but that the sheriff must 
make the arrests without disorder or violence. He told me the sheriff would go by himself 
into the hall where the convention was sitting, and would summon the members to submit to 
the arrests, and that no force should he used. I told those gentlemen that I regarded the 
matter as a dispute between two political factions, and that his side, having possession of the 
courts and civil offices, sought to make use of them, as it appeared to me, to get the advan- 
tage of the other party. Before they left, after we had had an understanding that the con- 
vention was to proceed, I said to Governor Voorhees, that in case any disturbance should 
take place, and it should become so set ions that the military authorities would have to inter- 
fere and possibly declare martial law, it would be very disastrous to the party which was 
working with him for the reconstruction of the Stale government. He replied that it would 
be suicidal, and he agreed to have articles put in the newspapers of the city requesting all 
citizens hostile to the convention to keep nut of the streets in the vicinity where the con- 
vention was to meet. I thought that understanding was perfectly fair and complete, and 
that all trouble at the meeting of the convention would he avoided. After these gentlemen 
left me, I at once sent the following despatch to the Secretary of War: 

" Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

" New Orleans, La., July 28, 1666. 
' Hon. E. M. Stanton, 

" Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. : 

" A convention has been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to meet here on 
Monday. The lieutenant governor and city authorities think it unlawful, and propose to 
break it up by arresting the delegates. 1 have given no orders on the subject, hut have 
warned the parties that I should not countenance or permit such action without instructions 
to that effect from the President. Please instruct me by telegraph. 

"A. BAIRD, Brevet Major General Commanding.' 1 '' 

I do not know officially that that despatch was ever received by the Secretary of War; 
I only know that it has since appeared in the newspapers as one of the despatches sent on 
that occasion. On Sunday I gave instructions to the troops stationed at Jackson barracks, 
about three miles from Canal street, below the city, and to another regiment stationed about 
two miles from Canal street, in the upper part of the city, to hold themselves in readiness 
throughout the day on Monday, in case they should be required for any service. I likewise 
ordered a steamboat to be at the barracks at dajdight on Monday for the purpose of bringing 
up the troops if they should be required, ami she was to keep steam throughout the day, a!*! 
I asked a tug to be kept ready in the city, as the most tapid way of sending word for the 
troops to come forward I did not anticipate a disturbance, but I gave these instructions as 
a measure of precaution. I did not bring troops into the streets of the city, because they had 
some time before been removed by my predecessor in office, and to bring them in would be 
regarded as designed to overawe the city authorities and to protect the convention; neither 
of which did I feel that I would be justified by my superiors in doing. I was satisfied I 
would be condemned if I did so I was satisfied that a riot of a serious character would not 
take place, and I was still more strongly satisfii d that no disturbance could take place which 
the police could not control. I knew, furthermore, that a riot always took some hours to 
reach a serious character, and that the police were amply strong enough to suppress any dis- 
turbance that could occur until the troops could he brought up. The troops could not possi- 
bly have taken, under any circumstances, more than two or three hours in being sent for and 
brought up. I regarded the troops as a reserve to he called out when the civil authorities 
should inform me they were no longer sufficiently strong to preserve the peace. I did not 
anticip ate that t he_jit4iee theiUSfivfrt^- anmld becom e the assailants. On Monday morning 
theielippeared inthe city papers the notice which Governor Voorhees promised should be 
given to the citizens, requesting them to keep away from the vicinity of the convention 
building. 1 also saw in the papers the following telegram from the President, addressed to 
Lieutenant Governor Voorhees: 

"Washington, July 28, 1866. 
"Sir: The military will be expected to sustain, not obstruct or interfere with, the proceed- 
ings of the courts. A despatch on the subject of convention was sent to Governor Wells 
this morning. 

"ANDREW JOHNSON. 
" Albert Voorhees, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana." 



444 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

There was no appearance in the streets "luring- the early part of the day, except that a 
number of negroes .could be seen walking' about with their Sunday clothes on, and with 
ordinary walking sticks, which they wen' very fond of carrying. At about eleven o'clock 
Voorhees called upon me at my office and spoke of the despatch from the President which I 
have just read. I told him I had received no instructions as yet, and that there was nothing 
in the despatch which he had received to cause me to change the course we had decided upon 
taking on Saturday. It was then agreed that the same course of policy should be continued : 
that no arrests should be made without the sheriff first bringing the writ to me for my indorse- 
ment, and that the convention should he permitted to proceed. I then told Governor Voor- 
hees of the arrangement which had been made in regard to the troops. He knew well the 
position of the troops and the length of time it would take them to move from their camps to 
thi' centre of the city. 

6501. State more specifically the time it would take for you to get an order down to the' 
troops and then for the troops to get up. 

From the time I seat my first order until the troops arrived was two hours and forty minutes. 
I think by unnecessary delays they were one hour longer in arriving than they ought to have 
been. The captain of the boat, instead of taking the most direct course, followed the course 
of the river, making a very much longer distance and requiring greater time than was neces- 
sary. This of course caused delay. 

6502. And this, of course, you did not anticipate? 

No, sir. I believe, also, that the troops did not move out of their barracks quite as promptly 
as they might have done. I think they might have arrived one hour sooner than they did. 
I was not present, however, and cannot speak of my own knowledge of this. I said to Governor 
Voorhees that if I was not afraid of my motives being misunderstood in so doing, and of it 
being said that I was organizing a military guard for the convention, I would he glad to 
bring a few companies into the city and post them in the streets, somewhere not adjoining 
the convention building, but at a short distance from it. He said if I desired to do so he would 
see that his friends did not misinterpret my motives. He appeared pleased with the arrange- 
ment. I then told him I would send for four companies and post them upon the streets one 
hour before the meeting of the convention. I made this statement under the impression, 
somehow acquired, I do not know how, that the convention was to meet at six o'clock that 
evening, giving me ample time to send for troops and have them on the ground an hour 
before its meeting. 

6503. 1 fid you tell the lieutenant governor you would have the troops there an hour before 
the convention met ? 

Yes, sir ; I have stated that. I think the hour of six o'clock was mentioned in our conver- 
sation, but I am not positive of that. This conversation took place certainly as late as half- 
past eleven o'clock, and Governor Voorhees must have perceived that I could not send and 
have troops there an hour in advance of twelve o'clock ; he did not, however, correct me in 
this particular. 

6504. Hid he not tell you that the convention was to meet at twelve o'clock ? 

He did not. This agreement to bring up four companies of troops proposed by me, though 
not called for by the civil authorities, was the first communication I had with any one with 
regard to bringing the troops into the city; no request had been made to me for them— no 
intimation that their presence would be desired. 

■ 

By Mr. Shkllabauger: 

6505. In that connection let me ask you if application for sending troops might not have 
been made by some of the inferior officers under your command ? 

It would have been brought to me directly. It probably would have been made from the 
civil authorities to me; but if it had been made to any of my staff officers, they would have 
submitted it to me at once; it would have been submitted to Captain Caziarc or to the adju- 
tant general ; I can therefore say that no communication upon the subject of troops had 
been made up to this time. Lieutenant Governor Voorhees then left me; it was nearly 
twelve o'clock. 

6506. Let me ask you bow you fix the time of day? 

The different hours at which the events took place, and which I have mentioned, were 
fixed in my memory immediately after this occurrence by the know ledge of the time when I 
went to my office and when 1 left it, ami I verified itaby the judgment of other officers im- 
mediately after the occurrence took place. 

G507. State how you fixed the time when you went to your office ; also the time you left 
your office .' 

I fixed it from memory, from my customary habits, and verified the dates immediately 
after this occurrence took place by a comparison with the judgments of other officers. 

By Mr. Bover : 

(1503. Did you look at your watch at the time? 
I do not remember that I did. 



TESTIMONY OF ABSALOM BAIRD. 445 

By the Chairman : 

6509. State what you did when Governor Voorheea left your office. 

When he left he stated that he believed the day would pass off without any disturbance. 
As soon as he had gone, I sent a messenger to the barracks to bring up troops, and believing 
that every possible chance against a disturbance had been provided fur, unless it might be 
that disorderly persons, both white and black, might meet in the streets, and in a state of 
excitement might get into collision, producing disturbance, I took a carriage and drove to 
the residence of Judge Howell, the president of the convention, to represent to him the im- 
portance of the convention meeting with as little display as possible, and to suggest to him 
that he and his friends should counsel the freedmen to keep out of the way, and keep as 
quietly at their J_ipmej_-aa_ possibl e, while the" membe rs of the convention s hould meet alone 
and transact t heir_JjusinesSj___ XFn reaching J udge Howell's house, I asked his wife, who was 
up stairs looking down over the banisters, if the judge was in? She told me no, that he 
was at the convention. I said that I was surprised; that I thought the- convention did not 
meet until six o'clock. She said no, he had already gone. I then got into my carriage and 
drove back to my office. Soon after I got there news was brought in that the first disturbance 
had taken place in Canal street. I immediately sent an officer to inquire into the facts. 

6510. Was that Captain Caziarc? 

Yes, sir. I then despatched another messenger to the barracks to hasten forward the 
troops, and directed that a battery be brought up along with them. My staff officer soon 
returned, having met Judge Howell in the building iu which the convention met; I think 
in the governor's room. He reported to me that the first disturbance had subsided ; that 
Judge Howell said the convention had met at twelve o'clock, and had adjourned for want 
of a quorum, but that it would reassemble at two o'clock. As my staff officer came back 
lie met some, of the bodies of police going in the direction of the building. Frinn the fact 
that the co nvention proposed reassem bling at two o'clock, I thought that the condition of 
affairs could not Be very threatenin g, and that the bodies of police which were then coming 
down would be able, withoutdTrn^?uTEy,"To'"prese't*v^iu^l'er. Soon after reports commenced to 
come in quite rapidly with regard to the renewal of the disturbance ; but I was still not 
aware that it was the police who were making the assault. I sent other mess engers to 
hasten forward the troops as rapidly as possibl£._^Ajnorng_the"persons who came to me to 
give i 1 1 f o r m afTon" wlLs" Mj ivoT^MrmTrror Hecame into my office at, I think, mar two o'clock. 
We both stood up during our interview, which lasted but a few moments. He said to me, 

When will the troops you propose to bring up arrive .' Will they be white troops ? Will 
they act along with the police?" I said the troops ought to arrive on Canal street by that 
very moment, and I was just going there to join them ; that a portion of them would be 
white troops, and a portion of them colored troops. In reply to his last question I simply 
said, "I will suppress the riot." I do not think that any other remarks passed between 
Mayor Monroe and myself. His statement that he told me then that he would hold me 
responsible for the riot is entirely erroneous. As soon as Mayor Monroe left I rode with my 
staff officers to the foot of Canal street, and there met the troops just disembarking from the 
boat, i endeavored immediately after the riot to fix as accurately as I could the precise 
hour at which the troops reached Canal street, and from my recollection, and from a com- 
parison of the different events, and from the judgment of other officers, I fixed it at two 
o'clock and forty minutes. I at once put myself at the head of these men and moved up 
Canal street to the vicinity of the convention building. There were large, crowds in the 
street, apparently very angry and excited, many of them boys, and a good many of them 
drunk. My oiiicers took pistols from a number of the men and boys who had them in their 
hands or mi their persons, some of them raising them in a threatening manner. All actual 
conflict had by this time ceased. There was no pretext then apparent upon which I could 
use military force against any persons. None in our immediate presence were then com- 
mitting outrages, and to have tired upon the mob would have hurt more innocent people 
perhaps than guilty. I divided the command into strong patrols and sent them through the 
neighboring streets to drive the crowd out, and warned them to go to their homes. The 
police whom I met I called to me and directed to take such posts as I thought would be 
most desirable in the streets. Having cleared the streets, and being convinced that it was 
necessary to maintain military control of the city, I issued an order declaring the city under 
martial law. The auger of the people, the great excitement which prevailed, and the reports 
of outrages by the police which were brought in to me, all convinced me that it was necessary 
to take this step. I am well satisfied that had I not clone so much more extensive outbreaks 
would have occurred during the night. About the time I issued my order declaring martial 
law Mayor Monroe issued from his office a proclamation, of which there is a jopy here, 
calling upon persons to enroll themselves, and he had commenced enrolling them. That 
proclamation is as follows : 

"Mayoralty of New Orleans, City Hall, July 30, 1866. 

" Whereas the city is in a state of great agitation arising out of the riots precipitated by a 
revolutionary faction ; and whereas it is absolutely necessary that order be restored and 
violence suppressed ? 

"Therefore, I, JohnT. Monroe, mayor of the city of New Orleans, do call on all such 



416 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

citizens as are willing to assist in maintaining the peace to appear at the City Hall this day 
at 6 p. in., to be sworn in as extra policemen. No one not holding rny authority will be 
allowed to make any arrest. 

"All good citizens, with the exception of those on duty, are requested to retire to their 
homes, and not to assemble in crowds on the public streets. 

"JOHN T. MONROE, Mayor." 

When we went to the City Hall we found these bills posted up. We found large quanti- 
ties of blue ribbons cut up into little knots, to be used as badges. 

6511b}. At what time did Mayor Monroe's proclamation appear? 

I saw it after my order. It must have been issued at very nearly the same time my order 
declaring' martial law was issued. 

6511. At what time was that ? 

It was about 5 o'clock, I think, in the afternoon of the same day. 

65l'2. Have you any personal knowledge of the time Mayor Monroe issued the order you 
have read ? 

No, sir ; I have not. 

6513. Then you know nothing about it? 

Except ill it I was issuing my order and presently some one brought this notice of Mayor 
Monroe, which he said was stuck up. Directly afterwards General Kautz went to the City 
Hall, ami found those people being 1 sworn in. The mayor's proclamation goes to show that 
he had some idea that something ought to be done. 

6514. In that connection state whether Mayor Monroe communicated with you in regard 
to the proclamation you made. 

When General Kautz, whom I appointed military governor, went to the City Hall, he met 
Mayor Monroe there, who was not at all pleased with the step I had taken. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6515. State in that connection how you know that he was not pleased. 

After this I had several interviews with the mayor, in which he told me that he regretted 
the occurrence which had taken place; but as to my course, in declaring martial law he ex- 
pressed his unqualified disapproval. We had but little conversation. He soon after ad- 
dressed me a letter, of which the following is a copy : 

"State of Louisiana, Mayoralty of New Orleans, 

"City Hull, July 31, 1866. 
"SIR: At a late hour last eveuing, after perfect quiet had been restored in this city 
through the unassisted efforts of the municipal police, the following order from you was 
placed in my hands by General Kautz : 

" ' [General Orders No. 60.] 

" 'Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

" 'New Orleans, La., July 30, 1866. 
' 'In consequence of the notorious and unlawful proceedings of to-day martial law is pro- 
claimed in the city of New Orieans! Brevet Major General A. V. Kautz is appointed mili- 
tary governor of the city. He will make his headquarters in the City Hall, and his orders 
will be minutely obeyed in every particular. 

' 'All civil functionaries will report at once to General Kautz, and will be instructed by 
him with regard to such duties as they may be hereafter required to perform. 
" 'By order of Brevet Major General A. Baird: 

" 'NATHANIEL BURBANK, 
" 'First Lieutenant, Acting Assistant Adjutant General? 

"Without attempting to dispute your power to carry this order into effect, I must, never- 
theless, express my profound astonishment that yon should have thought proper to take si, 
extraordinary a step at a moment when none of those exigencies existed which have been 
supposed to palliate the assumption by a military officer or control over civil functionaries 

and the civil authority. The aid of the military would have been gladly received by me for 
the purpose of repressing violence at the time when such intervention was needed, but I am 
at a loss to ascertain by ivhat authority, or with what object, it is made to assume the form 
of a virtual suppression of that civil authority which, we have always been taught to believe, 
it is the principal duty of military officers in this country to sustain' and enforce. If 1 am to 
understand, from the words of your order, that it is your desire to prevent a recurrence of 
tin- 'notorious ami unlawful proceedings ' of yesterday, I would most respectfully suggest 
that your release of ail the rioters and their accessories, who had been arrested by the' po- 
lice, the lirst act of your administration of martial law, is not well calculated to accomplish 
your object 

" In conclusion, general, as the duties of my office are strictly defined by statute) and as 
they are purely of a civil character, I beg leave to decline reporting to any military authority 
tor instructions. 1 am but ill versed in military affairs, and I could render no assistance to 



TESTIMONY OF ABSALOM BAIRD 447 

your officers in conducting the citj administration under the code of martial law. Until the 
civil authority is restored I must, therefore, decline to act as mayor of New < Weans. 
■' Respectfully, 

"JOHN T. MONROE, Mayor. 
"Major General Baird, Commanding." 

I did not reply to this letter. Mayor Monroe did not relinquish the functions of mayor, 
as he said in his communication he would do. 

l).")lii During the day on Monday, did you receive any communication from Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhees ? 

Yes, sir; I overlooked that in my statement. Ahout the time my staff officer returned 
from his interview with Judge Howell, in Mechanics' Institute, I received the following 
communication from Lieutenant Governor Voorhees: 

"New Orleans, La., July 30, 1866. 
Sir: I am informed that squads of the colored population are going about in the third dis- 
trict of the city; that they have abandoned their work, and that others are coming into the 
city; also from the upper part and from Jefferson. How reliable the news is, or, at least, to 
what extent, I cannot say positively; at all events, I would suggest that an inquiry be 
made. The colored population is not answerable for these things ; for, goaded as they are 
by inflammatory appeals to their passions and prejudices, it is astonishing that they have 
not already fallen into excesses. After leaving you I called upon the mayor, who was 
pleased to know what co-operation he would have from the military department. As a mea- 
sure of prudence it would be well, should you, however, concur in this view, to have a mil- \ 
itary force disseminated throughout the city, to act in concert with the city police, but by 
all means in the vicinity of Mechanics' Institute. At this very moment my messenger comes 
in and brings the information that a large number of freedmen are at the Mechanics' Hall, 
and that a great number of white people are in the vicinity. The excitement is increasing. 
Ihe appearance of soldiers with policemen at this moment would be very beneficial. 
" I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" ALBERT VOORHEES, 
"Lieutenant Governor Louisiana. 
" Major General Baird, Neic Orleans." 

This communication was brought to me by a relative, a cousin or something, of Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhees. I sent back a verbal message. 



Washington, January 16, 1867. 
Major General A. BAIRD appeared, and his examination was continued as follows : 

By the Chairman : 

65 17. You will please resume your narrative w r here you left off when you were before the 
committee yesterday. 

The letter from Governor Voorhees, given at the close of my testimony yesterday, I can 
fix the date of approximately by another note I subsequently received, and which reads as 
follows : 

"One-and-a-half o'clock P. M. 
"SIR: The riot is progressing; the rioters inside of the Mechanics' building are firing 
through the windows. 

" Yours, respectfully, 

" ALBERT VOORHEES, 
" Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana." 
This is the original letter from which I read, and the date of the writing appears on it 
face. This enables me to fix the time of the other letter. 
By Mr. Boyer : 

6518. How long before this was the other received? 
It could not have been half an hour. 

6519. How long after half past one, as well as you can state it, did you receive this note? 
According to an estimate made at the' time, I should think I received it as early as bait' past 

one, if not earlier by my time; perhaps at just about half past one. During the evening 
of Monday, about the time I was writing my order for the declaration of martial law, a 
person came to me in the street, and said that he was the sheriff of the parish — Mr. Hays. 
He exhibited a paper which he told me was a writ tor the arrest of the members of the con- 
vention. I was very busy at the time and did not open the paper, but told him he could not 
make the arrests then. I took the paper and wrote upon the outside of it in pencil: 

"The sheriff will withhold action on this writ until further orders. 

"A. BAIRD, Brevet Major General Commanding? 

There was no date to this memorandum or indorsement. 



448 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By the CHAIRMAN : 

6520. This was brought to you, you say, ■when you were making your order for martial 
law, or how soon afterwards? 

It was just about the same time. General Sheridan returned to the city during the night 
of the 31st or the morning of the 1st of August. On the same day, I think upon the 1st of 
August, I received the following despatch from the Adjutant General of the army, by telegraph : 

"To General A. Baird, commanding Department of Louisiana : 

" You will net interpose any obstacle in the way of the civil authorities, but render what- 
ever aid may be required by them for the preservation of the public peace. The foregoing 
telegram is transmitted to you by order of the President. You will acknowledge its receipt. 

"E. D. TOWNSEND, 
"Assistant Adjutant General.' 1 '' 

I showed this despatch to General Sheridan, and told him I thought it would be better, in 
consequence of it, for me to withdraw the order which I had indorsed upon the writ in the 
hands of the sheriff. He consented to my doing so, and I then sent to the sheriff and pro- 
cured the writ, and made beneath my former indorsement the following indorsement: 

" Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

"New Orleans, August 2, 1866. 
" The necessity for the above order having ceased to exist, no further impediment will be 
placed in the way of executing the writ. 

"A. BAIRD, 
"Brevet Major General Com'ding DcpH." 

6521. You have stated that in one of the interviews you had with Mr. Albert Voorhees 
you referred to the political factions, and that his side had the power, &c. Please state, so 
far as you know, what were the antecedents, politically, of Mr. Albert Voorhees, in reference 
to his being in tin- Union service or the rebel service ' 

I had no personal acquaintance with Mr. Voorhees until the day he called upon me with 
Mayor Monroe : but I was told by many people that he had taken an active part in the re- 
bellion, and was regarded as a violent and bitter rebel. 

6522. What did you mean when you referred to " his side?" 

I referred to the party hostile to the convention, which included Mayor Monroe, himself, 
Attorney General Herron, and nearly all the returned rebels in the State. 

6523. In the interviews you had with Mayor Monroe and Governor Voorhees, did they 
appear to be acting in harmony or concert with each other? 

Perfectly so, and each with a full understanding of what the other was doing. 

6524. At the time of the interview you have spoken of, between eleven and twelve o'clock 
on Monday, with Mr. Voorhees, had you been made aware at all of any preparation made by 
the mayor to control the action of the convention or disperse it? 

No, sir. 

65 •.'.">. Was anything said to you as to the arming or the massing of the police the night 
before ! 
No, sir. 

6526. So far as you could judge, from what took place between you and Mr. Voorhees, 
when he exhibited to you a telegram from the President, what importance did he seem to 
attribute to that telegram, and how did he propose to act in reference to it ? 

1 thought that it was his conviction that the government, the administration at Washington, 
was with his party; that is, with those who wished to break up the convention rather than 
with ii. e, and that he desired to make use of this to convince me that 1 was acting contrary 
to the wishes of the government, I having received no instructions myself. He exhibited 
this to me, as I understood it, with a view of inducing me to recede from tin- determination 
I had expressed in not permitting the arrest of the members of the convention. 

6527. Was this the last interview you had with Governor Voorhees before the actual riot 
occurred ? 

Yes, sir. 

6528. When be left you, what was his expressed judgment as to the probability of dis- 
turbance, or otherwise ! 

I do not remember the precise language which wepsed to each other, but we both expressed 
the opinion that the day would pass off peaceably and without disturbance. 
By Mr. SHELLABARGER : 

6529. How was the note which you have given in evidence, bearing date one-and-a-half 
o'clock, from Albert Voorhees, brought to you? 

I think it was just handed into my office, perhaps by an orderly. I do not know who 
brought it. 

6530. Do you remember whether it was Martin Voorhees or not? 

I know that I saw Martin Voorhees but once that day — that was when he brought the other 
letter. I did not see the messenger who brought the last note. 



TESTIMONY OF ABSALOM BAIRD. 449 

6531. Did you receive more than two written communications from Albert Voorhees on the 

30th of July.' 
No, sir. 

6532. Ami the last one of the two I understand you to have been the one bearing date 
one-and-a-half o'clock in the afternoon; am I right in that? 

Yes, sir. 

6533. Did the person who brought to you the first written message declare to you that 
the necessity of bringing up troops was very pressing, because there seemed to be excitement 
in. the city, and that he had no doubt a squad of federal soldiers in the vicinity could prevent 
all trouble, or anything of that substance ! 

The bearer of this communication, Mr. Voohees, remarked with regard to it, that the gov- 
ernor was nut sure that these reports which lu- had made were correct; that they were rumors ; 
that they were just being brought in to him, and he though the had better report them to me, 
not knowing whether they were correct or, not; that that was his view in writing the letter ; 
that was about the substance of his remark to me. 

6534. Might not this interview at the time of the delivery of the first letter have been as 
early as betwi en ten and half past ten o'clock? 

O, no; that is not possible. 

6535. At this first interview with the messenger, did you say to him that you had given 
orders to have troops sent to the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute, and that you were ex- 
pecting them there every minute ? 

T told him what I had done. I presume I used those words. 

6536. Did you inform him also that troops were at the barracks, and that it would take not 
more than half or three quarters of an hour to have them brought to the city? 

I probably stated something to him with regard to the time when they could arrive there. 
I do not remember the words. 

6537. What I want to know is, whether you told him the whole time required to bring the 
troops to the city would not be more than half or three-quarters of an hour > 

No, sir; I could not have told him that. I may have said it would be half or three-quar- 
ters of an hour from that time before they could get there. I think when we were talking, 
that my impression was that the troops would arrive in about half or three-quarters of an 
hour. I did not attempt to fix the time exactly. 

6538. You have alluded to unnecessary time consumed by the boat in bringing troops to 
the city ; could not the persons in command of the troops have prevented that delay and 
controlled the route of the boat ? 

They could have done so, but probably the officer in command was ignorant of the cur- 
rents of the river, and of the advantage which might be taken of them. 

6539. Then you may state, from all you know, whether the responsibility of that unneces- 
sary delay was upon the military authorities or not. 

I cannot say that any r military officer was responsible for the delay. I cannot make that 
charge against any one. 

6540. State fully any facts that came within your knowledge with regard to the matter of 
the riot having been over before the military forces arrived in the city. 

When the troops arrived in the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute it is my impression 
that the people in and about that building belonging to the convention and those friendly to 
it had all either been killed, or arrested, or dispersed. I believe for some time after, and in- 
deed, through the night, acts of violence occurred throughout the city at some distance from 
the troops. I did not personally witness these things. My statement is founded not upon 
my own personal knowledge. 

Mr. BoYtui. I prefer that you would not speak except from your own personal knowledge. 

By the Chairman: 

C5H. So far as you know, will you say in whose hands, with reference to loyal or rebel 
antecedents, the power of the municipal government of New Orleans was at that time, and is 
now ? 

I think at that time, and for some time previous to it, and continuously since, that time, the 
controlling power of the legislature, and in the courts, and in most of the prominent civil 
offices, was strongly under the influence of those who had heen connected with the rebellion. 

Golv?. State, on your best knowledge, what was the feeling, and is now, of that party in 
power as to friendliness or hostility to the Union and Union men. 

I believe the controlling sentiment is very strongly hostile to the Union, according to my 
understanding of that term. 

6543. State, if you please, in your own way, the reasons that have brought you to that 
conclusion. 

I found my belief on my observations during my stay in Louisiana. Soon after I arrived 
in New Orleans some of the officers of the regular troops passing through the city on their 
way to Texas stopped at one of the prominent hotels. The families of these officers were 
not waited upon. 

Mr. Boyer. I desire to have it noted that I, as one of this committee, dissent from the 
29 N o 



450 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

reception of any testimony from this witness <>n this subject which is derived from any other 
source than his own personal observation of facts. 

The Chairman. The committee desire you to go on in your own way with your answer 
to the question propounded. 

WITNESS. I was stating that the families of these officers were not waited upon at the 
table, and on questioning the head-waiters and proprietors it was acknowledged by them that 
they did not want persons connected with the Union armies in their house; that it was in- 
jurious to their business. I do not know this from my own personal knowledge. In the 
rotundo of the St. Charles Hotel, where I boarded, during the day a large number of citizens 
are in the habit of congregating, and I have seen on the entrance of officers in uniform looks 
of hatred and disgust pass over the countenances of the crowd at the appearance of these 
officers. In the theatres it was reported as of constant occurrence, that whenever a Union 
air was played it was received in silence, while, when rebel airs were played, the audience 
would exhibit great applause, and the same when any remarks were made by actors dispar- 
aging to the Union. In the social intercourse between the people of the north who are there 
and persdns connected with the army and the inhabitants of the country, or natives of Loui- 
siana, the same feeling of hostility was constantly exhibited. And from these, and various 
other observations which I made while in the State, I have no hesitation in saying that the 
large majority of the people of Louisiana are unfriendly to the Union. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6544. You spoke of the government of the city of New Orleans being under the influence 
of those who were in the rebellion. Please state whether or not the government. of the State 
of Louisiana was, or was not, on the 30th of July, in fact in the hands of men every one 
of whom had been in the rebellion in one way or another, or who then sympathized with it, 
with the exception of Governor Wells. 

Every individual, so far as I know, with the exception of Governor Wells, who was con- 
nected either with the city or State government, either had been in the rebellion himself, or 
was in some way connected and allied with those who had been in the rebellion. I do not 
know of any exceptions to this. In this answer I do not include officers of the United States 
government, either civil or military. 

6545. I wish to inquire whether that state of things to which you alluded in your last 
answer was or was not a matter well known to the country at the time ? 

I do not see how any one could have been ignorant of it who made himself at all acquainted 
with the condition of things in the country. 

6546. Do you know whether the rebel antecedents of the civil authorities of the city of 
New Orleans, and State of Louisiana, to which you have alluded in your previous answer, 
were known to the executive department of the government at Washington ! 

I do not know what information the government had with regard to that subject. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6547. You stated, in your examination, that on Saturday morning before the riot a member of 
the convention came to you and told you that they proposed meeting the following week, 
and asked you whether the military intended to interfere. Who was that member of the 
convention .' 

I think I answered that question just at the time. I think it- was Colonel Fish. 

6548. Did he ask you whether the military intended to interfere with the convention ? 
I think not. I think something of that kind was said. 

(i.")41». As to interference with whom, did he inquire ? 

1 thmk in v language was, whether the convention would be interfered with. 

6550. Be interfered with by whom .' 

By the civil authorities — the mayor and police. 

6551. Why did he come to you for the purpose of making that inquiry, instead of going 
to the civil authorities ? 

I presume he thought the civil authorities would communicate with me in some way with 
regard to what they intended to do. 

6552. Did he not apply to you for military protection for the convention ? 
I am quite positive he did not. 

6553. Did any other member of the convention, or any one in behalf of the convention, 
apply to you for such protection ? 

1 do not think that any one ever applied to me directly for protection for the convention. 
I had frequently remarked, in conversation with different individuals, that I could not furnish 
a guard lor the convention; that it would lie contrary to General Sheridan's policy. 

6554. In those conversations did you state that you would interfere with the military in 
case the convention was disturbed ? 

No, sir ; I was always cautious in my language in conversation with any one whom I 
supposed was attached to or connected with the convention, and was careful not to say as 
much as I had stated in my letter to Mayor Monroe. 

6555. Why did you observe more cautiou towards the members of the convention than 
towards Mayor Monroe ? 



TESTIMONY OF ABSALOM BAIRD. 451 

Because I felt that if I had told them as I did Mayor Monroe, that I might interfere for 
their release if arrested, they might regard it as encouragement given by me, when I did 
not wish either to encourage or discourage or to express opinions with regard to the meeting 
of the convention. 

6556. In your examination you told us you had informed Colonel Fish of your correspond- 
ence with the mayor ! 

I told Colonel Fish I had had a correspondence with the mayor on the subject. I did not 
tell him what I had said to Mayor Monroe, but said, "I do not think the convention will be 
disturbed by the city authorities." That was all I told him. 

6557. Did you not state to him that you did not intend to allow arrests to bo made of any 
members of the convention by the civil authorities ? 

No, sir ; I could not have said so. 

6558. When you told Lieutenant Governor Voorhees that if the sheriff attempted to arrest 
the members of the convention you would protect them, and possibly arrest the sheriff him- 
self, did you mean to carry out that threat if occasion should arise? 

I expected to carry it out in the way in which I described in my testimony. 

6559. Then you considered that the convention had a legal right to assemble, and that 
any attempt to disperse it on the part of the civil authorities would be illegal and justify 
interference on your part ? 

I regarded an interference with the convention by the civil authorities as illegal. I felt 
that the arrest or punishment of the members of the convention for meeting would call for 
interference for their protection, providing they demanded it 

6560. And in case the courts refused to release them ? 
Yes, sir. 

6561. Then your intention was to judge of the legality of the decision of the courts, and, 
in case it was not in favor of the members of the convention, to interfere to prevent their 
judgment from being executed ? 

I did, sir ; because I believed I was required to obey General Grant's order, and obey the 
laws organizing the bureau, and the other orders which had been given for our government. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

6562. State what order of General Grant's you refer to. 

I cannot give the number of the order at present. It was an order issued by General 
Grant, such as I described in my testimony yesterday. I will furnish the committee with 
the number of the order. [Subsequently.] It is General Order No. 44, dated July 6, 1866, 
from headquarters of the army. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6563. By that order, as you construed it, you supposed you were authorized to interfere 
with the judgments of the civil courts in such cases when you did not regard them to be 

just. Am I so to understand you ? 

I did in such cases as are described in the orders given to us. 

6564. Was this one of those cases so described ? 
I regarded it so. 

6565. Why did you not telegraph for instructions directly to the President of the United 
States instead of to the Secretary of War? 

The proper military mode of communication with either the President or Secretary of War 
would have been through the Adjutant General. I violated that propriety in telegraphing 
to the Secretary of Wai directly. I did this thinking I would get a more speedy reply than 
by sending it through the Adjutant General. Sometimes we took the responsibility of tele- 
graphing in that way. I did not feel justified in passing over the Secretary of War to com- 
municate directly with the President. 

6566. Did you know that the object of the convention was to change the constitution of 
the State of Louisiana ? 

I knew nothing about it whatever except what I learned from the public papers — the 
newspapers — and from general conversation. I do not think I have ever heard any state- 
ment from a member of the convention, or a person immediately connected with it, as to its 
object. 

6567. Then you say that you did not know that that was the intention of the convention? 
Not from my own knowledge. 

6568. You have been less careful upon other subjects in relation to the sources of your 
information; state whether you had such information from the public prints or otherwise? 

I supposed, from all I could learn, that the object of the convention was to adopt a new 
constitution for the State, to be substituted for the present one; that was my belief. 

6569. Did you not know that the convention of 1864, of which this one professed to be a 
revival, had framed a constitution which had been accepted by the people, and which was 
then in full force t 

Yes, sir; I did. 

6570. Did you not know that this assembly on the 30th of July was a minority of the 



452 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

members of that convention, and was called together bj a president selected by that minority : 
That was a matter of notoriety, and I suppose 1 that impression to be correct. 

6571. Did you not suppose it was a fit subject for adjudication by the courts, whether or 
not a convention called in that way, and for such purposes, was a lawful assembly or not? 

I did not; I stated my views of the matter in my report to General Sheridan. 

6572. Did you not know that t»n the Friday evening before the meeting of the convention 
there had been a public meeting held by the conventionists, and that at that meeting their 
intentions had been avowed in speeches to the effect that they meant to establish negro suf- 
frage, to disfranchise those who had been rebels, and that the latter deserved to be hung, or 
that their blood was demanded, or other language to that effect? 

I knew that there was a meeting on Friday night of persons friendly to the convention, 
including, probably, some of its members. I knew nothing of what took place there except 
what I read in the city newspapers. The speeches attributed by the Times newspaper, and, 
perhaps, by ethers, to Dr. Dosiie and other persons, contained expressions similar to those 
made use of in the question. I do not know whether the reports of those speeches were au- 
thentic or not. I do' not remember to have seen an expression such as that demanding the 
blood of rebels. 

6573. Did you not know that in consequence of the proceedings of the conventionists there 
had been created an excited state of the public mind? 

I belived that the public mind was much excited, and I believed that the proposed meeting 
of the convention had contributed largely to this feeling. 

6574. Did it not strike you as somewhat un- afe to leave the protection of such a body of 
men to those whom it was their avowed intention to disfranchise aud punish by overturning' 
the State government ? 

I believed that the civil authorities of the city were extremely hostile to the convention; 
but I believed that they would so far go through the form of doing their duty as civil officers 
as to make the meeting of the convention safe. 

6575. Did you not barn before the convention met that a collision between the convention 
and the people would be regarded by the conventionists as favorable to their ultimate designs? 

I did not. 

6576. Did you not yourself say that you had suggested such an idea as that to Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhees, and that he coincided in your opinion? 

I stated to Lieutenant Governor Voorhees that if a disturbance should take place calling 
for the interference of the troops to suppress it, and possibly for a declaration of martial law, 
that I thought it would be very disastrous to the interests of those engaged in reconstruct- 
ing the State government. I meant those who were trying to bring the State back into Con- 
gress with its present constitution. He remarked that such a collision would be suicide to 
them. 

6577. Was not that, namely, the postponement of State representation, aud the overthrow 
of the authority to which Lieutenant Governor Voorhees belonged, the very design that the 
members of the convention had in view ? 

I have no doubt they intended to accomplish that object, if possible. 

(>r>7S. You have stated that your impression was that the convention was not to meet until 
the hour of six p. m. on Monday. You also stated that you had seen the morning papers of that 
day, and you referred to some things which they contained. Was it not published in all the 
papers that the convention was to meet at twelve o'clock that day .' 

1 do not know that it was, aud if such was the case, I did not see it. I was not conscious ' 
of that fact if it, was so. 

6579. Did you look to see at what hour the convention would meet ? 

I did not. 

65c(J. Did you inquire of any one connected with it at what time the convention intended 
to meet? 

I cannot say that I inquired of any one. I do not remember. 

6581. Alter your first interview with Governor Voorhees, on Monday, the 30th of July, 
why was it that you did not immediately send for the troops ! 

1 did send for them immediately. I stated that I sent a telegraph. I cannot state whether 
I sent the telegraph or the messenger for the troops first. 

6582. How soon after that interview with Lieutenant Governor Voorhees on that day did 
you take a carriage and proceed to Judge Howell's residence I 

I can only estimate the hour by the time it took me to send my despatch and my messen- 
ger for the troops, and to give some other orders. I presume it was about half an hour, 
probably less. 

6583. When you sent a messenger for the troops did you give him any special instructions? 
The first messenger, I think, I sent, I instructed simply to bring up the available men of 

the first infantry regiment at once. In the following messages 1 sent, I directed to have a 
battery and all the troops that could be turned out brought up as soon as possible. 

65S4. Was your first messenger an officer .' 

Yes, sir. 

65?55. Of what rank I 

I think he was a lieutenant in the provost marshal's department. 



TESTIMONY OF ABSALOM BA.IRD. 453 

6586. Do you recollect his name? 

I do not at this moment. I can obtain it. 

6587. Do you know where he is at this time? 
No, sir ; 1 do not. 

6588. You have stated that every person connected with the State and municipal government 
at New Orleans was al onetime, in some way, connected with the rebellion, except Governor 
Wells. Do you include among these the officers or appointees of Governor Wells ; 

I know very little, personally, of the persons connected with the civil government, and 
nearly all I knew respecting their antecedents was from information obtained from people in 
the city. The impression I intended to convey, in myprevious answers, was that so far as I 
knew the feeling or the opinions and views of the city and Slate officials, including, so far as I 
know, Governor Wells's appointees, nearly all of them had been in some way connected with 
the rebellion. 

6589. Be good enough to name those officers who were thus connected with the rebellion. 
I understand Mayor Monroe to have been connected with the rebellion; 1 also understand 

his chief of police to have been in the rebellion, and also the sheriff. I understood in the 
legislature that Mr. Duncan F. Kenner, who was a very prominent man, and Mr. Duncan 
S. Cage, had been in the rebellion. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6590. Did you not know in reference to the lieutenant governor and attorney general ? 
Yes sir, I did, and should have included them. 

By Mr. Boyer : . 

6591. Can you name any others who, either from your personal knowledge or information, 
were connected with the rebellion I 

I knew personally other gentlemen belonging to the legislature who told me they had been 
connected with the rebellion, but I do not know that I can recollect any names now. As to 
the city officers, I know very few of them. 

6592. When you spoke of Governor Voorhees's party, did you use that term as in contra- 
distinction from the party of the conventions ts .' 

Yes, sir. 

6593. You spoke of Governor Voorhees's party as being composed of all the returned rebels 
in the State. Do you mean to say that all those who were opposed to the conveutiouists 
were returned rebels .' 

No sir, not all of them. 

6594. Do you mean to be understood as saying that those who were in favor of the pro- 
ceedings of the conventionists embraced all the Union men in the State of Louisiana? 

No; sir. I believe that a large number of Union men were not friendly to the convention — 
at least, a number. 

6595. Do you mean original Union men? 
Yes, sir : I suppose so. 

6596. Do you suppose there are no Union men now in Louisiana among those who were 
formerly participants in the rebellion? 

I suppose there are a few who participated in the rebellion who are now Union men ; but 
I do not believe there are many. 

6597. How long were you stationed at New Orleans? 
Nearly nine months before the riot took place. 

6598. I suppose your military duties mainly occupied your mind while there? 
Yes, sir; exclusively so. 

6599. So that you did not find time to mingle very freely among the residents of that part 
of the country ? 

I had very slight intercourse with them. My intercourse with them was chiefly official 
intercourse with persons having property which they wished to recover from the Freedmen's 
Bureau, or in relation to the employment of freedmen. 

6600. Then how can you speak with very much confidence of what you say is the con- 
trolling sentiment of the people there? 

This conviction forced itself upon me from my observation of the people of Louisiana and 
of events. 

6601. The events you allude to are, I presume, those events which transpired in the 
history of the country, and which, from time to time, have been brought before the public 
through the papers and otherwise. — 

Very much ; yes, sir. 

660"i. When you speak of the conduct of the people who attended the theatres in New 
Orleans, in reference to their reception of national airs, were you present, and did you wit- 
ness anything of the kind ? 

I was not present, and did not witness it. 

6603. When you say you have no hesitation in saying the large majority of the .people of 
the State of Louisiana are hostile to the government, it is mere opinion, is it not, founded 
upon these facts, which are accessible to other readers of the newspapers of the country? 

Yes, sir ; it is my conviction ; and it is founded upon facts which any one may see. 



454 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. . 

By Mr. SlIELLABARCiER: 

0604. Do vim mean any one who has not been in Louisiana ? 

No, sir ; I mean that I think any person in Louisiana would have a much better oppor- 
tunity of forming a correct judgment than one who had not been there ; and I thiuk that, 
in my official position, I had peculiar advantages for observation. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6605. If your official duties prevented you from mingling with or becoming acquainted 
with the people, iu what did your peculiar advantages consist? 

I had more intercourse with persous in an official way than I would have had in a pri- 
vate capacity, particularly. with leading men; and my official position gave me access to 
papers and documents on which my knowledge of things in Louisiana was more extensive 
than it otherwise could have been. 

66tKi. Do you mean to say that those with whom you had official intercourse avowed or 
in any way manifested their hostility to the Union? 

Not in my presence. 

6607. Then how did your intercourse with them bring you to such a conclusion? 

I learned from my intercourse with these people much with regard to their position and 
their present history and their actions which I would not otherwise have known. 

6608. But you have said that they neither avowed nor manifested in their intercourse 
with you any hostility to the Union? 

No, sir. 

6609. Then that intercourse with them did not lead you to the conclusion that they were 
hostile to the government ? 

I could give some instances or illustrations. 

6610. You may give them, but please confine yourself, in your illustrations, to your own 
personal knowledge. 

There was one gentleman to whom I restored some property, who had taken the necessary 
oath of allegiance. One piece of property was a house I had permitted a poor woman to 
occupy, the wife of a Union soldier. As soon as I had restored this property the owner of 
it turned this woman out of the house immediately, and stated it was on the ground of her 
being the wife of a Union soldier. 

6611. Who were the parties ? 

I will give you the name of the individual to whom I refer, but cannot do so at this mo- 
ment. (Subsequently:) The name of the man referred to is John Thornhill, a business 
man, who has been wealthy and of good position. 

661*2. When was it that this happened ? 

I think the property was restored in May last. 

6613. Did this individual inform you that he objected to the tenant occupying the property 
because she was the wife of a Union soldier ? 

No, sir, he did not. There were three houses, side by side, occupied by poor people. 
This one alone was turned out. I had to provide for her ; and the owner of the property 
stated so to this woman, as she informed me. 

6614. Then you are stating this not from your own knowledge, but from hearsay? 

I have « knowledge of the fact of her being turned out, but the remarks made at thesame 
time I only know from her statement. • 

6615. Did you infer hostility to the Union from turning the woman out, or from the re- 
marks which were said to have accompanied it ? 

Both together. 

6616. Would you have inferred hostility to the Union from the mere fact of turning the 
woman out, without any remarks ? 

I should have thought it remarkable that the woman was turned out under the circum 
stances, as she was ready to pay her rent. 

6617. May not landlords sometimes desire repossession of their premises without motives 
of hostility to the Union ? 

They may, certainly. 

6618. -Have you any other similar illustration to relate, confining yourself to what you 
know of your own personal knowledge ' 

I do not at this time recollect other instances. In fact, I heard very few remarks of hos- 
tility made in my presence. 

6619. Do you believe that any of those who voluntarily participated in the rebellion 
against the government of the United States can be relied upon for their obedience to the 
government or not ? 

I think there arc certain individuals who can be relied upon. 

66"20. Then you do not think former complicity with the rebellion an insurmountable ob- 
stacle in the way of present loyalty? 
I do not. 

The official report of the witness to General Sheridan was here presented to the commit- 
tee, and is as follows : 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL BAIRD. 455 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL BAIRD. 

Headquarters Department oe Louisiana, 

A T cic Orleans, La., August, 1896. 

Colonel: I have the honor to submit, for the information of the major general command- 
ing, the following report concerning the riot of the 30th ultimo: 

It was a matter of public notoriety that the convention of 1864 was to meet here on that date. 

Some weeks previously it. had been in session, and had continued its meetings during several 
days. It hail excited much opposition, and there were threats of breaking it up; yet it re- 
mained undisturbed, and to one unacquainted with the political views and considerations by 
which the persons hostile to it were influenced, there was no reason to suppose that the pro- 
posed assemblage would not be passed by in the same peaceable manner. 

Since the riot I have been informed by gentlemen of the highest character — planters of 
wealth and influence, belonging to the party inimical to the convention — that the question 
of its meeting had been by them fully discussed in all its bearings ; that it had been proposed, 
first, to treat them with ridicule, next to go into the movement, and, by superior numbers, to 
send delegates to overwhelm and control it. But upon reflecting that the members already 
elected would be the judges as to the qualifications of the new ones, it was feared that this 
purpose might be frustrated, and it was then determined to treat the meeting as an unlawful 
assemblage, and as such to break it up at all hazards. 

I mention these facts to show that, wdiile to those inside the political arena the dangers of 
disturbance might have appeared imminent to one like myself — entirely outside of the ring, 
keeping myself so from a sense of duty — no such view could have presented itself. 

They also go to show that the ground that I took as to the right of the convention to ope- 
rate, so long as no overt act of hostility to the established State government was committed, 
was not until a recent date disputed, and it is now maintained by many prominent lawyers 
in this city. • 

As to the convention itself, being personally acquainted with but two or three of its mem- 
bers, and as I had no intercourse with them, I may not have understood properly the object 
it had in view. My information concerning it was nearly all derived from unfriendly sources, 
but from the little knowledge I had upon the subject, I could not perceive that the gentlemen 
composing this convention had any more authority to remodel the State government than any 
other assemblage of citizens. Yet I believed they had a right to meet and to talk and to 
resolve, provided they committed no breach of the peace. 

Had the result been to obstruct any officer of the State in the exercise of his office, or an 
attempt upon the part of any person to exercise the functions of a State office, unless author- 
ized to do so by the President of the United States, I should ha v e regarded this as an overt 
act, calling for military interference, provided the civil powers were unable to defend them- 
selves and punish the aggressor. 

I believed, further, to arrest these citizens and hold them to bail prior to the commission 
of any overt act of crime was a violation of their rights, and had the civil courts failed to 
relieve them promptly from such duress, upon a writ of habeas corpus, it would become my 
duty, if called upon in conformity with the requirements of the recent order of the Lieutenant 
General commanding the armies designed for the protection of American citizens, to interfere 
with military force tor their relief, and possibly to take into custody and hold in military con- 
finement those who had committed the wrong. This idea in relation to my duties, under 
the order of General Grant, I endeavored to convey to the gentlemen who came to see me in 
relation to breaking up the convention. 

On the 25th of July I received from the Hon. John T. Monroe, of the city of New Orleans, 
a letter, of which the following is a copy: 

"Mayoralty of New Orleans, 

" City Hall, July 25, 1866. 
"General : A body of men, claiming to be members of the convention of 1864, and whose 
avowed object is to subvert the municipal and State governments, will, I learn, assemble in 
this city on Monday next. 

"The laws and ordinances of the city, which my oath of office makes obligatory upon me 
to see faithfully executed, declare all such assemblies calculated to disturb the public peace 
and tranquillity unlawful, and, as such, to be dispersed by the mayor, and the participants 
held responsible for violating the same. 

"It is my intention to disperse this unlawful assemblage if found within the corporate 
limits of the city, by arresting the members thereof, and holding them accountable to existing 
municipal law, provided they meet without the sanction of the military authorities. 

"I will esteem it a favor, general, if, at your earliest convenience, you will inform me 
whether the projected meeting has your approbation, so that I may act accordingly. 
"I am, general, very respectfully, 

JOHN T. MONROE, Mayor. 
"Brevet Major General Baird, Commanding, Sfc." 



456 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

"Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

" New Orleans, La., July 26, 1866. 

"Sir: I have received your communication of the 20th instant, informing me that a body 
of men, claiming to be members of tbe convention of lr*64, whose avowed object is to subvert 
the present municipal and State governments, is about to assemble in this city, and, regard- 
ing this assemblage as one of those described in the law as calculated to disturb the public 
peace and tranquillity, and the efore unlawful, you believe it to be your duty, and that it is 
your intention, to disperse this unlawful assembly, if found within the corporate limits of 
the city, by arresting the members thereof, and holding them accountable to the existing 
municipal laws, provided they meet without the sanction of the military authorities. 

"You also inquire whether the projected meeting has my approbation, so that you may 
act accordingly. 

" In reply, I have the honor to state that the assemblage to which you refer has not, so far 
as I am aware, the sanction or approbation of any military authority for its meetings. 

"I presume the gentlemen comprising it have never asked for such authority to meet, as 
the military commanders, since I have been in the State, have held themselves strictly aloof 
from all interference with the political movements of the citizens' of Louisiana. For my own 
part, I have carefully refrained from any expression of opinion upon either side of the many 
questions relating to the reconstruction of the State government. When asked it I intended 
to furnish the convention a military guard, I have replied 'No;' the mayor of the city and 
its police will • amply protect its sittings.' If these persons assemble, as you say it is intended, 
it will be, I presume, in virtue of the universally conceded right of all citizens of the United 
States to meet peaceably and discuss freely questions concerning their civil governments — a 
right which is not restricted by the fact that the movement proposed might terminate in a 
change of the existing institutions. 

"If the assemblage in question has the legal right to remodel the State government, it 
should be protected in so doing. If.it has not, then its labors must be looked upon as harm- 
less pleasantry, to which no one ought to object. As to your conception of the duty imposed 
by your oath of office, I regret to differ from you entirely. I cannot understand how the 
mayor of the city can undertake to decide so important and delicate a question as the legal 
authority upon which a convention, claiming to represent the people of an eutire State, bases 
its action. 

" This doubtless will, in due time, be properly decided upon by the legal branches of the 
United Stares government. At all events, the governor of the State would seem to be more 
directly called upon to take the initiative in a step of this kind if it was proper and necessary. 
What we most want at the present time is the maintenance of perfect order and the sup- 
pression of violence. If, when you speak of the projected meeting as one calculated to 
disturb the public peace and tranquillity, I am to understand that you regard the number of 
persons who differ in opinion from those who will constitute it as so large, and the lawless- 
ness of their character so well established, that you doubt the ability of your small force of 
police to control them, you have in such cases only to call upon me and I will bring to your 
assistance, not only troops now present in the city, but, if necessary, the entire force which it 
may be in my power to assemble, either upon the land or upon the water. Lawless violeuce 
must In- suppressed, and in this connection the recent order of the Lieutenant General, de- 
signed tor the protection of citizens of the United States, deserves careful consideration. It 
imposes high obligations for military interference, to protect those who, having violated no 
ordinance of the State, are engaged in peaceful avocations. 
"I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"A. BAIRD, 
"Brevet Major General, Commanding Department of Louisiana. 

"Hon. John T. Monroe, 

"Mayor of the City of New Orleans." 

These letters require little comment. The mayor announced his intention to break up the 
assembly as an unlawful assembly, and I reply that I cannot regard it as within the scope 
of his duties, as a municipal officer, to decide that question; but, on the contrary, that I do 
regard it to be his duty, as custodian of the public peace, to protect the assembly as long as 
no disorder is committed. 

On Friday night, July 27th, a meeting of radical persons was held in the Mechanics' In- 
stitute. It was composed largely of colored people, and Mas addressed by Ex-Governor 
Hahn, Dr. I>ostie, and others. At a later hour a torchlight procession of the same individuals 
was addressed in front of the City Hall by Dr. Dostie. All of these speeches, except those 
of Dr. Dostie, are said to have been temperate. Of this, the only report which we have is to 
be found in opposition papers, and its authenticity is denied. The words put into his mouth 
by his enemies were violent and indiscreet; and, as the version of his remarks was widely 
disseminated, it did, undoubtedly, have much effect in exciting the public mind. In the 
same category with the speech attributed to Dr. Dostie must be placed the charges of Judge 
Abell to the grand jury of the parish, in relation to the convention. The extraordinary sen- 
timents which he then put forth, the occasion which he selected for their utterance, and the 
intemperate language in which they were clad, were all calculated to breed popular tumult. 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF MAJORG ENERAL BAIRD. 457 

To the major general commanding the division, who has had so much longer time to 
observe the character of the prominent men of this community, I need not speak of the 
unscrupulous character of this gentleman, as displayed in his official capacity. 

'We have only to lament that we find in his position a person ready to pervert the sanctity 
with which we all wish to enshroud the law to the accomplishment of political party ends. 

On Saturday, the 28th of July, I had a call from a member of the convention, the only 
direct communicatio"n I have hail with any person connected with it. Our interview was 
quite brief. He informed me that they designed to meet on Monday, and that it was under- 
stood they might lie interfered with by the city authorities. He told me nothing with regard 
to their views and objects. In reply I informed him that I had had but recently a corre- 
spondence with the mayor upon the subject, and that after what had passed between us I 
did not think the convention need have fear of violence. 

Almost immediately on his departure I was visited by Mayor Monroe, accompanied by 
Lieutenant Governor Voorhees. The impression made upon my mind after some lew minutes' 
conversation with them was, that the lieutenant governor had come with the mayor in order 
to lend the appearance of representing in the interview with me the office of chief executive 
of the State. I had suggested, as will be observed in my letter to the mayor, that the gov- 
ernor would be the most proper person to initiate the steps which they proposed, if such steps 
became necessary. Governor Wells had for some time been absent from the city, and not- 
withstanding that there was a rumor of his return, these gentlemen informed me that those 
who had sought interviews with him had been unable to find him, that he did not appear in 
his office to discharge his ordinary duties in the customary way, and by inference, therefore, 
the opinions of the officer next to him in rank might carry with them much of the weight 
which is properly attached to the incumbent of the highest office in the State. I did not so 
regard it. I was very soon informed that the plan of breaking up the convention by having 
the mayor and city police to arrest its members had been abandoned, and that it was now 
designed to have them indicted by the grand jury of the parish, and upon this process would 
issue to the sheriff to make the arrests. I replied at once that I did not see that this could 
change the condition of affairs or my responsibilities. What I desired was to hold the mili- 
tary force in strict neutrality between the political factious, and only to interfere with them 
when it became necessary for the preservation of the peace. I also wished carefully to put 
aside tiny complication which might result in compelling me to interfere. I said that as the 
case presented itself to my view, it was one between two political parties fighting bitterly for 
the ascendency, and that one happened to hold certain judicial and municipal offices which 
it sought to use, as I thought, improperly, in order to secure its superiority over the other. 
I said, further, as my conviction was clear that these men had a right to assemble, and that 
to arrest them for so doing would be a violation of their rights as citizens, the inevitable 
consequence would be an appeal to me upon the failure of the courts to give them prompt 
redress, and that I would be compelled, by the order of General Grant, to release them and 
perhaps to arrest the sheriff, or those engaged in committing such an act ot violence. I there- 
fore begged that the sheriff, in case he should receive such a writ, would pot attempt to 
execute it. I said that we were all subject to a higher authority, and that in a very short 
time we could communicate with my military superiors, and receive instructions. Should 
it be found to be the policy of the government to have the meeting of the convention pre- 
vented we could do it; if not, we should permit it to take its course, and inasmuch as the 
arrests could be made on Tuesday, or any subsequent day, as well as on Monday, the party 
opposed to the convention could have no cause to complain of the delay. 

With this proposition the lieutenant governor readily acquiesced, and having informed me 
that he had already telegraphed to the President, I agreed to telegraph immediately to the 
Secretary of War and to communicate my instructions as soon as received to the civil au- 
thorities. Governor Voorhees at the same time promised that the sheriff should bring any 
writ that he received to me for my approval before proceeding to its execution. Every possi- 
ble contingency from which trouble could be anticipated seemed thus to be provided for, unless 
it might be the attack upon the convention and its supporters by unruly citizens opposed to 
it. I mentioned this, and remarked that such a disturbance, should it call for the interference 
of the troops to suppress it, would be highly injurious to the party which these gentlemen rep- 
resented. Governor Voorhees replied that it would be fatal, and undertook to have all persons 
not friendly to the proposed assemblage warned through the public prints to avoid the streets 
in the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute while the meeting was going on. With this the 
interview closed. The conversation was carried on chiefly by Lieutenaut Governor Voorhees 
and myself, Mayor Monroe making but few remarks; but I understood him to acquiesce in 
all that was said by the lieutenant governor and in the arrangements agreed upon between 
him and myself. 

No application whatever was made to me for the assistance of troops, and all that was said 
in relation to troops on this occasion was my remark that I would hold my men in hand, and 
that the contending parties must be careful not to come into collision, or 1 would intervene 
between them. By a glance at Mayor Monroe's letter of the 25th it will be seen that he makes 
no request for military assistance, but, on the contrary, desires the military to keep out of the 
way and permit him to carry out his purpose without interruption. The object of the visit to 
me on Saturday was to make a similar request, only that it was the sheriff and his posse in- 



458 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

stead of the mayor and bis police that was to operate in the latter ease. Not the slightest 
doubt was expressed as to the ability of either of these forces to make the arrests and close 
up the convention without disorder. Indeed, it is not probable that persons asking permis- 
sion to perform an act such as war, proposed would acknowledge the possibility of its creating 
a riot by asking For the presence of troops. I did remark that the sheriff must be very sure, 
in case he undertook to execute a writ of arrest, that it was done without disturbance of the 

()eace, and I was assured in reply that he would, in such case, simply walk aloue into the 
tall aud read his warrant to the assembly, summoning the members to submit to the mandate 
of the court. 

I was so well satisfied, in parting with these gentlemen, that every effort would be made fo 
prevent popular commotion upon the meeting of the convention, and that all exciting subjects 
would be laid aside until the orders of higher authority could be obtained, that I could not 
refrain from expressing to the lieutenant governor the pleasure which the interview had occa- 
sioned me. As soon as they departed I despatched to the Hon. Secretary of War a telegram 
of which the following is a copy: 

/'Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

"New Orleans, La., July 28, 18G6. 

" A convention has been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to meet here on 
Monday. The lieutenant governor and city authorities think it unlawful, and propose to 
break it up by arresting the delegates. I have given no orders on the subject, but have 
warned the parties that I should not countenance or peimit such action without instructions 
to that effect from the President. 
"Please instruct me by telegraph. 

"A. BAIRD, 
" Brevet Major General Cumtnanding. 
"Hon. E. M. Stanton, 

" Secretary of liar, Washington, D. C." 

To this, up to the present day, I have received no reply, nor has its receipt been acknowl- 
edged. 

During the day of Sunday, the 29th, I gave orders to the troops — one regiment ot which, 
a colored regiment, was quartered in the upper part of the city, and the other, a regiment of 
regular infantry, together with the battery at Jackson barracks, at the lower end of the 
city — to hold themselves throughout the day on Monday in readiness to march at a moment's 
notice ; to remain, however, within the limits of their respective camps. I also made 
arrangements for having a steamer at the barracks early in the morning, to keep up steam, 
and be ready to bring forward the troops rapidly to the point required. A swift tug was 
kept at the foot of Canal street, as the speediest method of conveying a message to the 
officer in command, should his services be called for. These dispositions for keeping our 
soldiers out of the streets of the city were made as much to prevent the excitement which 
any ostentation of military movement would have produced as to keep the men in readiness 
for service. For the same reason, the steamer sent to Jackson barracks was directed to 
move there at an hour when not likely to attract the attention of the public, so important 
did it appear, in order to quiet down the growing excitement, that military parade should be 
avoided. 

It will be observed, as I will show hereafter, that Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, even up 
to the hour of noon on Monday, did not, as he informed me, anticipate a breach of the peace. 
No member of the convention or friends of it, if attack was feared, came to me to represent 
the fact, and to ask provision for its safety. Judge Howell, the president, whom I have 
since asked why they did not notify me of their danger, replied that they had no conception 
of it themselves ; he and the rest went there unarmed, not sure that they might not be 
arrested or the meeting otherwise broken up, but with no idea that they would be subjected 
to violence. The large body of police belonging to the city was amply competent at 
any time, by thrusting itself between the two antagonistic parties, to separate them and 
arrest quietly the disorderly on both sides. It was stroug enough to have held a force equal 
to both the parties in the streets in subjection until the hour when the troops held in reserve 
could come up. Indeed, there was no hour during the continuance of the riot when perfect 
order might not have been restored, by a command to the police from its chiefs to put up 
their pistols, and turn round to request its friends and coadjutors in the work of riot to desist, 
clear the streets, and return to their homes. That the police force itself, the chosen guardian 
of the law, the conservator of public peace, should become the terrible rioter, which it did, 
was not to be calculated upon. We knew that there were bad men in that organization, 
and that its feelings were hostile to the convention ; but we believed them to be subject to 
the control of their officers, and, with all our knowledge of the depravity of the human 
heart, we could not have imagined them capable of such atrocities as were committed by 
them aud their friends against helpless negroes and Union white men. 

The commander who locates his reserve within proper supporting distance is not to be 
blamed for so doing because his front line of troops, put out to meet and fight the enemy, 
basely passed over to him. This is the sole parallel that military history can afford for such 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL BAIRD. 459 

treachery. Had I to prepare again for similar events, with the same, light upon me, I would 
make the same disposition. Those who contend that the violent deeds of the ;it >t li ultimo 
were planned, contrived, and determined upon beforehand in the office of the mayor, and the 
orders given out from that quarter, were careful to give me no such information in advance, 
and to convey no caution to me as to the want of fidelity of the police. To those persons con- 
nected with the ei\ il government who assert that they called for military assistance, (which 
IS incorrect.) and complain that it was not given them, it is a sufficient auswer to ask, against 
whom could the troops have operated 1 Against no one but their own organized forces, whom, 
by a word oi command, they could have removed from the scene and thus restored order. On 
Monday morning, the 30th ultimo, I read in the city papers the warning of the mayor to those 
hostile to the convention to keep away from its vicinity. This was in accordance with our 
agreement on Sunday, and as I did not doubt that its. effects would be good in preventing dis- 
order, I was much gratified. I also saw published the following telegram purporting to come 
from the President : 

"Washington, July 28, 1866. 
"ALBERT VOORHEES, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: 

" Silt : The military will be expected to sustain, and not obstruct or interfere with the pro- 
ceedings of the courts. A despatch on the subject of the convention was sent to Governor 
Wells this morning. 

"ANDREW JOHNSON." 

The authority of this despatch I saw no reason to doubt, but it was ambiguous as to the 
wishes of the government in relation to the convention. The difficulty lay in determining 
who were the legal authorities whom the military were expected to support and sustain. Judge 
Abell, of one of the State courts, had but recently, iu a charge to the grand jury of his district, 
denounced the convention of ld64 as unlawful, and for this, as well as for the sentiments ex- 
pressed by him, he had been arrested by the United States commissioner aud bound over for 
trial at the next session of the United States courts. The question then arose as between 
Judge Abell aud Judge Shannon., which was the military authority to recognize as the court 
intended by the President. The journals which published the despatch referred to, in com- 
menting upon it, remarked that while the department commander would doubtless give any 
assistance that might be required to the civil officers in breaking up the convention, none 
would be asked for, as none would be required. 

At about 1 1 o'clock of that day I was again called upon by Lieutenant Governor Voor- 
hees, and, after a short conversation, I informed him that I had, as yet, received no instruc- 
tions from the War Department, that I had no doubt as to my duty, and that I saw no 
reason for changing my course of action. I said, moreover, (I am sure it was at this inter- 
view I said it,) that, apart from the military consideration, by which alone I was governed, 
I thought it a very grave step for the friends of the President to take — to hang about his 
neck the responsibility of breaking up a convention sanctioned by the governor without 
knowing certainly that he (the President) desired it. Without instructions to that effect I 
could not approve it. 

Finding I did not propose to deviate from the course which we had agreed to take upon 
Saturday, it was reiterated in all its particulars. At this juncture, after having explained the 
disposition which I had made of the troops — that they were ready at Jackson barracks, three 
miles from Canal street ; that I had a steamer ready to bring them up, and a tug by which 
'to send word to them the very moment I might be informed that a crisis demanding their 
presence was likely to arise — I remarked that, were I not afraid my motives in bringing 
soldiers into the streets might be misunderstood, and regarded as a design to give military 
guardianship to the couveutiou, I would be glad to post a few men in the street on either 
side of the Mechanics' Institute, at a distance of one or two squares from it. The lieutenant 
governor seemed to be pleased with this proposition, and promised that such action should 
not be misinterpreted by his friends as a violation of neutrality which I wished to preserve. 
This acceptance of the services of troops proffered by me, not demanded from me, was the 
first thing approaching to an understanding or proposition relative to the presence of soldiers 
that passed between us or between me and any one. This, it may be observed, took place 
after the proposition to arrest the members of the convention, first by the mayor and then 
by the sheriff, had been given up, and the determination to permit the meeting to go on until 
instructions to the contrary had been decided upon. Can it be possible that the police 
and the men detailed as a sheriffs posse, having been instructed already to act upon the other 
hypothesis — that of preventing the assembly — were prepared and in position for that pur- 
pose, and for this reason were feared by their own leaders, now that another course was to 
• be pursued .' However this may be, I agreed to send to the barracks for four companies, 
and to have them somewhere in the street near by one hour before the convention should 
meet. I had acquired the impression, although I cannot now say who informed me, that the 
convention was not to meet until six o'clock in the evening. It may be that the hour of 
meeting was not mentioned during the interview which I now describe; but as it was then 
fast approaching 12 o'clock, the lieutenaut governor must have perceived that my propo- 
sition to send for the troops and have them on the ground in advance of the actual hour at 



460 NEW ORLEANS KIOTS. 

which the meeting was to take place (if he understood it to be 12 o'clock) was impossible, 
yet the erroneous impression was not corrected. Had the object of this call upon me been, 
as has been stated in the public prints, to ask from the military support for the civil force in 
a crisis which it was seen was likely to approach, the hour when the troops would be needed 
would not have been left in doubt, nor would other details of arrangements have been over- 
looked. 

The truth is, the lieutenant governor left me, declaring the belief that the day would pass 
off peaceably, and I was satisfied he was sincere. The real object in view was to induce me 
to recede from the position I had taken on Saturday, in consequence t of the telegram from 
the President, and to lend my sanction for dissolving the convention. 

As soon as he had departed 1 sent an officer to Jackson barracks to bring up the available 
men of the first infantry regiment, and to locate them near the levee on Canal street, so as 
to be out of the way, yet to be within reach if required. 

It was now about twelve o'clock, and being convinced from the many assurances I had 
received that citizens hostile to the meeting would, in obedience to the request of the civil 
authorities, keep out of the way, and that the police force would be on the ground to take 
into custody those guilty of the first disorders, I saw no chance for a disturbance unless it 
might aiise from* the accidental collision with disorderly white men of some of the colored 
persons who, it was said, might collect outside the building to protect the convention. I 
was satisfied from the natural peaeefulness of their character, that the negroes would never 
be aggressive, but felt that their appearance at such a time might provoke attack from low 
and ignorant white men, to whom they are always an object of hatred. To remove this last 
chance, as I supposed, of disorder, I desired to find some persons belonging to the convention 
to request that the members of the body themselves would meet with as little display as pos- 
sible. Not knowing the residence of any of them except Judge Howell, I took a carriage 
and drove to his house. On my arrival I learned, much to my surprise, that the convention 
had actually already met, and that the judge had already gone to it. I then returned im- 
mediately to my office, and soon after information was brought in with respect to the first 
acts' of 'disorder on Canal street. At once a second messenger was despatched to hasten for- 
ward the troops that had been sent for, and also to bring up the artillery. I likewise sent a 
staff officer to the hall of assembly to procure information as to the actual state of affairs. 
On his return he informed me that he had met Judge Howell in the governor's room, and 
learned from him that the convention had met soon after the hour of noon, and had adjourned 
lor want of a quorum, but that it would again assemble at 1.30 o'clock, and if no quorum 
was then present would adjourn over to the next day. He spok« of the disturbance which 
had taken place in the street, but did not seem to anticipate anything more serious. 

This report reassured me considerably as to the condition of affairs. About the same time 
a letter of Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, of which the following is a copy, was brought to 
me by a special messenger : 

"New Orleans, La., July 30, 1866. 

"Snt: I am informed that squads of the colored population are going about in the third 
district of. the city, that they have abandoned their work, and that others are coming into 
the city, also, from the upper part, and from Jefferson. How reliable this news is — or, at 
least, to what extent — I cannot say positively; at all events, I would suggest that an inquiry 
be made. The colored population is not answerable for these things; for, goaded as they 
are by inflammatory appeals to their passions and prejudices, it is astonishing that they 
have !.<>t already fallen into excesses. After leaving you, I called upon the mayor, who was 
pleased to know what co-operation he would have' from the military department. As a 
measure of prudence it would be well — should you, however, concur in tins view — to have 
a military force disseminated throughout the city, to act in conceit with the city police; but 
by all means in the vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute. At this very moment my messenger 
comes in and brings the information that a large number of freedmen are at the Mechanics' 
Hall, and that a great number of white people are in the vicinity. The excitement is 
increasing. The appearance of soldiers with policemen, at this moment, would be very 
beneficial. 

"I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"ALISERT VOORHEES, 

"Lieutenant Governor Louisiana. 

"Major General Baiud, New Orleans." 

In delivering it he remarked that the lieutenant governor was not sure of the correctness of 
the reports which he made, since they were founded on rumors brought in to him; yet he 
thought it well to give me the information. In reply, I stated that I had already sent two 
messengers tor the troops, and that I expected them every moment to arrive. 

From this time forward messengers continued constantly to come in, bringing news of the 
renewal of the riot, of the arrival of fresh bodies of police on the ground, and finally of the 
attack on the buiidiug itself. Among the last of these was Mayor Monroe, who came in 
hurriedly a little after two o'clock, and inquired "When the troops I proposed to bring up 
would arrive?" I replied, that by that very time they should be on Canal street. He then 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL BAIRD. 461 

asked, rather anxiously, "Will they be white troops?" "Will they act along with my 
police?" I replied that I would have some white troops, and that I would suppress the 
riot, no matter who were engaged in it. The interview lasted but a few moments, and theso 
three interrogations, together with my replies to him, constituted the entire conversation 
which passed between us on the occasion. They furnish a key to what, was passing in his 
mind at a time when he knew Lis police had gone beyond all bounds that could be justified 
by people ot any party, and felt the heavy weight which responsibility for their acts would 
impose upon those accountable for them. The statement he has since made, as to telling me 
then that he held me responsible lor the bloodshed of that day, is entirely erroneous. 

The error may have been worked up in his mind by the excitement of the occasion, in 
confounding subsequent thoughts with the events as they transpired., It is not probable that 
I would have received such an accusation without resenting it, nor would he have neglected, 
in stating his remarks, giving my replies, had I made any. I immediately mounted my 
horse and rode to Canal street, where the soldiers were then arriving. .This was about ;!. HI 
o'clock. The troops were at once moved up Canal street to the City Kail, where the assembly 
had met, but on the way encountered a large crowd of white men and boys, generally tinned 
with pistols, and many of them drunk and prepared for further-disorder. These were dis- 
persed by sending strong patrols to clear the various streets and wain people to retire to 
their homes. The Mechanics' Institute was already in the possession of the police, most of 
those who had been within its walls having been either killed, wounded, or captured and sent 
to prison. It would not be proper, in a report of this character, to state positively and min- 
utely what did occur during the riot. The testimony of sworn witnesses, which is now 
being taken by a board appointed for the purpose, will establish these facts beyond a doubt. 
It is enough for our present purpose to state that, according to the information we receive, 
the first act of disorder occurred as a procession of about one hundred and fifty colored men 
was moving through Canal street. These men were generally armed with clubs or sticks, 
and perhaps one in ten had a pistol. The procession was preceded with music and the 
American flag. It was fired upon, and the most trustworthy evidence goes to show that the 
shot came from a restaurant on Canal street. Another account states that the shot was fired 
by a negro in the procession at some one who attempted to take the flag from them. A rush 
was then made upon the procession by policemen and citizens, and perhaps a few more pistol 
shots were exchanged, but I find no evidence to that effect. In a few moments all w as over, 
and quiet restored; the police made three arrests and carried off their prisoners, while the 
colored men passed on to the Mechanics' Institute. There were very few persons injured in 
this encounter, probably not more than two or three. It was a very trifling affair, and was 
Suppressed easily. 

After this the colored people who were not inside the Mechanics' Institute were assembled 
in front of that building in Dryades street, occupying that position between Common and 
Canal streets. At the same time the hostile citizens were collecting in Canal and Common 
streets, but slightly separated from the negro gathering. The entire number of persons, in- 
cluding the convention and those friendly to it, both inside and outside the building, I esti- ■ 
mate about rive or six hundred men. 

"While things remained in this condition, at about half-past one o'clock, as nearly as I can 
ascertain the hour, a body of police came up Dauphin street into Canal street, and passing 
through the crowd of citizens entered thence into Dryades street, which brought them upon 
the collection of negroes in front of the Institute. 

Simultaneously with this my staff officer met a party of near one hundred police going 
down Carondelet street, whose officer informed him they were going to suppress the, riot. 
This party turned down Common street, and on reaching Baronne street detached a portion 
of its force to occupy the rear outlet of 1 Mechanics' Institute on that street. The rest passed 
on to Dryades street, where it came upon the colored crowd on the side opposite to those who 
came from Canal. These bodies of police are said to have been summoned to the spot by the 
ringing of the city bells. Everything shows preconcerted action. The police, armed with 
pistols and clubs, followed and supported by citizens, charged upon the negroes, having given 
no notice to disperse, and having- made no attempt to peaceably arrest them. There was a 
pile of bricks at hand, and the colored people defended themselves with these and their sticks 
as well as with such pistols as they had — less than one to every tenth num. They were soon 
overpowered, and those who could do so found a refuge within the convention hall. The 
1 building was afterwards assaulted, the police firing their pistols into the windows, and when 
an entrance was effected, they forced their way up to the lauding on the second story, and 
there found the door of the hall barricaded. 

At length, by some strategy, those in the hall were induced to open the door, when the 
police rushed in and emptied their revolvers into the assemblage. Those within, being feebly 
armed, could make but little resistance, and the policemen, retiring to reload, returned to 
repeat the same operation. When any of the conventionists succeeded in being passed out 
to the front of the building, they were there met by a cordon of police, surrounded by another 
cordon of citizens, and attempting to surrender to the first, they were frequently shot down 
by the men whom they begged to take them into custody. This course was continued until 
the work was completed. 

During the riot, a fire company arrived in the rear of the building, by which passage many 



462 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

were trying to escape, and at once halted to unite with the policemen there, and take part in 
the work of slaughter. Other large bodies of police, regularly organized, also came in from 
the station-houses, sooner or later, to unite with the forces already engaged. It is also re- 
ported that men were passed through the crow T d by friendly policemen, who tied about their 
necks white handkerchiefs as an evidence that they belonged to some one of the organizations 
of citizens present. I do not report these things as perfectly correct in every particular, for 
I hold my judgment in abeyance until access can be had to the evidence, which the commis- 
sion will adduce. They are, however, credibly reported to me, and they leave no room to 
doubt that the riots of the 30th ultimo present a picture of atrocity having no parallel in 
American history. 

At the time when I located the troops in the centre of the city, and cleared the crowds from 
the adjacent streets, I was of course ignorant of most of the particular incidents of the riot, 
but the evidence was overwhelming that the police had been faithless to its duty, and had 
been riotous throughout; that in truth it led the riot, and it was therefore necessary to take 
this force under control. All negroes, all Union citizens of Louisiana, and all northern men, 
so far as I can learn, were in a state of terror. The approach of a policeman they regarded as 
that of an executioner. Prominent citizens sought refuge or concealment in the houses of 
friends, and even the governor of the State, during the night, sent for a guard to protect his 
life. For days subsequent to the riot the meeting of two or three of the police near the house of 
a Union man was regarded as sufficient to justify a removal at night or a demand for a military 
guard, and with this state of feeling, whether it had any just foundation or not, a renewal of 
riot and disorder ruight at any moment have been anticipated. Persons being frightened 
would naturally, at the approach of fancied danger, gather together for defence, and blood- 
shed would probably follow. It was necessary to reassure them, which could only be done 
by an announcement of military protection, and notice to the police that they were taken 
under the supervision of a power that would hold them to accountability for their acts. To 
accomplish this object I issued an order proclaiming martial law. It was not one of the 
ordinary eases calling for such a step, where the civil force, having resisted to the last degree 
the violence of the mob and is overcome, asks for assistance and puts itself under the protec- 
tion of the military power, but the very unusual case of the civil force becoming the aggressor 
and giving way to excesses which had to be restrained. 

There can be no question that it was necessary, and I am confident that great loss of life 
and much destruction of property during Monday night were prevented thereby. That a 
crisis had arisen demanding some extraordinary step is admitted in the following proclama- 
tion of Mayor Monroe, given to the public about the time I issued my order : 

"Mayoralty of New Orleans, City- Hall, July 30, 1866. 

"Whereas the city is in a state of great agitation, arising out of the riots precipitated by 
a revolutionary faction ; and whereas it is absolutely necessary that order should be restored 
and violence suppressed : 

" Therefore, I, John T. Monroe, mayor of the city of New Orleans, do call on all such citizens 
as are willing to assist in maintaining the peace to appear at the City Hall this da}', at 6 p. m., 
to be sworn in as extra policemen. No one not holding my authority will be allowed to make 
any arrest. 

"All good citizens, with the exception of those on duty, are requested to retire to their 
homes, and not to assemble in crowds in the public streets. 

"JOHN T. MONROE, Mayor." 

No man has been injured by this declaration of martial law, while many have been bene- 
fited, and I recommend that it be maintained until a full report iu relation to the riot, together 
with evidence, which is being taken, can be submitted to the government for such order as 
the wisdom of the President may dictate. In the evening on Monday, about the time I de- 
clared the city under military control, Sheriff Hays brought to me, on the street, a warrant 
for the arrest of the prominent members of the convention. It was a time wbeu no further 
exciting movements could be permitted with safety, and telling him that it could upt be done, 
I made upon the writ the following indorsement: 

"The sheriff will withhold action on this writ until further orders. 

"A. BAIRD, 
" Brevet Major General Conul'ing DepH." 

Two days subsequently I received from the Adjutant General a telegram, of which the fol- 
lowing is a copy : 

" To General A. Baird, commanding the Department of Louisiana : 

"You will not interpose any obstacle in the way of the civil authorities, but render what- 
ever aid may be required by them for the preservation of the public peace. The foregoing 
telegram is transmitted to you by order of the President. You will acknowledge its receipt. 

"E. D. TOWNSEND, 
" Assistant Adjutant General." 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL BAIRD. 



4G3 



On the receipt of this I sent, for the writ, still in the hands of the sheriff, and wrote beneath 
my former indorsement as follows : 

"Headquarters Department op Louisiana, 

"New Orleans, August 2, 1866. 
" The necessity for the above order having ceased to exist, no further impediment will he 
placed in the way of executing- the writ. 

"A. BAIRD, 
"Brevet Major General Com'ding Dcp't." 

In consequence of this, I am informed that the arrests were soon after made. But Major 
General Kautz, having- been appointed military governor of the city, gave early attention to 
the condition of the wounded and prisoners, with whom the cells of all the prisons and station- 
houses were filled. The officers sent out for the purpose found the wounded and the well 
crowded together in a disgusting and sickening manner, without any proper care for their 
sufferings. They were, however, being rapidly paroled and released by order of the civil 
authorities. Against many there were no charges whatever, and against no one was it charged 
that he had been accessory to the killing of any one during the day. I have yet likewise 
to learn that a single individual of those hostile to the convention had been arrested. The 
officers made diligent inquiry, and could hear of no one. Upon their report General Kautz 
then ordered that the work commenced by the civil government should be continued, and 
that all persons arrested against whom there was no accusation of crime should be released. 
In order to ascertain the number of killed and wounded upon either side, I have caused Sur- 
geon Hartsuff, U. S. A., to make an investigation and report. He called upon the proper 
city officials for their statement, and has sought for information in every quarter. No doubt 
there were men killed and wounded concerning whom he could obtain no information. The 
following is his report: 

Names, nature of icotmds^'c, obtained. 







> 
<x> 


bp 


T3 

O 

s 


a 

3 

CD 

'3 

a 

h- 1 


o 
O 


3 
o 




2 
34 

37 


4 
4 

■Id 

48 


4 
5 

JL 

88 
10 


4 

3 

44 

51 

7 


1 

2 

30 

33 
1 


3 

4 

45 

52 
2 


9 




11 




153 

173 
20 


Total 






1 
38' 
10 

48 




1 




48 
20 
68 


98 


• 

58 


34 


54 


194 

30 


Supposed in addition to above, colored citizens attending 


Total 


98 


58 


34 


54 


224 





* Positive evidence concerning these could not be obtained. 

This exposition of thirty-seven certainly, and two more probably, killed on the side of the 
convention, against a single citizen on the side of the city authorities ; of forty-eight severely 
wounded on the side of the convention, and not a single man in that category upon the other 
side ; and of eighty-eight certain, and twenty more probable, cases of slight wounds among the 
friends of the convention, and but ten such cases among the police and its friends, is highly 
significant. In a report which has been submitted to the President, signed by Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Voorhees, Attorney General Herron, and Mayor Monroe, it is stated that "the collision 
was in every instance brought about by the armed mob sustaining the convention ;" likewise 
that they were well armed, since "forty-two " policemen and several "citizens " were either 
killed or wounded by them. Seeing this, Dr. Hartsuff called upon the chief of police for a 
list of casualties, and in reply received a statement that twenty-two had been injured; one 
of these had died from over-fatigue. 

Dr. Hartsuff visited the rest, and found some uninjured, while but the ten whom he reports 
were well enough to be on duty the next day. It will be remembered, in this connection, 
that the police assaulted a building in which the so-called rioters had barricaded themselves, 



4G4 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS 

and, while the wall of this building opposite the entrance was covered with bullet-marks, but 
three or four can be found on the side by which the police entered. 

Most of those killed received one or nunc pistol-shots, and of the wounded, Dr. Hartsuff 
found fifty-one such wounds on the part of the convention party, against seven on the part 
of the police. 

All of this goes to establish which party was armed and organized, and which exorcised the 
violence, notwithstanding that nearly every policeman swears that they were generally un- 
armed, and that he did not see a shot fired by them. 

A. BAIRD, 
Brevet Major General Com' ding Dep't. 
Lieut. Col. George Lee, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 



Washington, D. C, January 17, 18G6. 
LOUIS V. CAZIARC, lieutenant 11th United States infantry, sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

6621. State where you were on the 30th of July, 1866, and what your position then was. 
I was brevet captain of volunteers and aide-de-camp to .Major General Canby. I was 

left by him in New Orleans, and assigned to duty with General Baird, and was holding the 
same position with reference to General Baird at the headquarters of the department of 
Louisiana. 

6622. Were you in the city of New Orleans on the 30th of July ? 
I was. 

6623. Do you remember the interview which occurred on that day between Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhees and General Baird ? 

I do. 

6624. State at what time that interview took place. 

I should think it was after 11 o'clock in the morning and before 12. He was there but 
once that forenoon, to my knowledge. 

6625. State what means you have for fixing the time. 

General Band's office- hours were usually from 12 O'clock till 2 or 3, he being engaged 
before 12 on his duty in charge of the Freedmeu's Bureau in another office in the city. 
On this day he arrived shortly after myself — soon after 10 o'clock. It was some three-quar- 
ters of an hour, I should say, before Lieutenant Governor Voorhees called, after General 
Laird's arrival. The fact is distinct in my mind, as I had occasion to refer to the hour at 
the time General Baird's report was written, and at the time I gave evidence before the mil- 
itary wmmission. !So the time has become fixed. 

6626. If you have any knowledge as to General Baird's belief concerning the time when 
the convention was to assemble on that day, please state it. 

I know that the general supposed that the convention would meet at 6 o'clock in the after- 
noon. I do not know the source of his information. 

6627. State how yim know that such was his belief.' 

From the fact that the general sent me to the convention about half-past 12 o'clock. in the 
afternoon. He having heard that the convention was in session, and not fully believing it, 
desired to have some confirmation of the report : and I was to recommend, if it had met, 
that it should hold no evening session. This was after the general had returned from a 
visit to the house of Judge Howell, where he had been informed that Mr. Howell had al- 
ready gone to the convention, which was to meet at 12 o'clock. 

6628. Slate whether you went to the convention, as General Baird required. 

I went immediately to the convention, where I arrived at a few minutes before one o'clock. 

662U. Did you see Judge Howell? 

I saw Judge Howell and several other members of the convention in the room of Governor 
Wells. 

<;i'>:;o. Was that during the recess of the convention ? 

It was after the adjournment of the session, and before the hour appointed for its meeting 
at one o'clock. 

6631. Did you say to Judge Howell what General Baird desired respecting the evening 
session ? 

I did. 

6632. Did you state to him that General Baird had been under the impression that the con- 
vention was not to meet till evening? 

I did. 

6633. Sta'e whether anything was said concerning a proposed arrest on the part of the 
civil authorities; and if so, what. 

Judge Howell said' that if any arrest by the civil authorities was demanded, in proper 
form, it would be submitted to without resort to any resistance by force or otherwise. 



TESTIMONY OF LOUIS V. CAZIARC. 465 

6634. Was that communicated by you to General Baird? 

It was. I received it officially from Judge Howell and communicated it to General Baird. 

6635. Do you know how long it was after you left Judge Howell before the attack was 
made on the convention 1 

I left Judge Howell about one o'clock, with the intention of returning as soon as possible, 
after the one o'clock session had begun ; and I went at once in the direction of headquarters 
to report my interview with Mr. Howell to General Baird. In turning from the street on 
which Mechanics' Institute is situated, Iwent down Canal street, with the intention of going 
up Carondelet. On reaching the corner of Canal and Carondelet, and hearing a sharp firing 
in the direction of the Institute, I returned far enough to satisfy myself that there was trou- 
ble existing-, and as soon as I had satisfied myself of that I returned at once to headquarters 
to report that shooting was going on in front of, and near to, the Institute. The firing had 
extended to the corner of Carondelet and Common streets, and could be distinctly seen and 
heard from that corner in the direction of the Institute. The crowd was, at that time, very 
large, and all the stores on Canal street and in the vicinity of the Institute were being closed 
or Mere closed. The shutters were being put up in most of the stores at the time I left that 
vicinity for the Institute, when I first went there. 

6636. Were you present at the interview which Lieutenant Governor Voorhees had with 
General Baird .' 

I was not ; no one was present. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6637. Did you look at your watch to fix any of the times you have mentioned when the 
occurrences took place ? 

I cannot say about that. The first time is fixed from its connection with my arrival at 
headquarters and the time at which I left headquarters to go to the Institute. The time that 
I went to the Institute is fixed by watch ; the time that I came back is not. But I left the 
Institute previous to the meeting of the convention at the one o'clock session, and it was but 
a few minutes before it was to meet. I expected to be somewhat late in returning there, 
because I had to go to headquarters and back, which was some distance, expecting to be 
delayed there for some minutes, and it was a very warm day. 

6038. You say the time that you went to the Institute was fixed by watch ; was it fixed by 
you at the time looking at your own watch ? 

It was. The convention adjourned but a few minutes after half past twelve. I arrived 
there immediately after it had adjourned and before its one o'clock meeting, so that the time 
may be considered correct both by my watch and by those events. 

6639. How long after you had had the interview with Judge Howell was it that you 
reported it to General Baird ? 

Not longer than from five to eight minutes afterwards ; as soon as I could travel from the 
Institute to headquarters, which would be in about that time. 

6640. Did you see Lieutenant Governor Voorhees when he called that morning on General 
Baird > 

I did, and introduced him into the general's room, as I did all visitors. I know the lieu- 
tenant governor personally. 

6641. How long did he remain there? 

But a few minutes. He came out through my office. 

6642. Do you know how long it was afterwards before General Baird left the office ? 
Almost immediately. 

6643. How long was he away ? 

About half an hour, as near as I can recollect. 

6644. How did he go away ? 

In a carriage. < 

6645. Did you see him return ? 

I did ; and his instructions were given to me at the moment he did return. 

6646. Did you receive a message at the hands of any messenger sent by Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Voorhees and directed to General Baird ? 

I received a message at the hands of a messenger intended for General Baird, but, I think, 
not officially addressed to him, and I conveyed it to the general. 

6647. Do you know what the message related to ? 

I think it reported the arrival of a messenger at the lieutenant governor's office with the 
report that a riot was progressing at the Institute. It was written in pencil and on a scrap 
of paper, as near as I recollect. I recollect it as ah entirely unofficial communication. 

6048. Did you read it ? 

I did. 

6649. By whom was it sent ? 

By Lieutenant Governor Voorhees. 

6650. Do you know the messenger ? 
I do not. 

6651. Can you describe his appearance? 
I cannot. 

30 N o 



466 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6652. Did you receive any other message in reference to the same subject from Lieutenant 
Governor Voorliees, to be delivered to General Baird ? 

No, sir ; I received only the message I have referred to, very shortly after my own return 
from the Institute and after I had reported the facts to the general. I found, on my return to 
headquarters from the Institute, that the general was awaiting notice of the receipt of his 
despatch to the commanding officer at Jackson barracks for the movement of his troops to 
the city, and the messenger shortly afterwards returned with a written receipt for the same. 
The despatch had been sent during the time I was absent at the Institute. 



Washington, D. C, Thursday, January 17, 1867. 
JAMES K. BELDEN sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

6653. State your age and residence. 

My age is sixty-two ; I live in New Orleans. 

6654. For what length of time have you lived in Louisiana ? 
For forty years. 

6655. What public positions, if any, have you held in the State ? 

I have been in every variety of public position in the State, I believe, except the office of 
governor. I have been for some time officiating as one of the judiciary of the State. I was 
one of the district judges of the State. 

6656. For what length of time ? 

For several years ; I do not recollect how long. 

6657. State the positions you have held? 

I was a member of the police jury, a kind of miuature legislature, regulating the internal 
affairs of the parishes. I was also one of the public school directors. I do not recollect any 
other office that I held. 

6658. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th July last? 

I was not. I was a member of the convention, but I did not get there until after the diffi- 
culty had taken place on the 30th. I left this city in July, very shortly before the adjourn- 
ment of Congress, about the 24th or 25th, and I reached New Orleans on the morning of the 
31st July. I had left here with the hope of getting to New Orleans in time to attend the 
opening of the session, but I did not. 

6659. Had you knowledge of the purposes for which the convention was called, and of the 
manner in which the convention intended to proceed ? 

A very fall knowledge. 

6660. Please state it. 

The purpose of the convention was simply this : To meet and ascertain whether we had a 
quorum of the members who had met in convention in 1864; and if we had not we expected 
io continue the session until that quorum was brought down to us. Then we expected to 
effect such changes in the organic law of the State as we thought the exigencies of the case 
required, and to submit our work to the people for ratification or rejection. 

HiJiJl. Was it your expectation to proceed in that until after the writs of election were filled ? 

O, not at all, sir ; not at all. I think I conversed with nearly every member of the con- 
vention, and I do not think there was such an understanding on the part of any of the mem- 
bers of the convention. 

666U. Then your intention was to meet, ascertain the vacancies, remain until a quorum 
could bo obtained, if practicable, and then adjourn until the writs of election had been tilled, 
wheu you would come together as a full convention? 

That was all ; and 1 think it transparent to the world, from the fact that the governor of 
the State was called upon to issue notices of election, and he did so. 

6663. What opportunities have you had during the last year of knowing the state of 
ing and condition of affairs existing in the State of Louisiana? I mean the state of feeling 
towards the Union men, and those who had been friends of the Union during the rebellion. 

My opportunities have been \aiious. 1 have perhaps communed as freely with the people 
of the State of Louisiana as any man in it, and I think my long residence and visitations in 
the various parishes of the State and the general acquaintance I have with the people enable 
me to speak understanding^ on that point. 

66'J4. State now what that feeling is on the part of the citizens of Louisiana. 

Very shortly after the surrender it was not so bitter as it is now ; but occurrences in the 
capital here, as we suppose, have intensified that feeling, and a degree of bitterness exists 
now on the part of the rebel population of Louisiana against the loyal population which is 
scarcely to he described. I know it has found its way and ramified itself into every depart- 
ment of society, and particularly into the judiciary. I have a son in that city, a very prominent 
lawyer, and who was speaker of the first house of representatives under this constitution 
which is so objectionable to that population, and every effort is made by those who are 
opposed to my policy to cut down not only bis practice but the practice of every other loyal lawyer 
iu the city, so much so that many of them are disposed to sell out and seek fortunes in other 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES K. BELDEN. 467 

climes. When I speak thus I do not want the committee to understand me as speaking alone 
for the city in which I live — the feeling is almost universal in Louisiana. 

6(>(if>. in whose hands is the power of the government in State and city substantially ? 

In the hands of the former rebels, as they were called, and of the must uncompromising 
rebels that we had in that part of the country. I intend that remark to apply to the State, 
because I do not think there is a loyal man outside of the city of New Orleans holding office. 
I am sure there is not. I think I know them all, or, at all events, a great many of them. 

6666. You have spoken of the feeling existing there towards loyal practitioners at the bar ; 
does that same feeling extend to other professions? State as well as you can how it shows 
itself. 

In the category precisely as the other does. It embraces all the professions in the city. 
I know instances of clerks having been discharged by their employers for the sole reason 
that they happened to have held positions in the federal army. I might mention the case 
particularly of Colonel Jones, a clerk : but there are various others. 

6067. Supposing that the military protection of the government should be withdrawn, and 
matters were permitted to take care of themselves in Louisiana, what, from your knowledge 
of the population, would be your judgment as to tin 1 result? 

I would not remain there, gentlemen, an hour — not one hour; and I think when I speak 
for myself I speak for all who would be able to get away. 

6668. Why not ? 

I think it would be hazardous to life and property to remain there. I do not offer that as a 
matter of opinion. I think it is a fact. I want the committee to understand that there is not 
a man in Louisiana who enjoys a larger measure of the confidence of both sides than I do. 
I have been consistently Union from the commencement, and both sides know where to place 
me. 

6668i. What, in your judgment, is the legislative remedy for this condition of affairs in 
Louisiana ? <• 

I hardly know how to answer the question. I have thought much about it, and have cor- 
responded with some members of Congress on the subject, and unfolded my views to them. 
I can, if the committee desire, give what I have written to General Banks, Mr. Stephens, 
and some others. 

6669. We want your judgment on the subject. 

My opinion is that if we could have a governor and legislative council of four or five 
members, and could exclude for a time all those who were connected directly or indirectly 
with the rebellion, giving to the loyal people of the State the control of the affairs, leaving 
those gentlemen who endeavored to disrupt and destroy the government to remain in a kind 
of probationary state for a while, as they do in the Methodist church, until thoroughly satis- 
fied that they are in a condition to be taken into full membership, we could get along — not 
otherwise. But I would qualify that remark by saying that we could not even then get 
along unaided by the military Military assistance in any attempt to organize is indispensable. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6670. You have, in a former answer, alluded to one fact which you think indicates that the 
public knew the purpose of the convention not to act until after the election — that fact being 
the publication of the governor's call for an election. I wish, first, to ask you whether that 
call was published in the city papers before the riot ? 

Yes, sir; but a very short time before it. 

6671. State whether the members of the convention communicated the purpose which you 
have described to the people, in conversation or otherwise, or whether they kept this purpose 
to themselves ? 

They did not keep it to themselves so far as I know. So far as I am individually con- 
cerned I spoke freely about the purposes of the convention, and my impression is that that 
was the case with other members. I saw no disposition to conceal anything at all. 

6672. Then your testimony is that your conversation with the members of the convention 
was general, and that in that way you knew the purpose of the members ? 

I did. 

6673. And you also state that that purpose was not to take any steps to modify the con- 
stitution until after the September election ? 

That was it, sir. 

6674. And, further, that it was not the purpose to put your action into operation in any 
form as law or constitution until after the people of Louisiana should have had an opportunity 
to vote for it ? 

That was the understanding. 

6675. You have spoken about the governments of the city of New Orleans and of the State 
of Louisiana being in disloyal hands, or in the hands of men who were disloyal? 

Yes, sir. 

6076. I want to ask you some questions about individual members of the government. 
Give us, first, the conduct and history, in brief, of Mayor Monroe, before the taking of the 
city of New Orleans by the federal troops. 

That is a matter of history. 



468 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6677. We want to get some of that history on record. State, in brief, what his acts were? 
Mr. Monroe I regarded as one of the most decided secessionists that we had in that region 

of country, more particularly at the time of the approach of Admiral Farragut's fleet. 

6678. I want to get at what he did? 

I do not know any particular isolated act of Mayor Monroe. 

6679. As to Lieutenant Governor Voorhees, what connection had he, if any, with the 
rebellion ? 

I do not know that Governor Voorhees had any immediate connection with the rebellion. 
At the time of the breaking out of the rebellion he was one of the associate judges of the 
supreme court of that State. He lived not far from me and I often met him. I know that 
the conduct of Governor Voorhees, as was the case with almost every man in St. Martins- 
ville, where he lived, was such as to produce bitter discontent against the government. I 
know, also, that Governor Voorhees was a political prisoner in New Orleans during the ad- 
ministration of General Banks, and also of General Hurlbut. He was there for a year 
a prisoner, part of the time a paroled prisoner. He told me, repeatedly, that he had been 
offered his release on his taking the amnesty oath of December 8, 1803, but he refused to 
take it. 

6680. What were the antecedents of Attorney General Herron? 

I think that the antecedents of General Herron, until he was absolutely forced into the re- 
bellion, as a good many others were, were about as correct as most men. 

6681. Was he connected with the rebellion ? 
He was. 

66S2. How? 

He was a colonel or a general, I do not recollect which, in the rebel army. I think that 
General Herron was regarded as a co-operationist at the time of the election of members for 
the seceding convention. 
By Mr. Boyer : 

6683. Of which one of the district courts were you judge? 
Of the third judicial district of Louisiana. 

6684. When did you become judge of that court? 
In 1863 or 1864. 

6685. How long did you continue in office ? 
Until the meeting of the last legislature. 

6686. Did your term then expire? 

No, sir. I resigned, knowing there would be no confirmation of my appointment by that 
body, and I did not want to give them an opportunity of rejecting me. 

6687. By whom were you appointed? 

By Governor Halm. I was appointed during his administration ; but I believe the appoint- 
ment was made during his absence and by Lieutenant Governor Voorhees. 

6688. Were not the appointments to the bench of some other Union men confirmed by that 
legislature? 

Yes. Judge Bailey, of the eighth judicial district, I think, was confirmed by that legisla- 
ture. He is regarded as a Union man. He was a member of the convention in 1864, and I 
think one of the votes he gave there commended him to the rebel element. 

6689. He was a Union man, however. 
O, yes, sir. 

6690. A reliable one? 
Vi's, sir. 

669J . Do you know of any of the judges of the supreme court whose nominations were con- 
firmed by that legislature ? 

Yes, sir. They were all confirmed by the first legislature, not by that legislature. The 
supreme court was organized by the first legislature that met after the adoption of the con- 
stitution. 

6692. You say that you were well acquainted with the intentions of the members of the 
convention in reference to the proposed action of the convention. Are you also acquainted 
with what were their declared intentions, as proclaimed by the speakers at the meeting held 
in New Orleans on the Friday evening before the convention met .' 

I was north at that time. I did not know anything about it. 

6693. Did you come to Washington for the purpose of consulting any one with reference 
to the convention ? 

I did not. I was chairman of the levy board, and in that capacity I visited Washington. 

6694. Did you meet Judge Howell on that occasion? 
No, sir. 

6695. Where do you reside now ? 
In New Orleans. 

6696. AVhen did you last leave New T Orleans? 
(in the 6th of December. 

6697. Have you continued to reside in New Orleans during the war and since ? 

Most of the time. I went there for protection six times in seven months, before I was ar- 
rested and was forced to leave the confederate lines. 



TESTIMONY OP JAMES K. BELDEN. 469 

6698. Where were you arrested ? 

I was arrested in that part of the State that was held by the confederates. It was only 
after the surrender that the entire State came within the federal lines. 
66'M. Did you receive protection at New Orleans ! 
I did — full and complete. 

6700. Since the rebellion has been suppressed, have you been in any way molested at New 
Orleans ? 

Never. I have been treated with as much kindness and consideration as I have ever been. 

6701. Has not that kindness and consideration been shown to you by all parties 1 
It lias been by both sides, but not by all the members of both sides. 

6702. But you have received kindness and consideration from all parties? 
Yes, sir; more particularly within the past five or six weeks. 

6703. Have you been engaged in any business there since the close of the rebellion ? 
No, sir. I qualify that question by saying that after the rebellion was quieted I continued 

to exercise my judicial functions until the meeting of the legislature. 

6704. But since you have retired from the bench you have not been in business ? 
No, sir; except speculating a little at times. 

6705. Except on the occasion of that riot in July, do you know of any one man who, for 
bis Union sentiments, has suffered violence in New Orleans since the rebellion ? 

Personal violence — no, sir. I have heard of it, but do not know it. 

6706. You say it was the intention of the members of the convention to submit the consti- 
tution to a vote of the people. Do you know what Avere the main changes contemplated by 
them in the constitution thus to be submitted ? 

I think they would have attempted to restraiu the right of suffrage. That was the principal 
feature iu which they desired to change the constitution. 

6707. Restrain it, in what way ? 

Allow none to vote except those who had been loyal to the government. 

6708. Except those who had been loyal to the government throughout the rebellion ? 
Throughout the rebellion. At all events it was a suggestion of mine. I would have 

voted for it. 

6709. Then that would have disfranchised all those who had at any time during the war 
participated on the side of the rebellion? 

Yes, sir ; that was my notion about it. There were others who differed with me in that 
opinion. 

6710. How did you expect" a ratification of such a change by the people of the State of 
Louisiana ? 

I should not have permitted any except those who were loyal to have had any participation 
in the matter at all. 

6711. Then you would have disfranchised them before submitting the constitution to their 
vote? 

Yes, sir. I would have done that. 

6712. "Was there to be any change in regard to the political rights of the colored people ? 
Yes sir. 

6713. What was that? 

To place them on the same platform of equality with myself and others, and give them 
the voting privilege. That was the only change. 

6714. Was it intended to extend suffrage to the colored people on equal terms with white 
voters ? 

The members of the convention, as I understood, were divided on that subject. Some of 
them wanted restricted suffrage, to restrict it to such as were able to read or write, or as had 
a property qualification. Others were disposed to let the colored people vote indiscriminately, 
and that was my opinion. 

6715. Did you meet with the members of the convention who held a preliminary meeting 
in the office of Mr. Cutler ? 

Not at the office of Mr. Cutler, but I did at the Mechanics' Institute. 

6716. How long before the 30th of July? 

I do not recollect the precise time, but it could not have been a great while because I came 
directly on here after that. When I speak of the preliminary meeting at the Mechanics' 
Institute, I mean that meeting at which Judge Howell was appointed president, in place of 
Judge Durell, who was president of the convention. I do not know how long that was 
before the massacre, but it was not a great while. 

6717. Was it not at a meeting held at Judge Howell's office that he was selected as 
president? 

No, sir; it was at the Mechanics' Institute. 

6718. How many persons who had been members of the convention of 1864 met together 
on that occasion? 

I should think between thirty and forty. I am not certain as to numbers, but I think 
about that number. 

6719. You think that if a governor was appointed in Louisiana, and a legislative council, 



470 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

composed of four or five members and supported liy military authority, the government of 
Louisiana might be administered in a proper way? 
I think so. 

6720. How long would you continue a government of that description in the State? 
Until I came to the conclusion that the hostility of the other element had ceased, and I do 

not think that would be very long 

6721 . Do yon think that before very long a majority of those who had participated in the 
rebellion would consent to be deprived of political rights and consent to negro suffrage? 

I do not believe that the leaders in the State of Louisiana would ever consent to negro 
suffrage. 

6722. Do you think they would consent to being disfranchised ? 

I do not think they would willingly consent to it. I think there are very many good men 
in the State who participated in the rebellion who would be willing to be deprived of their 
voting privileges if they could see the country quieted. That opinion is expressed by a good 
many. 

6723. Do you think that former rebels ought, at any time, to be admitted into full commu- 
nion of citizenship with the original Union men of Louisiana? 

My opinion is that there is a portion of that body which never should vote under any cir- 
cumstances, while there is a large portion of them who were forced into the rebel army under 
the conscript law who had been good Union men. 

6724. Would you consider it a good test of their loyalty and fitness to be admitted into 
political communion if they were willing to give all the offices in the State to those who 
think as you do ? 

No, I would not. 

6725. But would you not consider that a good evidence of loyalty? 

If the leaders of the rebellion in Louisiana were willing to accede to a proposition of that 
kind, as disfranchised men, I do not know how I would regard it. 

6726. Is not the main difficulty in Louisiana, in your opinion, arising from the fact that 
men who were in some way connected with the rebellion are elected to office? 

Well, I do not think so ; I think it has its influence. 

6727. If none but those who are in favor of the measures proposed by the convention were 
elected to office, would you regard that as a remedy for existing evils — I mean the conven- 
tion that attempted to meet on the 30 th of July? 

I should most certainly answer your question affirmatively provided they were elected by 
those men whom the convention would have recommended to the people of the State as voters. 

6728. Would you consider it even objectionable that men who had been rebels should vote 
for such men ? 

I would. 

6729. Then you would be opposed to their voting in any event? 

Under any circumstances. That is, those who were most active in the rebellion; but as 
to that class of men who, in virtue of the conscript law, were forced into the rebel army, I 
would adopt something like the rule laid down in the Methodist church — keep them out for 
a short time. 

6730. Then even those who had been conscripted you would keep "on the anxious bench" 
for some time longer? 

I would, and for this reason : I know a good many men who were devoted Union men at 
the commencement of the struggle, 'and who went into the rebel army reluctantly — slave- 
holders — and who labored under the impression that when the war came to a close their 
property, or its value, would be restored to them. The fact of no discrimination being made 
between tin m and the real secessionists, ab origine, has thrown them out of gear, and for that 
reason I would deprive them of the voting privilege until I was thoroughly satisfied they 
were right. 

6731. Can you state how long, in your opinion, it would take to enable you to be thor- 
oughly satisfied on that point? 

Ay r or two ; I think about two years. 

6732. And ought there to be no grace for any of the rest? 

I would not give them any if I had any control of the matter. I do not speak of the en- 
tire body, but only of those who were most active in bringing about that state of things. I 
never would permit them, under any circumstances, to vote, if I could control it. 

6733. Would you allow any of them to vote who belonged to the rank and file of the rebel 
army, who volunteered in the service ? 

Yes, sir. 

6734. How long would you keep them on probation? 

I think I would require the same probation from them as from the others. 

6735. Then you think that finally all ought to be allowed to vote? 
No, sir; not at all. All with the exception of the leaders. 

673G. What description of men would you include in that denomination? 

I should begin with the signers of the ordinance of secession. I should designate byname 
John Slidell, Mr. Benjamin, General De Clouet, Duncan F. Kenner, and others of that class, 
with a variety of others whom I could name. 



LORENZO L. CROUNSE. 471 

6737. I understood you to say that you, with other members of the convention, were in 
avor of putting a clause into the constitution of the State disfranchising all who had partici- 
pated in the rebellion? 

That was my notion. I did not say it was the universal feeling among the members. 
There was a division of opinion on that subject. 

6738. Was there any considerable number that agreed with you ? 
I do not recollect how many; there were several of them who did. 

6739. Then, if your views had been carried out, before any of those who had been connected 
with the rebellion could vote, it would be necessary again to change the constitution of the 
State ? 

Certainly. If I could have had the control of that convention, I would have inserted a 
clause in the instrument restraining all from votiug who had participated in the rebellion, re- 
serving, however, to the governor, or to some other power, the right to appoint a commission 
for every parish, after a given length of time, for the purpose of ascertaining the then feeling 
of all who chose to apply for a remission of their offences or a restoration to voting privileges. 
That would have been my idea. 

6740. Would you have established universal negro suffrage before taking the steps you now 
speak of to extend the suffrage to such as had been connected with the rebellion ? 

I would, and for the reason that that has been a disturbing element with the government 
from the beginning. I want to get rid of it aud have no further difficulty with it. 

6741. You say that shortly after the rebellion had ended the feeling of the people of Lou- 
isiana was better toward the government than it now is ? 

I think so ; indeed I know it. 

6742. How do you account for that ? 

My impression at the time was that, when the rebellion was crushed, the people were dis- 
posed to submit to almost everything. I am sure that the leaders of the rebellion in Louisi- 
ana had not the most distant idea of being received into favor. They expected to have lost 
all they had. 

6743. Aud now since they have discovered that they are not to lose all, but that they are 
to have better treatment than they had expected, you think they have become embittered by 
their good fortune ? 

I think so. 



Washington, D. C, January 18, 1867 
LORENZO L. CROUNSE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6744. What is your age ? 

I am twenty-uiue years old. 

6745. What is your occupation ? 

I am chief correspondent of the New York Times, in Washington. 

6746. For how long a time have you held that position ? 
I have been in that position two years. 

6747. Have you held that position for two years last past continuously ? 
Nearly ; I came here on the first of February, 1865. 

6748. Were you in the city actiug in that capacity from the 25th July during that month ? 
I was here on the 25th July, and was here up to the close of the month. I left the city on 

the night of July 31, to join my family for a few weeks' recreation, and was absent from that 
time to the 13th September. I left my office in charge of one of my assistants, who remained 
in charge until a week or ten days before I returned. 

6748^. Give, if you please, the name of the gentleman whom you appointed to fill your 
place. 

W. W. Warden. 

6749. Did you bring with you a copy of the files of (the Times for the months of July and 
August ? 

I did. 

6750. Will you turn, if you please, to the Times of the 3d of August and say if there is 
in that issue a copy of certain telegraphic despatches concerning the New Orleans riots? 

Yes, sir. Under the head of "From Washington — Special despatch to the New York 
Times," there appear several despatches relating to that subject. There is a column or more 
of specials to the Times of that day. There is one despatch in particular, headed " New Or 
leans riots," which includes several official despatches. 

6751. Say whether you communicated these despatches to the Times. 

I did not communicate them personally any further than that I was responsible for their 
communication by the act of my assistant. As the originals of these despatches will show, 
they were signed with my name. I authorize my assistants to sigu my name as if signed 
by myself without stating the signature was made by them. They simply write my name 



472 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

tlnis because the office in New York holds me responsible for everything that is telegraphed 
to the paper from my office. 

6752. By whom were they sent ? 

By the gentleman in charge of the office whom I have already named, Mr. Warden. 

6753. Will you examine the papers shown you and say if they are the original despatches? 

Yes, sir, I have no doubt they are, from the fact that they are in Mr. Warden's handwrit- 
ing, and bear the marks and cheques of the telegraph office. They are from the original 
files of the telegraph office. 

6754. Under whose name do these despatches appear ? 

Under my name, as you see at the bottom. My name was signed by Mr. Warden with 
my authority. 

The following are the despatches referred to : 

[New York Times, August 2.] 

The following are copies of despatches from the President to federal and State officers in 
New Orleans, and from those officers to the President, including a telegram from General 
Sheridan, all having reference to the convening of the convention in New Orleans, and the 
disturbances in that city. None of these communications have been published before. 

[New York Times.] 

Executive Office, July 28. 

His Excellency Governor Wells, New Orleans, La. : 

I have been advised that you have issued a proclamation convening the convention elected 
in 1864. Please inform me under and by Avhat authority this has been done, and by what 
authority this convention can assume to represent the whole people of the State of Louisiana. 

ANDREW JOHNSON. 

New Orleans, July 28. 
His Excellency Andrew Johnson, 

President of the United States: 
Your telegram received. I have not issued proclamation convening the convention of 
1864. This was done by the president of the body by virtue of resolution adjourning the 
convention subject to his order, and in that case authorizing him to call on the proper officer 
to issue writs of election in unrepresented parishes. My proclamation is in response to thai 
call ordering an election on the 3d day of September. As soon as vacancies can be ascer- 
tained, an election will be held to fill them, when the entire State will be represented. 
Your obedient servant, 

J. MADISON WELLS, Governor of Louisiana. 

Executive Office, August 1, 1866. 
Ai.uf.rt Voorhees, Lieutenant Governor, or 
Andrew J. Herron, Attorney General, New Orleans, La. : 

Were the civil authorities, State or federal, conferred with by General Baird before he de- 
clared martial law? Could not the civil authorities, State and federal, enforce the law and 
preserve order with the aid of the military and without the necessity of martial law ? I hope 
that order lias been restored and the riot not as disastrous as represented. Please show this 
despatch to General Baird. 

ANDREW JOHNSON. 

In order that the following from General Sheridan be fully understood, it should be stated 
that he was absent from New Orleans when the disturbances commenced in that city : 

New Orleans, August 1 — 1.30 p. m. 
General U. S. Grant, Washington: 

You are doubtless aware of the serious riot which occurred in this city on the 30th. A 
political body, styling itself the convention of 1864, met on the 30th for, as is alleged, the 
purpose of remodelling the present constitution of the State. The leaders were political agi- 
tators and revolutionary men, and the action of the convention was liable to produce breaches 
of the public peace. I had made up my mind to arrest the head men, if the proceedings of 
the convention was calculated to disturb the tranquillity of the department, but I had no 
cause for action until they committed the overt act. 

About forty whites and blacks were killed, and about one hundred and sixty wounded. 
Everything is now quiet, but I deem it best to maintain a military supremacy in the city for 
a few days until the affair is fully investigated. I believe the sentiment of the general com- 
munity is great regret at this unnecessary cruelty, and the police could have made any arrest 
thej' saw fit without sacrificing lives. 

P. H. SHERIDAN, Major General Commanding. 

A true copy of original in my possession. 

D. H. BATES, Manager W. U. Telegraph Company. 



TESTIMONY OF W. W. WARDEN. 473 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6755. Did Mr. Warden sign in the same way you describe the despatch, dated August I, 
1866, purporting to be from Major General Sheridan to General Grant, and which he seni 
to the Times 1 

Yes, sir; he sent all these despatches at one time. They so appear on examination of the 
originals. 

6756. Did a despatch to this effect appear in the New York Times ? 

"New Orleans, July 24, 1866. 
"To L. L. Crounse, New York Times, Washington, D. C. : 

" Howell has returned with assurance that Congress will support the convention. 

"EDWARD P. BROOKS." 

I can't say whether that despatch appeared in the Times without consulting the files. I 
can saj r that I received from Mr. Brooks that despatch. It was a private despatch from Mr, 
Brooks to me, and was left to my discretion whether to use the information so communicated, 
or not. I think I never used it. I am in the habit of receiving despatches from our corre- 
spondents in the south very frequently, and they often contain information which I deem 
worth while to make public. It is left discretionary with me whether I will do so or not. 1 
am very strongly under the impression that I never made use of this despatch. Mr. Brooks 
was the regular correspondent at New Orleans at that time, and he was telegraphing to me 
nearly every day on the subject of the riot. 



Wasiiin«ton, January 18, 1867. 
W. W. WARDEN sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6757. What is your age ? 
I am forty-three years old. 

6758. What is your occupation, profession, and residence 1 

I am residing here, and have been for three years. I am a newspaper correspondent, and 
practice law also. 

6759. State whether you are connected in any way with the New York Times. 

Yes, sir, I am associated with Mr. Crounse, and have been on the paper about two years. 

6760. Say whether on or about the 3d of August last you were occupying the position here 
which Mr. Crounse filled, as principal correspondent. 

I w r as occupying the position of correspondent, and was here solely in charge, from the 
time Crounse went away, about the 30th July, for several weeks. 

6761. During that time the communications from here to the Times were through you. 
Through me entirely. 

6762. Be kind enough to look at these papers, (despatches included in the testimony of L. 
L. Crounse, ) and say whether they are in your handwriting as original despatches sent on the 
2d of August ? 

They are in my handwriting. They were written by myself. 

6763. And communicated by you to the Times on the 2d of August. 
Yes, sir. 

6764. Say, if you please, from whom you received these despatches ? 

The information I got at the White House. The documents purporting to be despatches 
I obtained there. 

6765. You say you obtained them at the White House. You did not procure them from 
General Grant, or the Secretary of War?- 

No, sir; I got them at the Executive Mansion. I will, if you desire it, give the history of 
how I obtained them. 

6766. The committee desire you to state it. 

I applied to the President, as was my habit every day, on the evening of this day, August 
2, to know if he had received any late news from New Orleans in relation to the troubles 
there. He told me he had received several telegrams, he did not know how many, that day 
or the day previous, but that probably there were some I had not heard of. He said they 
were iu back there. I think they were in the despatch room, in charge of the private secretary, 
and that I might apply to him, and he could use his discretion as to what were of a private 
character, and what was suitable to go to the public. After some general conversation on 
other subjects with the President, I left him and went to the private secretary, and told him 
what the President had said I might do. He turned to the despatches, and gave me copies, 
or dictated to me probably copies of these things. ^My impression is that he called it off to 
me, and that I wrote down as he read it. I am pretty positive that was the way it was done. 

6767. You say it was written down by you as dictated by him. 



474 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I think so. I had the impression when I first spoke that the copies were given to me. 
On one or two occasions that was done ; but I am not positive as to this. It was either dic- 
tated to me, and taken down by myself, or copies given to me and copied by myself. 

G768. Did you go from the room ot the private secretary to your office ? 

Yes, sir ; I went immediately from there, as I said, after I asked the President what news 
he had ; whether he had news from New Orleans. His reply was that he had several 
despatches, and that I could see the private secretary who had charge of them and get them. 
I Lad a little further general conversation, as was my habit ; then I left him in his room and 
went to the office of the private secretary and told him the President had said I might have 
these despatches ; that he had given authority to have copies made of the despatches that day 
received from New Orleans, other than those of a private character. My impression is that the 
private secretary took the book and dictated to me as I wrote down what he called out. I 
took them from his room, went directly to my office, and sent them directly to the telegraph 
office. 

6769. Were they published by you as received from him ? 
Yes, sir. 

6770. Who was private secretary at that time ? 

I think at that time the President's son was private secretary, but it was not he who gave 
them to me. It was one of the assistants. The President's son was not about at that time. 
I am not absolutely sure, but I think it was Colonel Morrow who gave them to me. He is 
now assistant private secretary, and was then acting in that capacity. I know I got some 
documents from Colonel Morrow, and I think these. J 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6771. Were the manner in which you obtained the information you have described in any 
way different from the manner in which you received other information on other occasions 
previously at the Executive Mansion ? 

No, sir, it was not. It was precisely the same manner in which I had been accustomed to 
receive information at that time, particularly when there were a great many despatches coming 
from New Orleans. There was nothing unusual at all about this. It was the customary 
way of getting information when it was in possession of the President. 

6772. You are accustomed to apply in the first instance to the President for permission, and 
from him you went to the private secretary, and there received what, in his discretion, or in 
the discretion of the person in charge, was thought proper for publication. 

Yes, sir ; that was the usual way. The private secretary having charge of the informa- 
tion handled the document, or whatever it was, and dictated to me, or gave me copies, as the 
case might be, or, perhaps, some separate document, from which I made copies. My usual 
course was to learn from the President, first, if he had anything in his possession proper for 
publication, and I generally asked permission to see it. I have never known him, personally, 
unless it was something lying directly before him, to give the information to me himself; but 
be gave me instructions to go to the secretary. 

67715. On the occasion referred to, when you obtained these, despatches in question, did the 
President, in anything' he said to you, undertake to discriminate, or restrict you as to what 
should be published and what should not be published ? 

He did not. 

6774. He referred you, as usual, to the discretion of his private secretary. 
Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

6775. When the private secretary gave you the despatch, dated at New Orleans, one-and- 
a-half o'clock, evening, of the 1st of August, to General Grant from General Sheridan, did 
he dictate to you from memory, or from reading the paper before him ? 

I am very certain it was from the document, whatever it was. I am very sure I would 
not have sent off as a despatch anything made up from memory. I would have merely given 
it as the substance of a despatch. I am very sure he gave it to me from the document lying 
before him. 

6776. Did he appear, so far as you could judge, to have given you all the document, or 
did he seem only to be making extracts from it ? 

There was nothing about his manner that would indicate anything except a dictation of 
the document. 

6777. Did he say to you whether he had given you a copy of that despatch or not ? 

I do not think he said anything about it. I do not recollect whether he did or not. My 
attention to the charge that there was an omission in the despatch was first drawn from a 
paragraph in the New York Tribune some days afterwards, in which it was alleged that there 
was something omitted, and intimated that it was a threat on the part of General Sheridan 
to throw up his command. 

6778. Did you suppose, from all that came under your observation on that occasion, both 
the direction of the President and in Ihe action of the secretary, that you had procured 
in this instance any garbled despatch ? 

There was nothing either in the words or manner of the secretary to indicate that the de- 



TESTIMONY OF W. W. WARDEN. 475 

gpatch \\ r as a garbled despatch at all; and so far as the President was concerned, he abso- 
lutely bad nothing to do with it whatever, more than to tell me that he had received some 
despatches, describing their character, whieh he thought I had not got, and that I might get 
them by applying to the secretary. The President had absolutely nothing to do with the 
direction of giving out the matter at all. I did not know from him, or from any other source 
whatever, what was to be given out. He simply gave that general direction, and I acted 
npon it. 

6779. Was there anything within your knowledge which you can furnish to the committee 
leading you to suppose that the secretary did not, in fact, furnish you on that occasion the 
entire document from which he read? 

Nothing within my knowledge is there to communicate at all. I saw, some time afterwards, 
in a general report made to Congress or to the House, a series of depatches from General 
Sheridan and from General Grant, and probably to General Sheridan, in which there was a 
paragraph or sentence or two which was said to be omitted in one of the despatches that I 
had sent off. I have never compared the documents, and never have had any original docu- 
ments in my band at any time ; therefore, I do not know anything of my own knowledge 
about it. 

6780. Can you describe the appearance, as you cannot certainly give the name, of the per 
son who dictated to you that despatch? 

I think I have stated before that I came to the conclusion that it was Colonel Morrow, and 
that is my best recollection. There, was nothing in the world about this occurrence calculated 
to arrest my attention. I received this information just as I was in the habit of receiving in- 
formation, and there was nothing in the surrounding circumstances to fix it on my memory 
at that time, or to impress me that there was anything about it extraordinary until, as I said, 
some days afterwards, when I read the paragraph, probably in the New York Tribune. I 
think that was my first intimation of any charge that there had been a garbled despatch 
sent off. 

6781. State whether the despatch, as it appeared in the Times, contained all that was dic- 
tated to you by the secretary. 

That is my impression; I have no doubt about it. 

6782. Please state whether the paper which appeared on the date to which I have alluded, 
from General Sheridan to General Grant, and which has been shown you, is the paper which 
you wrote as dictated to you by the President's secretary on the occasion you have testified to. 

My impression is that the paper presented to me is the paper, as the matter was originally 
prepared ; but it is possible that this paper is a copy in a fairer hand, or an attempt at a 
fairer baud than that in which it was written when it was dictated to me. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6783. When were you subpoenaed to come before this committee ? 

This morning, a few moments before I appeared here. The first knowledge I had of my 
being desired here at all was the officer coming with the subpoena. 



Washington, January 18, 1867. 
RICHARD L. SHELLEY sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6784. Where do you reside ? 
New York city. 

6785. What is your age ? 
Twenty-eight. 

6786. What is your profession ? 
Journalist. 

6787. Where were you residing in July, 1866 ? 
In New Orleans. 

6788. How long did you live there 1 

I lived there as special correspondent of the New York Tribune for aboxrt eleven months 
preceding. 

6789. Were you in New Orleans in the latter part of July 1 
I was. 

6790. Were you present at the meeting on the evening of the 27th of July ? 
I was. 

6791. State where this meeting was held, and who were the speakers. 

This meeting was held in the Mechanics' Institute and iu front of the Mechanics' Insti- 
tute ; and afterwards a procession was formed and speeches delivered in front of the City 
Hall. The speakers at the Mechanics' Institute were Colonel Field, Mr. Waples, Mr. Dib 
ble, and, I am not certain, but I think Mr. Fish, junior, the nephew of the member of the 
convention ; Dr. Dostie, Rev. Mr. Horton, and Judge Hawkins. These are all I recollect 
at present. 



476 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS 

G792. State what public notice had been given of the meeting, and describe, in your own 
way. the facts which were under your observation tending to .show the character of the meet- 
ing as to its being orderly or otherwise. 

The meeting -was called by the loyal citizens of Louisiana, irrespective of color, to meet 
on Friday evening, the 27th of July, for the purpose of indorsing the call for the meeting of 
the constitutional convention. I went to the Mechanics' Institute about the time the meet- 
ing commenced, and found assembled about fifteen hundred or two thousand colored people 
and whites. I listened first to the address delivered in the interior of the building, and noted 
that the audience were very enthusiastic, appreciated every -remark made by the speakers, 
which led them to anticipate that they were going to be endowed with the right of suffrage. 
I went out to the meeting held in front of the Mechanics' Institute, and after Rev. Mr. Hor- 
ton had delivered his speech, standing on the platform, within a few feet of Dr. Dostie, I 
listened attentively to the speech he made. There was nothing whatever in the remarks of 
Dr. Dostie which could be said to excite or invite in any way acts of hostility upon the part 
of the colored people against any of the white citizens of New Orleans. After the meeting 
had adjourned at the Mechanics' Institute a procession was formed with torch-lights and a 
band of music, and proceeded down Canal street to St. Charles, and then into Camp street 
and up to the City Hall. On the route to the City Hall some of the men comprising the pro- 
cession were attacked by some white persons and maltreated. On arriving at the City Hall 
a short speech Avas delivered by Dr. Dostie. Among other things, he told them he felt very 
much pleased with the quiet and orderly manner in which they had conducted themselves, 
and regretted to learn that the procession had been attacked by a body of evil-disposed men. 
He recommended them to return quietly to their homes, and that if they were assailed and 
their lives put in jeopardy, he recommended that they should defend themselves to the extent 
of their ability. 

0793. Except at that time, was there anything in Dr. Dostie's speech calculated to excite 
animosity or hostile action? 

No, sir, there was not. 

6794. At the meeting outside of the Mechanics' Institute did Doctor Dostie say to the men 
to whom he was speaking that they all ought to fight for their votes ; that they ought to come 
armed to the convention, and that no cowards were wanted ; that the stones of the streets 
were crying out for the blood of rebels, or any expressions equivalent to these, or anything 
like them ? 

I can swear that he made no such remarks. 

G795. Where were you upon the morning of Monday, and during the sitting of the con- 
vention ? State what you then saw and heard. 

On Monday morning I left my rooms on Canal street, and passing down to the restaurant 
where I took my meals I found that the regular police had been relieved, and squads of ex- 
tra police were doing duty on the streets. I made the inquiry of one of them as to the neces- 
sity for this, and was informed that the regular police force were then concentrated at the dis- 
trict stations, and that a posse of extra police had been sworn in. I went down, after my 
breakfast, along Canal street, and turned into a jeweller's store to get a glass put into my 
watch. I learned then from the proprietor of the store that he was about closing it, (it was 
then about nine or half-past nine in the morning,) and that he had given directions to his em- 
ployes to put no valuable jewelry in the show-case; that he expected there was going to be 
a damned !>ig vow. I then continued my journey down Canal street to the post office, and 
saw opposite the post office, in a gun store, a number of young men, whom I had every rea- 
son to believe and know belonged to a confederate organization which then existed in New 
Orleans. I saw them purchasing arms and loading them in the store, and evidently making 
preparations for some bad work. That was about ten o'clock in the morning. I went from 
the post office up to the City Hall, for the purpose of seeing Mr. Monroe, the mayor, and as- 
certaining what precautions, if any, had been taken by him to preserve the peace, as I saw 
very plainly on every side indications that evil-disposed bodies were about to make an attack 
on the convention when it should assemble. On my way up, in company with Mr. Brooks, 
of the New York Times, passing through St. Charles street, we remarked and noted that 
there were groups of men engaged in earnest conversation, many of them apparently armed. 
We went up to the mayor's office and asked to see Mr. W. W. Overall, the secretary of the 
mayor. We met Mr. Overall. After some preliminary conversation, we asked him what 
precautions had been taken by the mayor and municipal authorities to preserve the peace. 
Heinformed me that they had not taken any particular precautions, and professed to believe 
there would not be any trouble. I asked him if the police had not been concentrated at the 
district stations. No; he did not know anything about it. He expressed the opinion that, 
if a riot did take place, the best and most summary manner to put it down would be by 
breaking into the gun shops of New Orleans and arming the confederates. In that way he 
thought it might be disposed of very summarily. 1 left the mayor's office satisfied that, so 
far as the municipal authorities were concerned, nothing would be done to preserve the peace, 
and determined upon immediately going over to General Sheridan's headquarters on the op- 
posite side of the street, and informing him of the condition of affairs. In passing through 
Lafayette square I noticed one hundred and fifty or two hundred policemen lying about, scat- 
tered so that they would not be seen there in a large body, evidently prepared to act in con- 



TESTIMONY OF RICHARD L. SHELLEY. 477 

cert on a moment's notice. T also noticed, and called the attention of Mr. Brooks to the fact, 
that, these men were armed with revolvers, and some of them with two each. We went through 
to General Sheridan's headquarters and found, on inquiry, that be was still in Texas; that 
he had not yet returned. I stated to Colonel Crosby, and other officers of his staff, the con- 
versation that bad occurred in the mayor's office, and my opinion that the police and confed- 
erate secret organizations meant some mischief against the convention. I remained at Gen- 
eral Sheridan's headquarters until about ten minutes of twelve, and then went down with 
Mr. Brooks to the Mechanics' Institute. The convention bad already assembled. Rev. Mr. 
Hoi ton was engaged in making a prayer. I listened to bis prayer. After he had concluded 
the roll was called, and a motion was made by Mr. R. King Cutler to take a short recess un- 
til the sergeant-at-arms could go out, arrest, and bring in absent members. I think about 
the time that motion was being made a band of music and a fife and drum were heard outside. 
and I heard some shots. I went down stairs to inquire from whence these reports proceeded 
and the nature of this procession. I found a number of colored men coming into the Insti- 
tute with a United States flag, a fife arid drum, and was informed by a man, who was appa- 
rently in command, that in crossing Canal street they had been attacked, and that an attempt, 
had been made to wrest the flag from them, and that in repelling this attack some shots bad 
been fired. 

[Mr. BoYER cautioned the witness to only state what he knew of his own knowledge.] 
I did not see that. I went back to the governor's room, and ascertained from his son that 
the governor had gone to General Baird's office to invoke the interference of the military. It 
was apparent to every one that an attack was about to be made upon the convention. I went 
around to the telegraph office on leaving the governof ' s room for the purpose of sending a 
despatch, and while there heard shots. I rushed out on to Carondelet street, and saw, I think, 
about six policemen chasing one colored man, and firing their revolvers after him. The col- 
ored man was unarmed — had neither stick, knife, nor pistol. They followed him into an 
alley by a trunk and harness store there, and continued firing their revolvers after him. This 
was on the opposite side of the street from the telegraph office. I stood a few moments, and 
another colored man came down on the same side on which I was standing, and as I was in 
an immediate line of a murderous volley from these police officers who were chasing this other 
colored man, I thought prudence the better part of valor, and got into the telegraph office 
and hid myself. I heard the roaring of pistols continuously. I have been on some battle- 
fields, and I think the discharge was as rapid as any file firing I ever heard for some half 
an hour. As soon as I deemed it safe I went up to Canal street in time to see Mr. Fish led 
out from the convention. He was surrounded by a murderous crowd of ruffians shouting, 
" Hang the damned Yankee ! hang the white nigger ! " and other epithets too opprobrious to 
mention. I saw one or two attempts made to strike him with a knife. Another member of 
the convention was led along. I do not recollect his name ; he was an old man. This was 
after the struggling and excitement had somewhat abated. Ho was taken by a single police- 
man, who took particular pains to announce to the crowd as he passed through the streets 
"Here is another damned conventioner." He was a very old man, and I presume it was his 
gray hairs, and the nonchalant style in which he took the thing, that saved his neck. I went 
up to General Sheridan's headquarters with some officers. In passing up Camp street I 
overheard a conversation between several merchants, who pointed me out as the correspondent 
of the New York Tribune, and one of the conventioners which they hoped had been effectually 
disposed of. That was all I saw of the occurrences that day. I visited the hospitals that 
afternoon. I went to the Hotel Dieu and found Doctor Dostie, and tried to converse with 
him, but found he was too weak, too low. 

6796. .State what the condition of the hospitals was, how many were there, and what care 
appeared to be taken of them. 

I went to the marine hospital, and found there about one hundred and fifty colored men 
and some three or four whites. Among the whites was the Rev. Mr. Horton. The colored 
men were, several of them, literally covered with bruises. One of them had a cut from an 
axe in the skull, which must have been at least three quarters of an inch deep, and bad 
opened so that it almost exposed the brain. My attention was called to the man by the 
surgeon as being one of the most extraordinary cases he had ever witnessed. If I may be 
allowed to state the manner in which the man received the wound, and where he was, I 
would like to do so. 

6797. Mr. Boyer. Did you see the wound inflicted? 
Witness. I did not ; I heard the man make his statement. 

6798. Mr. Shellaijarger. Did the negro seem to apprehend that he was dying ? 
Yes, sir. 

6799. Mr. Boyer. Did he die afterwards > 

Not that I am aware of. I do not know that he did. He stated that he had been paying 
his rent, in some street, I think it was Poydras street, a considerable distance from the'Me- 
cbanics' Institute ; that on returning, after paying his rent, he was met by a white man, who, 
without any provocation whatever, took his hatchet and felled him to the ground, cleaving his 
skull. I asked him if he had made any remark to the white man which led him to commit 
the act. He s«M no, he did not go near to him, and did not speak to him. The man just 
rushed at him in the most infuriated manner, and cleaved his skull with a hatchet. I found 



478 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

several others there very severely wounded, many of whom also stated that they had not 
been in the immediate vicinity of the Mechanics' Institute, but were returning from their 
labors, and had been assaulted by both police and citizens. 

By the Chairman : 

6800. Can you give the committee the names of any of the policemen and citizens whom 
you say were armed and fighting ? 

I cannot. 

6801. You speak of secret organizations as having existed, and known to be in existence. 
Tell us what you know about them. 

I know from confederate offk-ers and confederate soldiers that such organizations existed 
in New Orleans, previous to and subsequent to the riot. 

6802. Organizations of what nature, and for what purposes? 

I tried to ascertain the exact nature of these organizations. They are ostensibly for chari- 
table purposes, and I was informed by a gentleman whom I believe to be in the confidence 
of those organizations — a Colonel Armstrong, of the confederate army, and a reporter of the 
New Orleans "Times" — a paper that ought to be well-informed on matters of that kind — 
that they were organized for bad purposes, and he intended to tell General Sheridan the 
exact object of these organizations. He told me this in a conversation after the riot, on St. 
Charles street. I recollect the event distinctly. It was at a time when we believed they 
were about to renew the massacre. 

6804. Did you have any conversation with the chief of police after the declaration of mar- 
tial law ? 

I did. I met him while I was at dinner at Moreau's restaurant, on Canal street. He sat 
down with me, and entered into a conversation. In the course of the conversation he stated 
that he regretted very much the occurrences of yesterday ; at that time the police authori 
ties were thoroughly alarmed ; they all expected to be arrested by the military. He stated 
further, that he knew that outrages had been committed by his force. He knew the men 
who had committed them, and he meant to have them punished ; but during the four months 
that I remained in New Orleans, subsequent to the massacre, I never heard of one of these 
men being arrested. 

6805. State under whose charge the marine hospital was. 

It was under the charge of the Freedmen's Bureau. The city authorities took no care, 
and made no effort whatever, as far as I could see, to provide for medical attendance, or for 
the treatment of the men who were wounded in the massacre. They were taken to the 
hospital of the Freedmen's Bureau, and taken care of at the government expense. 

6806. If there is any other fact that you have not stated that is within your recollection, 
which will throw light on the matter of our inquiry, please state it. 

It occurred to me that there was a conspiracy upon the part of a great many to forcibly 
disperse that convention, and prevent the facts from being made known at the north ; and 
as an evidence of that conspiracy I will state that the despatches which were put in the tel- 
egraph office to be sent to the New York Tribune, which I myself put in the office, were de- 
layed and suppressed fur from twelve to twenty-four hours, in order that other accounts 
should be sent to papers known to be in sympathy with the Johnson policy and the people 
of the south. I made a very careful investigation as to the killed and wounded, and came 
to the conclusion that the number could not fall much short of three hundred, for the reason 
that there were known to be killed somewhere between thirty and fifty. There were nearly 
one hundred and fifty wounded being treated at the marine hospital, and a great many were 
conveyed to their homes and treated by their friends ; and from a very careful investigation 
made with some of the detective police, government employes in New Orleans, I came to 
the conclusion that the number of killed and wounded would not Ml short of three hundred. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6807. State whether it was your business, as a reporter or otherwise, to take particular 
notice of the speeches that you listened to on Friday night. 

It was in the discharge of that duty that I took notes of the speeches and published them 
in the New York Tribune. 

6808. I wish you to state what degree of confidence you feel in your memory in regard to 
the matter you have testified to, as to Dr. Dostie's having used no incendiary or violent 
language except such as you have described. 

I have considerable confidence in my memory, for the reason that the rebel papers, a short 
time subsequent to the meeting, accused him of having made remarks which I knew he had 
not made. The facts I have stated were impressed upon my memory from the statement 
which appeared in the papers of New Orleans, *and which I knew to be false. 

680i). Did you hear all Dr. Dostie said at the Institute ? 

I heard every word from the time he commenced until he finished. I stood not more than 
six feet from him. I stood as close as I could stand without impeding the delivery of his 
peech. 

6810. Did you hear all of the speech made at the City Hall by Dr. Dostie ? 

I did, Volney Hickox, of the Cincinnati Commercial, stood within six feet of him. Af- 



TESTIMONY OF RICHARD L. SHELLEY. 479 

ter the meeting was over we walked clown St. Charles street with liim to Common, and 
parted with him on Common street. 

6811. Did you hear any remarks made by other speakers that evening that were in their 
nature calculated to excite the negroes to insurrection and deeds of violence '. 

ISO, sir; I did not hear a remark made by any speaker that was so calculated. I have 
heard far more incendiary remarks made by speakers in New York city. I have heard 
Wood get ii)) at tlic Cooper Institute and appeal to the democracy in such a manner as would 
be calculated, in my opinion, to create breaches of the peace. 

6812. Did you also make a synopsis or report of any part of the speech at the City Hall ? 
I did not take any notes at the City Hail, but I went home and wrote a statement from 

my recollection, and sent it to the Tribune the next morning. I wrote it down that night, 
while it was fresh in my memory. 

6813. Did you hear any of the police there on Lafayette square, or anywhere on the 30th 7 
make any remark in regard to what they were going to do with the arms they had that day 7 

I do not recollect that I did. I called the attention of Mr. Brooks, on the coiner of 
Lafayette square, to the expression of countenance of some policemen who recognized me, 
(for i was very well known in New Orleans as a correspondent of the New York Tribune,) 
and spoke of it that some of them looked at me very black. Mr. Brooks told me that I had 
better be careful of myself; that there was mischief ahead, or something to that effect. 

6814. State the entire time of your residence in New Orleans. 

I went to New Orleans in June, 1865, and left there in December, 1806. 

6815. State to what extent, either by your profession or otherwise, you were brought in 
contact with the public meetings of the people of New Orleans or Louisiana? 

While I was there in pursuance of my reportorial_duties I attended nearly all the public 
meetings to which I could gain admittance. 

6816. State as fully as you can what manifestations are generally given on public occa- 
sions by the people of Louisiana as to their condition of feeling towards the government, 
or the flag, or the national airs. 

I have been present on several occasions in theatres when the national airs were hissed, 
when it was impossible to play them. They w^re stopped almost immediately after they 
commenced. I have been present in restaurants and other places where I have heard Jeffer- 
son Davis and Andrew Johnson cheered ; the Yankees and their damned government 
through Congress assembled anathematized. It was a subject of remark frequently at 
General Sheridan's headquarters that no Union officers could, with respect to the uniform 
they wore, go to these places of amusement. I was present on one occasion in a ball-room 
when Colonel Tisdale, in the uniform of the United States army, was in the act of taking a 
drink; some confederates came along and asked for what they wanted, took up their 
glasses, turned around and saw an officer in uniform, and said they could not drink in a 
place where damned Yankee officers were assembled. I give that as an indication of the 
public sentiment. I have conversed frequently with people of Louisiana, Texas; Alabama, 
and Mississippi, and find them all very willing to get back into Congress, very willing to 
get back into power; but they displayed no love for the flag, and many of them expressed 
their sentiments very plainly that their only desire in getting back into the Union was in the 
hope that they might accomplish through the ballot what they had failed to accomplish by 
the bullet. There was a prevailing desire and belief that the time would come, and hope 
that it was not far distant, when this country would become embroiled in a foreign war, that 
they might he able to strike once more and succeed in the establishment of their confederacy. 
In a conversation with a gentleman in Texas, while going on the railroad from Houston to 
Galveston, he told me he was a southern man, a large planter, and had owned negroes ; 
that he had been a religious man, but he did not believe in a God any longer. He did not 
believe that God, if there was a God, would have allowed the South to be subjected to the 
humiliation that it had been subjected to in the past two years. He said that if the Yankees 
thought they had subdued and conquered the southern people they were very much mis- 
taken. From his experience as a southern man there is no chauge of the sentiments of the 
people of Texas. After stating the different counties he had passed through, he said he was 
satisfied that the southern people never would peaceably submit to a Yankee rule any longer 
than they could possibly help. He was but one of many. In conversation in New Orleans 
almost daily I knew many rebels, and will give you their names if you desire, men and 
women, in whom I found no true spirit of love to the federal government, but a desire and 
determination, by diplomacy rather than by forcible means, to gain possession and control 
of the government in some way, in order that they might accomplish that for which they con- 
tended in the held for four years. 

6817. State whether you observed any change in the frequency or boldness of popular dis- 
loyal manifestations between the time you went to New Orleans and the time you left there? 

When I first went to New Orleans I found the rebels and their sympathizers very meek 
and very humble. They were impressed with the belief that all they could ask from this 
government was that their lives should be spared. I heard no talk about rights, or about 
their having surrendered them, or about their having surrendered this, that, or the other. 
There was only one hope and one desire, which was that the extreme penalty of the law 
might not be visited upon them. When the Johnson policy began to be apparent and grad- 



480 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

ually unfolded itself, you could perceive the latent sneer and slight air of triumph manifested 
in their treatment of Union men and unionism, and in a short time they gradually began to 
get more hardened, and got bolder, until in the end they commenced the persecution and os- 
tracism of Union men. A clerk applying for a position in a store, if asked what avocation 
he had pursued for two or three years, perhaps states that he has been in the army. "In what 
army ? " " In the federal army." "Sir, we cannot employ you." The spirit of these disloyal 
people grew bolder and bolder as more rebels received appointments and they became convinced 
that treason was not to be punished, but was to be made a passport to office, not only in the 
Slate, but also in the government of the United States. I was in New Orleans during the 
elections first permitted to take place after the capture of the city ; if I mistake not, it was 
in the latter part of 1865. "With every man who ran upon the ticket, in every speech that was 
made, by them in the canvass, the great burden of all their remarks was their gallant services 
for the confederacy ; what they had done for the lost cause; what they had perilled, and what 
(hey had jeoparded, and the man who showed the best record, the man who remained in 
the confederate army until the close of the war, was the man received with most approval. 
A distinction was drawn between men who had served three years and men who had served 
until the surrender. A man who had served only three years would not be received with the 
full amount of favor, or be so likely to receive an election. The man who left the army 
within six mouths previous to the surrender, was, in a measure, tabooed by his associates 
and branded as a deserter, and, in a measure, as a traitor to the cause. They attribute 
their final discomfiture to the absence of these men from the army. At a firemen's procession 
in New Orleans (and the firemen may be said to be the fair representatives of the young men 
of New Orleans) many of their engines were decorated with red, white, and red, and the bands 
which preceded each procession did not play national airs, but played confederate airs, such 
as Dixie and Southern Eights. For months, and, in fact, during my whole residence of 
nearly two years in New Orleans, not a week passed over without my seeing (and I have 
sometimes seen them two or three times in one night) bands of these young men walking 
through the streets singing " Hurrah, hurrah, for southern rights, hurrah," and in other ways 
evincing their disgust for the United States government and their love for the confederate. 

6818. What would be the condition of the men who remained loyal to the government of 
the United States during the war, should the military forces be withdrawn from Louisiana ? 

I doubt if they could remain twenty-four hours. They would either have to put up with 
untold persecutions, or flee to preserve their lives. That is my honest opinion, from every 
evidence I have seen of the disposition of these people. 

6819. In the event of a foreign war, or any other public calamity which might give pros- 
pects of success should the rebellion be renewed, what, from all you know, do you think 
would be the conduct of the late confederates in Louisiana ? 

I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that they would side with any power to assist 
in breaking up the government. 

6820. Would it be safe for you, as a journalist, to return to Louisiana, if the military were 
withdrawn ? 

No, sir ; it is not very safe even with the presence of the military forces that are there. 

6821. Would it be safo for any journalist who was connected with a republican paper at 
the north ? 

I do not think it would ; I know it would not. 

6822. How do you account for the fact that the Tribune is published in Louisiana without 
disturbance, if you account for it at all ? 

For some period after the riot General Baird furnished them with a military guard for their 
protection, and I presume the people in New Orleaus would acknowledge that if they com- 
menced breaking up colored men's newspapers, their own might be broken up, and it might 
lead to serious difficulties. 

6823. Has the presence of the military there any conservative influence in moderating the 
opinions of the press or people of Louisiana now ? 

It is the presence of the military there that protects the Union men in the expression of 
Union sentiments. Without their presence it would be impossible for either a Union man or 
a freedman to express Union sentiments. 

6824. From all you know of the riot, state whether there would be any difficulty in obtain- 
ing proper evidence for the conviction of parties connected with the riot, did that general 
disposition prevail in the courts and among the people, of meting out justice to these 

arties ? 
1 have not the slightest hesitation in saying that if the people and the courts desired the 
prosecution of these men they could obtain all the information desirable on which to base 
their prosecutions. The statement of the chief of police to me revealed the fact that he knew 
the parties on his force who had committed these outrages, and that he meant to have them 
punished. Yet, so far as I have been informed, as I have said, he never had a single one of 
these men arrested. As I understood, from my conversation with the citizens and with 
officials there, it was a determination to screen every man who was connected in any way 
with that massacre. It was publicly talked of in the streets. Policemen told me themselves 
that they knew that Lucien Adams, sergeant of police, had committed murders on that day. 
Several of the police remarked to me that they were ashamed of being connected with a force 



TESTIMONY OF RICHARD L. SHELLEY. 481 

that hail iu its employ so well known a murderer; and yet he is permitted still to retain 
position. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

6825. Where do you reside now ? 
I'am a resident of New York. 

6826. When were yon subpoenaed to attend the meeting of this committee ? 
A couple of days ago. 

6827. You came on from New York in obedience to that subpoena? 
Yes, sir. 

6828. Whom did you inform that you knew anything which was material in the matter of 
this investigation ? 

I informed Mr. Eliot. 

6829. When? 

1 informed him by letter a few days ago. 

6830. Did you volunteer the information, or were you first written to ? 

I volunteered it. In fact, 1 came to Washington some time ago for the purpose of being 
present and giving my testimony whenever it should be required. 

6831 What induced you to volunteer for that purpose? 

A desire to let the committee know what the facts at my disposal were, in order that they 
might arrive at an enlightened opinion. , 

6832. Are you still in the < mploy of the New York Tribune? 

I am to this extent, that I do occasional work for them. I am waiting the arrival of the 
managing editor for the purpose of making further arrangements. 

683.3. Was it suggested to you by anybody connected with the Tribune that you should 
volunteer as & witness ' 

No, sir; it was not; I doubt if anybody connected with the New York Tribune knew of 
my intention to be here, until they learned that this subpoena had been issued. 

6834. Did any one else suggest to you the propriety of your volunteering? 

No, sir. I have been very anxious to come before the committee for some time. I came 
on to Washington, as I said, for that purpose, and as soon as I ascertained that Mr. Eliot 
was here, I informed him. I telegraphed to Mr. Eliot, in New Orleans, that I would go 
down there and testify, and assist in getting other testimony, if they desired it. 

6835. You say you were present at a meeting held by the conventionists on the Friday 
evening before the riot, and that you heard the speeches made upon that occasion. Was 
there not speaking going on inside of the hall, as well as outside in the street, at the same 
time .' 

There was. 

6836. How then could you hear the speeches made inside, as well as those made on the 
outside of the hall .' 

I went into the interior of the building and listened to the speech of Colonel Field. Just 
as he concluded, 1 came out and listened to Mr. Horton. Dining his discourse, I went back 
into the building, and came out again about five- minutes before Doctor Dostie commenced 
his speech. I went on the platform, shook hands with Judge Hawkins, and remained there 
during all the delivery of Doctor Dostie's speech. 

6837. Did Doctor Dostie declare the purposes of the convention iu his speech ? 
He stated the object of the convention. 

6838. AVhat did he state were the objects of the convention? 

To enfranchise the colored men, and to disfranchise certain leading rebels. 

6839. Did he not denounce in general terms all those who had participated in the rebellion? 
He made remarks that were not very complimentary to them, as gentlemen in Congress 

do occasionally. 

6840. Did he not declare that they ought to be put down ' 

He stated that the rebels ought not to be permitted to hold office to the exclusion of 
Unionists. 

6841. Did he say that they ought not to be permitted to hold office at all ? 
My impression is that he stated they had no right to hold office. 

6842. Did he not say to the negroes that they should sustain the convention; that now 
was the time for them to obtain their rights ' 

I do not believe that he used that expression. 

6843. Did he use words to that effect .' 

He stated they were expected to sympathize with the convention that was going to do 
such a good work for them. 

P844. Did he invite them to attend the meeting of the convention ? 

Yes, sir, I think he did. He said the convention would assemble at twelve o'clock on Mon- 
day, and he invited them to be present. 

6845. Was that to assist in the deliberation of the convention .' 

It was by their presence to give countenance to the proceedings of the convention, as in 
the meeting of other conventions it is usual for the friends to assemble. 

31 N o 



482 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

6846. Do you mean to be understood as saying that no excited or intemperate language 
was used by any of the speakers on the occasion referred to? 

I would not consider it intemperate. I did not consider any speech intemperate. The 
man who informs his fellow-man of his rights, and alludes to the persecutions to which that 
man has been subjected, and tells him that there is a better day dawning, that the timejvill 
come when justice will be done, I do not consider as appealing to the evil passions of the 
man he addresses, or inviting: him to acts of hostility. 

6847. Allow me, for the purpose of testing your judgment of the matter, to ask you, 
whether, if a body of men were to assemble in the city of New York, and proclaim it to be 
their purpose to disfranchise the majority of the people of the State of New York, and were 
to call upon the negroes to assist them in so doing, would that body of men be likely to 
remain unmolested, provided it was supposed by the public that there was a reasonable pros- 
pect of their consummating their designs'? 

I think, as a matter of course, that as a law-abiding people they would test the matter of 
the legality of that convention in the courts, and, without proceeding to commit murder and 
massacre, would peaceably arrest the members of that convention, protecting them in their 
lives until a court of competent jurisdiction should have an opportunity to pass upon the 
legality or illegality of the meeting. 

6848. Is not that precisely what the authorities of the city of New Orleans proposed to do ? 

It is precisely what they did not do. They themselves became the aggressors; they com- 
mitted the murders; they, the sworn guardians of the law, were the men of. all others lore- 
most in the massacre of Union men upon that day. 

6849. If you will confine yourself to the answering of my question, without running off 
into declamation, we will be able to get through much sooner. I ask you again, whether it 
was not proposed by the authorities of New Orleans to test the question of the legality of 
the convention by peaceably arresting its members? 

I do not know that it was, for the reason that I was not in there when arrests were made. 
I am not aware that they arrested any member of that convention until the riot had com- 
menced, and a number of them had been killed and wounded. 

6850. If that had been done, or if the authorities had taken steps to do so, you would have 
regarded it, however, as a proper mode of proceeding' .' 

I would, undoubtedly 7 . 

6851 Of what class of people was the meeting held in the street; on Friday evening, in 
front of the Mechanics' Institute, composed ? 

Of colored men. Some of them I knew to be wealthy and educated men, and others 
laborers on the levee. 

6852. About how many were in the crowd, should you suppose? 

I should think from three to five hundred. A great many whites were also there. 

6853. What was the occasion of that meeting in th'e street .' 

There was not sufficient room in the Institute to accommodate the persons that came there. 
. 0^54. Then the hall of the Institute was also crowded ? 
Yes, sir. 

6855. What class of people composed the crowd there? 

White and black, very respectable colored people — Creoles, whites, all mixed up together; 
as at every meeting in New Orleans, ou the fourth of July and on other occasions, you men 
the same kind of people. 

6856. You say that from the preparations yoti saw you thought there was going to be some 
disturbance, and went to the headquarters of General Sheridan in order to communicate your 
impressions. At what time in the day did you do this ? 

It was about eleven o'clock — about an hour previous to the assembling of the convention. 

6857. Did you inquire for General Baird 1 

I did not. General Baird's headquarters were not in that vicinity. I went to General 
Sheridan's headquarters because they were immediately opposite John T. Monroe's office. 

6858. Repeat, if you please, to whom you made your communication. 

I made my communication to Colonel Lee, assistant adjutant general, and I think to 
Colonel Crosby, and Colonel Tom Moore. 

6859. Do you know where these gentlemen are now ? 

Colonel Crosby "is in New Orleans, I think, on Genera] Sheridan's staff; Colonel Lee is an 
officer of the regular army. He may be in New Orleans, or may have been assigned to some 
Other duty, or perhaps gone to his regiment; I do not know. 

6860. Why did you not communicate your information direct to the commander of the 
department ? 

I was anxious to get back to the convention. I did not care to go to General Baird's office, 
which was some distance off. I expected to have found (uncial Sheridan in his office, back 
from Texas. 

6861. Did you not consider the danger sufficiently pressing to have informed the comman- 
der of the department ? 

I presumed lie was already informed. He had his officers in the city. He had his detec 
tire force, and I presumed he was informed of the danger. 



TESTIMONY OF RICHARD L. SHELLEY. 483 

6862. Did the officers to whom you communicated your intelligence appear to expect it, or 
were they surprised by it ? 

They rather thought 1 was a little excited about it. They did noi seem to think there was 
going to be any great trouble. They thought that the people there had sufficient dread of 
the military not to commence any actual hostility. They all regretted the absence of Gen- 
eral Sheridan. 

6863. In what number of the New York Tribune did you publish your account of the 
speeches on Friday evening 1 

I do not recollect the exact date. It, was published, I think, some time about the; third, or 
fourth, in- fifth of August. I could find out by referring to the files. 

6864. Did you take notes at that meeting ? 
Yes, sir, I did. 

6865. In short hand? 
No, sir. 

6866. Did yon at that meeting write down any of the language used ? 

I did, both inside and outside. I had a regular reporter's book, and I think I covered 
some thirty or forty pages. 

6867. When you were' sent to New . Orleans by the proprietors of the Tribune, your in- 
structions were to gather such facts as would be useful in the publication of that paper, were 
they not ? 

I had no instructions whatever. I do not know that I have ever received any instructions 
from the Tribune office. They trust to my judgment and competency to fulfil my duties in 
such a, manner as will meet their approbation. 

6868. You understood the wants of the paper, I presume, and did not need any such in- 
structions ? 

I understood my profession as a journalist. I do not know that I understood what the 
wants of the paper were particularly. I understood my profession as a journalist sufficiently 
well to collect all matters of public interest. 

6869. Did you ever publish anything in the Tribune favorable to the people of Louisiana? 
I think I did — what I considered favorable. You might not consider it favorable. 

6870 Do you think they would consider it favorable / 

Some of them would and some of them would, not. Those whose minds are not entirely 
warped by prejudice, I think would consider it favorable. Some of them have told me that 
the articles I have written have done them good. 

687J. You have said you do not think it would be safe for you to return to New Orleans 
in case the military were withdrawn ; what would you apprehend in case you returned ? 

Assassination, assault, ostracism socially and in business; in fact, I would be afraid to go 
into the streets. 

6872. Have you, in the course of your experience and observation as a journalist, ever 
found a community in any large city in this country to whom any individual could become 
endeared who was in the habit of uufavorably criticising everything he saw in their midst, 
and of advocating the outlawry of the inhabitants generally ? 

I di i not know that I have ever resided among such a community. It is very paradoxical. 

f>~7M. In that particular, do you not think the community at New Orleans are very much 
like any other community ' 

I do not, for this reason : In other communities, for instance in New York, or Boston, or 
other places where loyalty and loyal sentiments predominate, there were men who, during 
the war, opposed the government, opposed the people in the north, opposed the community 
in which they lived, and yet their lives were as sacred, and they received just as much pro- 
tection there, as though they entertained different sentiments. 

6874. Did you ever know of a journalist, during your residence in New Orleans, having 
been assassinated ? 

No, sir. I knew of an attempt made to assassinate one. 

6875. Do you not know of attempts made at assassination elsewhere, as well in the north 
as in the south ? 

For unionism, I do not. 

6876. I do not say for unionism ; for any purpose 7 
I presume there are. 

6877. Did you sympathize with the objects of the conventionists ? 
I. did, most heartily. 

6878. Did you consider their proceedings as legal, temperate, and proper ? 

I did ; I never doubted their right to assemble under the clause of the constitution which 
provided for their reassembling at any time when in the judgment of the president was best. 

6879. In what article of the constitution do you find that .' 
I do not recollect the article of the constitution? 

6880. Did you ever read the constitution of Louisiana ? 
I did ; I saw it in the constitution of 1864. 

6881. You are sure of that? 

I am certain there is such a clause. 



484 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6382. Did you see anything else in the constitution providing for the manner in which it 
should be amended ? 

I do not recollect. 

688:?. When you went to the office of Mayor Monroe for the purpose of ascertaining what 
preparations had been 'made, if any, to prevent disturbance, wliy did you not see Mayor 
Monroe himself ' 

lie was engaged in conversation with some gentlemen, and as Mr. Overall had repeatedly 
informed me that he was mayor in fact, that Mr. Monroe was a mere cypher, I thought I 
could get the most information from him. 

6484. Do you know whether there was any hope enteitained by the conventionists of get- 
ting a quorum ? 

I do not know. 

6885. How many of them were in the room on'their first meeting? 

I think about fifteen or twenty ; there were some down stairs who had not gone up into 
the room ; there were several down about the post office ; they wanted a little stimulus — to be 
sent for ; they did not want to appear over-anxious, and would rather the sergeant-at-arms 
would come for them. 

6886. Do you know how many it would have taken to make a quorum ? 

I have forgotten; the intention was, if they did not have a quorum, to adjourn from time 
to time until a quorum would be present. 

6887. Still you think they expected to have a quorum that day ? 

I am not very clear in my recollection as to that ; I know it was their intention if they 
did not, to adjourn until such time as they should have a quorum — until the election should 
have been held under the proclamation issued by the governor. 

6888. You m'ean they would take no final action until then? 

They would not take any action except to adjourn from day to day until the election had 
been held in the unrepresented parishes; that was my understanding with many of the 
members of the convention. 

6890. You said you saw Mr. Fish taken out of the convention ; did you see any of the 
police assist him or protect him in any way from the mob ? 

I saw some of the police protect him, and saw others make demonstrations to shoot him ; 
they were kept oft' by the policemen who had their arms around him 

6891. Did you leave the ground as soon as you conveniently could ? 
1 did ; I did not consider it very safe to be there. 

6892. You say New Orleans men with Union sentiments are proscribed in business. You 
say further that when a clerk applies for a situation there he would be questioned upon the. 
subject, and if he turned out to be a Union man he would not be employed. Please name to 
me what persons, within your own personal knowledge, were prevented from getting situa- 
tions from such reasons ? 

I know that from what they have told me. I have not been present at such times 
when these conversations took place. I only know what they have told me. 

6893. Then you know nothing of this but what you have been told .' 
My information is got from the persons making these applications. 

6894. Do you not know men in New Orleans with Uuiou sentiments who are engaged in 
successful business in various ways? 

1 know some who arc 

6895. Then possession of Union sentiments does not always operate to exclude from 
business and business success generally? 

The preference is given to the man who has a confederate record. I do not know if a 
man could be found who would go so far as when he can buy a barrel of pork for two dollai s 
less of a Union man, to pay two more to a confederate ; but where all other things consid- 
ered are equal, they give their patronage to men having a good confederate record. 

6896. You say that you have heard persons declare frequently that they expect to accom- 
plish by diplomacy and legislation that which they had railed to accomplish by the sword, 
namely, the independence of the South. Can you name any person that made such declara- 
tions to you or in your hearing? 

These remarks were made to me during my travels, in steamboats, and on railroad cars, 
and in general conversation, and I did not charge my memory with the names of the indi- 
viduals. 

6897. You lived thirteen months, as you have said, in New Orleans before the 30th of July, 
and about four months afterwards. Can you net give the name and residence of any per- 
son during that time who made such declarations to you ! 

In living at boarding-houses and going about it would be almost impossible to recollect 
the name of every man with whom you conversed. I have not a very retentive memory of 
names, but if you will give me a day I will furnish the names of twenty. 

6898. You can give none at present ' 

Nolle that I would like to be very positive about. 

6899. In referring to the suppression of your despatches at the telegraph office, you have 
said that despatches sent to other papers reached their destination before yours. What papers 
received their despatches before yours, on this occasion? 



TESTIMONY OF RICHARD L. SHELLEY. 485 

The New Yort Times ami the New York World. 

6900. On whal date were these despatches? 

They were sent on the day ami evening of the riot. We commenced sending them that 
day at about one o'clock. My despatches, iu the regular course of business should have 
reached Washington at three or four o'clock in the afternoon, but, instead, they did not reach 
Washington until too late for publication on that day. 

6901. How do you know your despatches were received at the telegraph office as soori a 
the other despatches were .' 

I placed them in at the same time with Mr. Brooks. We started together, and wrote our 
despatches and put them in at the same time. 

6902. Might not the delay have taken place at this end of the line in the telegraph office? 
It would be possible? had I not made the inquiry and ascertained that they had not been 

forwarded to this office until several hours after Mr. Brooks's had been forwarded to the 
Times. 

6903. Did you not suppose, if you had made inquiry at the office into the matter, they 
would have exonerated themselves in the same way? 

I not only made inquiry, hut I telegraphed from New Orleans, informing the office at 
Washington that. I hail sent my despatches at the same time that Mr. Brooks's were sent. 
They telegraphed hack to me to see the operators and to try to make them forward my de- 
spatches promptly. 

6904. Did you see them? 
I did. 

6905. What explanation did they make ? 

They were excited and flurried, and had no very good memory of my despatches. 

6906. Did they say that? 
No ; they did not. 

6907. Then why do you repeat that as having been said by them ? 

They announced their impressions in the same discourteous manner in which they always 
had treated me. When I went. into the operating-room I was told in a gruff way to stand 
out. The chief operator, with whom I was acquainted, stepped over, and on his invitation 
I came in ; but his remarks were made in a very surly manner, intimating that he had no 
disposition to do justice either to me or to my despatches. 

6908. My question was, what explanation did they make? 

The only explanation I recollect they made was that they were sent in their regular order, 
which I knew was not the fact. 

6910. Had your relations with the telegraphic officers always been unfriendly before that? 
No, sir; they always treated me politely. 

6911. You say the Tribune in New Orleans is allowed to be published, in your opinion, 
because of the presence of the military forces. May not the office of the Tribune be de- 
stroyed before any military forces could be brought to the spot to protect it? 

No doubt it might. Still there is a knowledge on the part of the people that the perpe- 
trators of tin- outrage might Vie arrested and brought to justice by the military authorities, 
who are there for the purpose of protecting the citizens. 

6912. Then you think the probability of being brought to justice for Jsuch an offence is 
sufficient restraint tor the present? 

I think it has that effect. 

69J3. Is there not a class of people in every large city who are restrained from committing 
violence by such considerations ? 
Yes, sir. 

6914. Have you been in the habit of reading the editorials of the Tribune ? 
I have. 

6915. Is it an independent and outspoken paper > 

It is not as much so as they would like to be. I regard it as a good Union paper — the 
best in New Orle ins. 

6916. Were you known throughout New r Orleans, during your residence, as a reporter for 
the Tribune ? 

Yes, sir; tolerably well known. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger : 

6917. Please state whether your report of Doctor Dostie's speech, made to the Tribune, 
was true, so far sis you reported the speech at all I 

It was, to the best of my knowledge and belief, 

6918. Will you please hereafter furnish, as a part of your answer, a copy of Doctor 
Dostie's speeches, as tar as they were reported by you, if you can procure them ! 

I will it I can. I do not know that they have an extra copy on file. I will write to New 
York for a copy of the paper which contains a report of that meeting. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6919. Will you also procure for the use of the committee the newspaper reports of those 
speeches on the other side, so that we may have all that the newspapers say on that point ? 



48 G NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

If I am allowed sufficient time arid my expenses to go to New Orleans, I will endeavor 
to do so. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

6920. 1 wish to ask whether either of the New Orleans journals who support the policy of 
Mr. Johnson had reporters at that meeting, and who made the reports of the speeches, so far 
as you know i 

I think Mr. Fairfax, representing the Times, was present, although my memory is not 
very clear upon that subject. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1867. 
Hon. JACOB M. HOWARD, United States senator from the State of Michigan, sworn 
and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6921. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 
I was, from the time of its appointment until the close of last session. 

6922. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a hope 
that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of Congress 
in some events ; please to state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a description, or 
of any descripiion, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

I never wrote any letter of such a description. I never wrote any letter or memorandum 
on that subject for any purpose whatever. Indeed, I was not aware of the purpose of the 
president of that convention, or of Governor Wells, to call together that convention; audi 
have no knowledge that any such letter was ever written by any person. I never urged the 
calling together of that convention, directly or indirectly, in writing or verbally. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

6923. Were you ever consulted in reference to the propriety of calling together such a 
convention ? 

Never. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1867. 

Hon. W. P. FESSENDEN, United States senator from the State of Maine, sworn and 
examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6924. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 
I am. 

6925. There has been some evidence laid before the committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a 
hope that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of 
Congress in some events; please to state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a de- 
scription, or of any description, concerning the convention to any parties. 

I have heard the questions that have been put to Air. Howard, and Mr. Howard's answer 
to them. I answer as he did, to all intents and purposes. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

6926. Were you ever consulted by Judge Howell, of Louisiana, in reference to the calling 
of that convention ' 

I do not know the man. I never saw him, and 1 do not know that I ever heard of him. 
I never was consulted about it by an\ body, to my recollection. It is very possible that some 
conversation may have passed in my seat with a brother senator on the subject; but if so, 
I never gave any advice or opinion about it. 



TESTIMONY OF GEORGE S. BOUTWELL. 487 

WASHINGTON, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1867. 
Hon. GEORGE II. WILLIAMS, United States senator from Oregon, sworn and 
examined. 

By the Chairman: 

6927. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 
Yes. 

6928. You heard tlie questions propounded to Senator Howard? 

Yes. 1 never wrote any Utter to anybody, at any time, in reference to that convention. 1 
was chairman of that portion of the committee to which was assigned the examination of the 
States of Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. No man ever consulted me in reference to that con- 
vention, and 1 never heard that the convention was to assemble, or that anybody proposed 
to call a convention, until I saw statements on the subject in the public prints. 

By Mr. BOYER : 

6930. Was there any consultation held in your sub-committee in regard to the propriety 
of calling some convention for the purpose of changing the constitution of Louisiana 1 

None whatever. There was a communication addressed to me by Judge Warmouth, and 
I am not able now to state what that communication contained. It was in reference to the 
condition of affairs in Louisiana; hut whether there was anything in it on the subject of the 
convention I am not able now to state. If there was, the subject was never mentioned in 
the committee, nor was any action taken. I did not reply to the letter. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1867. 
Hon. REYERDY JOHNSON, United States senator from Maryland, sworn and examined 
By the Chairman : 

6931. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 
Yes. 

6932. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written con 
cerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a hope 
that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of Congress 
in seme events; please to state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a description, or 
of any description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

I never heard of such a letter until now. I never wrote any such letter, and I never heard 
that it was contemplated to call the convention together till I saw it in the telegraphic de- 
spatches of the newspapers. I am perfectly sure that no such suggestion was made in the 
committee while I was present, and I know that none was made to me, either in or out of the 
committee. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1807. 

Hon. GEO. S. BOUTWELL, member of the House of Representatives from Massachu- 
setts, sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6933. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 

lam. 

G934. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a bopo 
that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of Con- 
gress in some events : please to state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a descrip- 
tion, or of any description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

I have no recollection of writing any letter, or signing any papers in reference to the Lou- 
isiana convention. The matter was never discussed in committee or in sub-committee in my 
presence that I recollect. 1 may say, further, that I saw Judge Howell when he was here, 
previous to the meeting of the convention. He mentioned to me that there was conversation 
in Louisiana among the Chion people in reference to tin 1 expediency of recalling the consti- 
tutional convention. I do not recollect that my advice was asked about it one way or the 
other, or that I gave any r opinion as to the expediency of calling the convention. 

By Mr. Boyer : • 

6935. Did Judge Howell consult you with reference to the legality of calling a convention? 
Yes ; he proposed to me the question what my opinion was as to the legality of calling a 
convention. 



488 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

6930". Did he exhibit to you the call which he had prepared and issued ? 

I do not recollect that he did, although he may have done so. I remember seeing- the call 
but I think it was in the newspapers or in some publication. I think I saw it in print be- 
fore the assembling of the convention. 

6937. Did you give Judge Howell any opinion in reference to the legality or illegality of 
convoking the convention in that way / 

I think not ; and if I did, I think I expressed a doubt as to whether the convention had 
any legal authority as a C< nvention. I may say, however, that I had then, and have now, 
no doubt as to the right of those men peaceably to assemble; and very likely I expressed 
the opinion that, under the Constitution of the United States, any body of men, not interfer- 
ing with the rights of others, had a right to assemble and consider their grievances. I do 
not recollect that I said as much to him, but it was my opinion at that time. 

(i'.K!"\ Was the^subject of any anticipated collision discussed at that time? 

No, sir. I never anticipated anything of that kind ; and no suggestion was made to me 
by any person at any time previous to the assembling of the convention that anything of 
that kind was anticipated or apprehended ; and when I got the intelligence of the riot I was 
as much surprised as I ever was at any event that I did not anticipate. 

6939. Did you state your views to Judge Howell in reference to the legality of the con- 
vention assembling peaceably I 

I do not recollect that I did I j but 1 had no doubt in reference to that convention or any 
convention of the people of this country having the right to assemble together and consider 
their grievances peaceably, and being entitled to the protection of the laws. 

(1940. Do you embrace in that any convention for any purpose whatsoever? 

I mean for any legitimate purpose not contrary to the Constitution. 

6941. Do you embrace in it a convention called for the purpose of changing a constitu- 
tion contrary to the terms prescribed by the constitution itself? 

No, I do not. 

(194:2. Did you not, at a republican caucus held during the time that Judge Howell was 
in Washington, just previous to the assembling of the convention, call up the subject, and 
call the attention of the caucus to the proposed convention ? 

I. think that in a caucus I stated something about Judge Howell having said that they 
proposed to reassemble the convention of Louisiana: but, as I remember, there was no ac- 
tion taken upon it, and no motion made. In some debate, in reference to the condition of 
the affairs of the country, I think, that subject was incidentally mentioned. I do not recol- 
lect whether I mentioned it, or some one else who was present. 

6943. Was your attention called by Judge Howell to that clause of the constitution of 
Louisiana which provides for the mode in which it is to be amended, if at all > 

I do not recollect that it was. 1 do not think I had seen the constitution of Louisiana. 

6944. Did yon in an}' way intimate to Judge Howell that if he, or those who were 
acting with him, succeeded in getting a constitution such as they might adopt before Con- 
gress, embod\ big- certain views, you would give it in Congress your individual support ? 

I have no recollection of saying as much as that to him, I had an idea that, if the loyal 
people of Louisiana, or of any of the .States that had been in rebellion, met peaceably and 
framed a constitution that was republican in form, and submitted it to the people, and if they 
ratified it, such a constitution would very likely receive the support ot Congress. 

6945. Did .fudge Howell explain to you the particulars in which it was proposed by the 
convention called by him to amend the constitution of Louisiana .' 

No, sir; 1 do not recollect that he did. 

6946. Did he not say to you that the intention of the convention was to extend suffrage to 
the colored people on equal terms with the white people of the State ? 

I have no recollection of his saying so. 

6947. Did he say to' you that the intention was to amend the constitution of Louisiana so 
as to disfranchise those who had participated in the rebellion .' 

I have no recollection of tiny such conversation. 

6948. Did you and he consult together in reference to the manner in which the constitu- 
tion, if amended, should lie submitted to the people lor ratification .' 

No, sir; I have no recollection of it. 

6950. Was there anything said in reference to who should be electors on that question? 
1 think not. 

6951. Had you more than one interview with Judge Howell while he was in Wash- 
ington on the occasion referred to? 

I recollect only one interview ; ami thai took place in the hall of the House, on a sola., and 
was a desultory conversation, in wliich I took only a common interest. I do not recollect 
seeing Judge Howell anywhere else. He made some general statement in reference to the 
condition of affairs in Louisiana, and in reference to the assembling of the convention. I 
took no particular interest in the matter at the time, and had not thought of it since, until you 
called my attention to it by the questions you have just put. I had no special interview 
with him tiny where. 

6952. Do you recollect whether Judge Howell exhibited to you his call for a convention, 
and that you said to him, " Those are the principles I advocate" '! 



TESTIMONY OP THADDEUS STEVENS. 489 

I do not recollect saying any such tiling. 

6953. Did you ever write a letter to any one in Louisiana on the subject of the convention, 
previous to the assembling of the convention? 

I have no recollection of writing a letter to any person on the subject. 

6954. ( >r did yon join with any oilier person writing such a letter ! 

I have no recollection of writing or signing any paper on the subject. I occasionally 
received letters from people in Louisiana, and 1 may have answered some letters about that 
time : but 1 have no recollection of answering any letter that contained any allusion to the 
subject of the convention. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1867. 

Hon. THADDEUS STEVENS, a member of the House of Representatives from the State 
of Pennsylvania, sworn and examined. 

By the CHAIRMAN : 

6955. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 
Yes. 

6956. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a 
hope that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of 
Congress in some events ; please to state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a de- 
scription, or of any description, concerning the convention to, any parties ? 

I have no recollection of any letter ; but the question being very broad, whether I wrote 
a letter of any description, 1 will not say that I did not, for I received a great many lettei 
from the loyal men of New Orleans, and I may have answered some of them, although I did 
not frequently do it. I have now no recollection of any such letter. 

6957. Do you recollect of having written a letter to Mr. Flanders ? 

I do not ; but I got one or two letters from him, and I may have answered them. I keep 
no copy of such letters, and 1 receive and answer briefly so many that I cannot say whether 
I did or not. I have no recollection of it. 

By Mr. Bover : 

6958. Did Judge Howell, of Louisiana, consult with you in reference to the calling of the 
convention in July last ? 

Judge Howell called on me once or twice, perhaps oftener, while he was here, and talked 
with me about calling the convention, suggesting what they intended to do. 

6959. Did he exhibit to you the call for the convention? 
I do not think he did. 

6960. Did he explain it to you? 
I think he did. 

6961. Did he state in what respect it was intended to amend the constitution of Louisiana, 
in case the convention got together ? 

I do not think that he stated the particular provisions of the intended constitution further 
than to say that it was intended to protect the loyal men of the State. 

6962. lie did not mention in what manner that was to be effected ? 
I did not understand him so. 

6963. Was the question of the extension of suffrage to the colored people and the disfran- 
chisement of those who had been engaged iu the rebellion discussed between you' and him 
on either of those occasions ! 

I have no recollection that it was. I remember that some person was with me at one 
time, and there was a general conversation on that subject, but not as to that particular 
amendment. 

6964. Did he, consult you with reference to the legality of calling the convention in the 
mode proposed ? 

I do not think he consulted me. I think they had determined on all those matters before 
he came here. 

6965. Did he ask your opinion with reference to the legality of that which had been de- 
termined upon ! 

I am not so very sure about that. I think, however, that in the course of conversation I 
gave it as my opinion that as the adjourned convention had provided for its reassembling, if 
it assembled in a peaceable manner, it would be perfectly legal. 

6966. Did he call your attention to the clause in the constitution of Louisiana providing 
the mode in which the constitution should be amended, if at all I 

I do not think I saw the constitution of Louisiana. ■>% 

6967. The resolution to which you refer was not a part of the constitution of Louisiana — 
did you so understand it ? 



490 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I did not see the constitution at all. I understood it to be one of the acts of the convention 
that framed the constitution that on its adjournment it provided for its reassembling. 

6968. I >iil you read the resolution referred to? 

I have no recollection of having read it. I suppose I took it from Judge Howell's account 
Of it. 

696!). Was the question in reference to the propriety of calling the convention discussed 
between you and other members of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction .' 

I have no recollection that the Committee on Reconstruction took the matter into consider- 
ation at all. 

6970. Have vou any recollection of the number of interviews that you held with Judge 
Howell ? 

I have not ; hut I should think there were not more than two; there may have been three. 

6971. Were they all on the same subject .' 

They were on the general subject of the politics of Louisiana. 

By the Chairman ; 

6972. Do you recollect having written any letter in which you gave advice to the party to 
whom you wrote to proceed with the convention, and to do the work without regard to con- 
Bequences, or any letter of that description? 

No, sir; I have no recollection of any such letter at all. I recollect perfectly well saying 
verbally to Judge Howell that I thought they had a right to meet if they did it peaceably ; 
that they had a right to do what they pleased when they had met, provided they did not plot 
treason, and that if they framed a constitution and presented it to Congress I had no doubt 
Congress would consider it, and would consider the question of the admission of delegates 
under it, for that I held that their present government was a bogus government. I remember 
giving this opinion to nun, not in writing, but in conversation. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1S67. 
Hon. ELLIIIU B. WASHBIIRNE, a member of the House of Representatives from the 
State of Illinois, sworu and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

6973. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 
Yes. 

6974. There has been some evidence laid before the committee that a letter was written con- 
cerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July. 1866, to some parties in New Or- 
leans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a hope 
that it might goon, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of Congress 
in some events; please tn state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a descriptiou, or 
of any description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

I never did. 



Washington, D. C, Monday , January 21, 1S67. 

Hon. ELIJAH HISE, a member of the House of Representatives from the State of Ken- 
tucky, sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

097."). Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 

I have been elected to till an unexpired term. My predecessor, Mr. ( rrider, was a member 
of that, committee, and 1 suppose that as a mere matter of form, or as a compliment, I have 
been substituted in his place on that committee; but 1 have not attended any meeting of that 
committee, nor am I advised that there lias been a meeting of it since 1 was appointed. 

6976. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention in New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in JSew 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a 
hope that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of 
('.ingress in some events; please stale whether you ever wrote any letter of such a descrip- 
tion, or of any description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

I am sure I have never written to any party at New Orleans or anywhere else on the sub- 
ject of those disturbances at New Orleans, or of the proposed meeting of the convention. 
I have no knowledge whatever of any t'aets connected with those disturbances at New Or- 
leans, other than those which have beeu accessible to all people through the medium of the 
newspapers. 



TESTIMONY OF JUSTIN S. MORRILL. 491 

WASHINGTON, D. C, Monthly, January 21, 1867. 
Hon. JUSTIN S. MORRILL, a member of the IK. use of Representatives from the State 
of Vermont, sworn and examined. 

By the Chairm \\: 

0977. Arc you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction? 
. Yes. 

6978. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, [866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a hope 
that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of ( longress 
in some events ; please state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a description, or of 
any description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

1 am very certain that I never wrote any letter, at all concerning the matter at New Orleans. 
I have received some, bnt I think I have never answered any one. I never wrote any such 
letter. 

By Mr. Siiellabarger : 

6979. Did you ever write any to Mr. Flanders? 

Never. Certainly, if I did, I have not the slightest recollection of it. I do not think I 
ever did. 

By Mr. Buyer: 

69S0. Were you consulted in reference to the propriety of calling the convention of July 
30, at New Orleans ! 

Not at all. 

6981. Do you recollect seeing Judge Howell on the occasion of his visit to 'Washington 
just previous to the convention .' 

I do not. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1867. 
Hon. J. W. GRIMES, United States senator from the State of Iowa, sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

6982. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction ? 
Yes. 

6983. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a hope 
that it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of Congress 
in some eventsl ; please state whether you ever wrote any letter of such a description, or of 
any description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

I never did. I never heard of such a letter being written. I never heard any suggestion 
in regard to it. I never heard any conversation on the subject. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 21, 1^07. 
Hon. ANDREW J. ROGERS, a member of the House of Representatives from the State 
of New Jersey, sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

0984. Are you a member of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction 1 

I am. 

6985. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention at New Orleans in July, 1866, to some parties in New 
Orleans, giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing a hope 
that it might go on, saying something about the probable or possible action of- Congress in 
some events ; please state; whether you ever wrote any letter of such a description, or of any 
description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

None of any kind or character in reference to the convention. 



492 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Washington, 1>. C, Monday, January 21, 1S67. 
JOHN BURKE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

6986. state ypur age, and where your residence was on the 30th of July last. 
My age is about twenty-eight. My residence at thai time was at N< w Orleans. 

6987. Bow long had you lived at New Orleans ! 
About seventeen or eighteen years. 

6988. Where are you residing new? 
In the city of New York. 

6989. What was your occupation in New Orleans ' 

My last occupation there was chief of police in the city of New Orleans, which position I 
resigned in April, 1866. 

6990. During what time did you hold that place? 

For about a year, during the mayoralty of Dr. Hu. Kennedy. 

6991. State what l'aets eame under your eye on the 30th of July List concerning the con- 
vention. 

I was in the hall where the convention met, as a spectator. 1 was there that morning 
merely out of curiosity. I was there when the convention was called to order. 

6992. state, in your own way, from the beginning, what you saw. 

T remained in the hall of the convention with some friends of mine until we heard some 

firing on the street immediately in front of the hall. At the time we heard the first pistol 
shot tiled on the street 1 had a conversation with Mr. Fairfax, one of the associate editors of 
the New Orleans Times, and two or three other gentlemen. Immediately upon the report of 
tiie pistol being heard there was a rush made towards the front of the hall and towards the 
windows by the persons in the hall. I went out into the front lohby and went up stairs info 
the other story, and went into a room right in front of the building, occupied, I think, bv 
some of the surveyor's assistants. The windows of that room opened right on Philippa or 
Dryades street The window out of which I looked gave me a view of a square on Dryades 
street, extending from Canal street on one side to Common street on the other. 1 continued 
to look out in the street lor probably five or six minutes; no longer, I think. I saw the po- 
lice firing upon some negroes down in the street, and 1 saw, some of the negroes taking ret' 
uge in the doorways or en the stoops of the houses. 1 also saw a few negroes lying appa- 
rently dead on the sidewalks and in the streets. After looking out of the window some live 
or six minutes, I returned to the convention hall, the main hall of the Mechanic,-.' Institute, 
where 1 remained some time. There was a great deal of excitement in the hall among the 
members of the convention and their supporters. Observing a good many negroes in the 
hall, and some white men looking out of the windows, I remarked to Mr. Hahn, who was 
promenading up and down the centre of the hall, that it might he well for him to gel those 
people away from the windows, as I feared the mob outside would lire into the had on see- 
ing them at the windows, lie requested me to go around to each window and ask the peo- 
ple, white and black, to come into the centre of the hall and leave the windows. 1 did so. 
About that time Mr. King Cutler got upon the platform and called upon all parties who were 
in the had to get away from the windows, and to take seats in the hall. I recollect very 
well his announcing that, those who could not find chairs should take seats upon the floor. 
All this time the firing en the streets and around the hall was increasing, and some pistol 
shots were fired in through the windows. Mr. Fairfax, with whom I was in company most 
of the morning, remarked to me that we had probably better try to get out, as he 

feared tin- hall would he attacked, and we might he hurt. We went out into the 
front lobby, and on looking down the staircase, before going down, we saw a inoh of 
policemen and citizens advancing up the staircase very rapidly. Nearly all of them 
were armed with pistols, staves, bludgeons, and one thing or other. All the po- 
licemen whom I saw going up the staircase were armed with pistels, which they had 
drawn. I recollect the party well, from the fact of the leader of the party being an old 
policemen who had served under me. He was the til st man up the staircase. 1 1 is name is 
Sokoloski, a Polish .lew. Almost immediately one of the party, a citizen whom 1 think I 
would know if I ever saw him again — I do not recollect his nam* — grabbed hold of Mr. 

Fairfax by the throat and demanded of him whether he was one of that infernal Convention 
crowd. Mr Fairfax hail his notes in one hand and his pencil behind his ear — he was there 
in the capacity of city reporter, lie had to hallo out and say that he was reporter. The 
fellow held a pistol in his hand ; he let go of .Mr. Fairfax and said something to the effect — 

" Von da mi aa I son of a hit eh, you ate one of the lei lows who wore crape for Lima i In," and 
he muttered some other threats. By that time there was a regular crush of people crowding 
into the lobby. I pit separated from Mr. Fairfax ami got mixed up in the crowd of police- 
men and citizens. There was great confusion, shouting, tied hallooing : men were shouting 
to burst the doors open, and finally the main door was opened — I do not know by what 
means — and in tin- crush .and rush of men inside trying t * > get out and others trying to get 
in, I was shoved partly into the hall. I remember seeing Mr. Shaw and same others, in- 
cluding, 1 think, Mr. Horton, approaching the doer from the inside. All this time there 
were pistol shots tired by the crowd on the outside into the hall through the open door. 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN BURKE. 493 

I forced my way back again along the lobby down the staircase, winch was pretty clear, ex- 
cept for some of the negroes, who managed to rush through the crowd, who were jumping 
down the staircase and running rapidly through the back corridor towards the rear or the 
building, to get out In the rear. When I got down almost to the bottom of the staircase, .- 1 1 1 < I 
was within two or three steps from the bottom, I saw that the front doors of the ball were 
packed with a moh of people — policemen and citizens — who were thing on all who came 
down the staircase, and firing after those negroes who were running back through the corridor. 
I cannot say whether they were firing particularly at me, although the shots were pretty 
thick around me at times. I walked through the main corridor hark towards the chamber 
occupied by the senate, and got into one of the corridors glancing off toward the side of the 
building on which the college stands. There was a brick fence about ten feet bigh, separa- 
ting the little yard of the Mechanics' Institute from the college grounds. In that brick fence 
there is a space left open for the purpose of a doorway or gate, I should think; I observed 
that there was no gate there at the time, but there were planks nailed up in lieu of a gate, 
and there were one or two planks removed, leaving sufficient room for a man to go through, 
i suppose the planks were removed by some of the negroes who escaped that way. I 
saw some negroes, who were ahead of me, running and getting through the aperture, and I 
followed and got out that way myself. I found another mob of policemen and citizens in 
the yard of the college right in rear of the Institute — or rather partly in the rear aid 
partly on the side of the Institute — and they were also attacking with pistols and blud- 
geons all those who were endeavoring to escape by that route, myself among the nUmber. 
1 got shot and knocked down in that yard. I received a pistol shot in the left side. Get- 
ting up, I made my way through the yard to Baronne street, which runs immediately in the 
rear of Mechanics' Institute. I passed up Baronne street to the corner of Common, which was 
only forty or fifty yards from the place, where I got out. I saw a mob of men on Common 
street toward St. Charles Hotel ; and below that, on the side near Dryades street, there was 
another mob. Another mob was advancing toward the hall from Baronne street, composed 
mostly of citizens, and some policemen. On the upper end of Common street, toward 
Dryades street, right at the junction of Common and Dryades streets, I observed a great 
many policemen in the crowd. Thinking there; was no chance of my escaping that way, I 
returned down Baronne street, passing on the otherside of the street, on the side on which the 
Jesuit church is. I walked down to Canal street, turned around the corner of Canal, and 
went into the office of a friend of mine. Dr. Anfoux. His office is on Canal street, between 
Baronne and Carondglet. 1 went in there and had him to examine and dress my wound. Up 
stairs, over Dr. AnfoUx's office, General Lee, of the United States cavalry, occupied rooms. 
A friend of his, who happened to come into Dr. Anfoux's office while he was dressing my 
wound, invited me to come up stairs till the excitement on the street would pass over. He 
took me up into General Lee's rooms, where he gave me a little brandy. I felt rather weak 
from loss of blood at the time. The general was there and so was Judge Warmouth. The 
general was on the balcony a good deal, from which he could see a good deal of what was 
going on in the street. I went out there a few minutes and saw the policemen and citizens 
running after every unfortunate negro that they could see, shouting and hallooing at them, 
firing after them, and knocking them down when they came upon them. Immediately after 

that I left the office in c pany with Dr. Anfoux, who volunteered to accompany me up the 

street a little way. Shortly afterwards I went to the room of a friend of mine, where 1 had 
my wound redressed, and I remained there for the greater part of the evening; and about 
dusk 1 went home. That is about all I can say for that day. 

6993. Give us the names of any persons whom you saw at the hall of the Institute, or in 
the street before the hall, who were engaged in acts of violence. 

I know but very few by name. But if I were in New Orleans, I could probably point out 
a good many whom I saw engaged in that affair. There are, however, two or three whom I 
know very well — men whom 1 had known down there a long time. The majority of the 
present police force I do not know. They are nearly all new comers there — returned con- 
federate soldiers — and 1 do not know a great many of them. The majority of them are 
entirely unknown to me, although I have lived in New Orleans a good many years. But in 
the crowd I observed Henrj Clark, who was at the time, as I understood, deputy keener in 
the Insane Asylum. His lather is Alderman George Clark, president of the present board of 
aldermen. On looking out of the window of the- surveyor's room on the top floor, I saw Mr. 
Oscar Blascoe showing himself very conspicuously, leading on some of the mob. Oncoming 
down stairs, I again observed him at one of the doors. I am positive that he fired at me 
from the doorway as I came down the staircase. I saw the smoke from his pistol. 

6994. Slate how (dark was engaged .' 

I cannot swear that Clark was armed, or that lie was unarmed. He was there in a crowd 
of men, all of whom seemed to he armed. They were tiling at everybody coming down the 
staircase; but I would not swear that Henry Clark was armed or that he fired. 

6995. What knowledge have you of Henry Chirk? 

I have known him for several years. There is another party whom I saw in that crowd, 
and whom I know. His name is Gilmartin — his first name I do not know. I think his trade 
is that of a carpenter. I think he keeps a carpenter shop there. 

(jyyii. State what he was doing at the time you saw him. 



494 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I saw him w iih a pistol in his hand. I also saw him, while I was looking out of the win- 
dow, In the first crowd of policemen and citizens who were coming toward the Institute. 
They were firing very rapidly upon the negroes as they approached the hall. I stated awhile 
ago that on coming oul of the yard of the college I walked up Baronne street as far as Com- 
mon, and turned ii]> Common until I saw the street blocked by another crowd. In that 
crowd 1 observed Mr. Daniel Scully, one of the associate editors of the Crescent. He had a 
revolver in his hand, and seemed to be pointing over toward the hall to some parties who 
were in the crowd with him, apparently in a very excited manner. 

6997. Pointing his revolver.' 

Yes; making demonstrations in a very excited manner. To the best of my recollection, 
these are about all the parties whom I can now swear to having seen, although I am confi- 
dent that I could identify many of the men again, if I saw them. 

(5998. I have shown to you a list of the names of the policemen employed under Mayor 
Monroe at the time of the riot ; state how far you have examined it, and whether you see there 
the names of persons whom you know as being returned confederates. 

I have examined this list of the first district police. There area good many of those men whom, 
though I do not know by name, I have no doubt I know very well personally. On the list 
I find the names of some persons whom I have known there for some years. In fact they 
are men who made themselves known to everybody in that community. Their names are 
Lucien Adams, Win. O'C. Donnell, Barney Fox, and George Washington Rockwell. 



Washington, D. C., Tuesday, January 22, 18G7. 
The witness being recalled, bis examination was continued as follows : 

By the Chairman: 

6999. Continue your answer to the last question asked you yesterday. 

Since then I have looked over the complete list. As I stated yesterday, I have no doubt 
but that I would know probably a majority of those men if I saw them: but I have a mem- 
orandum here of all whose names I know. Their names are as follows: Thos. E. Adams, 
chief of ■police, colonel in confederate army ; Wm. H. Manning, lieutenant of police, major 
in confederate army ; M. J. Sheehan, lieutenant of police, lieutenant in confederate army; 
Thos. N. Boylan, aid to chief, registered enemy, sent out of the city by Butler; Smith 
Izard, aid to chief, rebel, doorkeeper in gambling-bouse; Lucien Adams, noted thug ami 
assassin; Wm. O'C. Donnell, noted thug and assassin; G. Wash. Rockwell* noted thug 
and assassin; Harry Strong, noted thup and assassin; Arthur Guerin, noted time- and 
assassin ; Oscar Blasco, noted thug and assassin ; Wm. Lockwood, noted time- and assassin; 
Aleck Lattimore, confederate spy, accused of being leader of a baud of incendiaries who 
fired several steamboats on the Mississippi during the war. His arrest on this charge was 
ordered by the military authorities. 

7 1 it it I. Were you in New Orleans at the time of the municipal election, when Mayor Monroe 
was elected ' 

Yes, sir; the election of March, 1866. 

700). What, if anything, came under your observation in reference to that election as to 
the character of those who voted for him, with reference to their connection with the rebel 
armies ? 

I was considerably around that day with policemen, and visited almostevery polling place 
in the city, to see that proper order was preserved, and ! observed that all the confederate soldiers 
were voting for Mr. Monroe, and so I was also informed by my own policemen, who were 
stationed at the polls. That, however, was a matter that was to be expected. We all 
looked for it. Previously to the election the Union men of the city met in convention and 
nominated a Union ticket of their own, putting forward Joseph II. Moore as their candidate 
for mayor in opposition to Monroe. Mr. Moore was a, very respectable "Id gentleman — a 
retired merchant, who had been in business in New Orleans thirty years, and who -was then 
engaged in planting on the coast. It was believed by the Union men that he would be sus- 
tained by the respectable people of New Orleans, particularly by those who made any claim 
to Unionism. 

7002. Did you see Colonel Eugene Tisdale in New Orleans about the time of that election .' 
Yes, sir; there was such a. gentleman in e nand id' what was called the first New Or- 
leans infantiy, a. federal regiment that was raised there under the regulations of General 
Banks. Colonel Tisdale was in command of that regiment in Xew Orleans. 

7003. Did he say anything to you as to what he proposed to do with his regimen! ' 

Yes, sir. lie stated to me on the street, probably three days before the election, that he 
intended supporting Monroe in opposition to the Union candidate. He afterwards deputed 
a friend of his, Mr. Fairfax, of whom I spoke yesterday, to come to me and ask me to get 
from the committee of the Union party a certain amount of money for him and he would 
cause his regiment to cast their votes for the Union candidal.'; otherwise not. I represented 
the matter toMr. J. P. Sullivan, treasurer to the Union committee, and he gave me either $J50 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN BURKE. 495 

or $-200 to pay to Colonel Tisdale. That money I handed to Mr. Fairfax on the morning of 
the election, and he afterwards told me he had given it, and Colonel TiBdale told me he bad 
received it. Strange to say, however, that, notwithstanding the payment of this money to 
him, the majority of his men voted Cm- Mr. Monroe, as was reported. In fad he admitted 
thai i" me as late as last night at Willanls' Hotel. 

7004. I think you stated that you were in office as chief of police during the mayoralty of 
Dr. I In. Kennedy ! 

Yes sir. 

7005. Where is Dr. Kennedy new .' 

His place of business is in New York, but he is at present residing at 247 North Eutaw 
street. Baltimore city. 

7006. How lone- was lie mayor? 

For about a year, lie was appointed mayor. 

Too?. Something lias been said tons in reference to what was called the conciliatory policy 
of Governor Wells. State anything you know in reference to that and to its working. 

I know that previous to the election in November, 1865, and for some time afterwards, 
Governor Wells endeavored, to my own knowledge, in every possible way, to conciliate 
those returned confederates by giving them whatever offices he had at his disposal. His in- 
structions to me were that, if any returned soldiers of the confederate army came to me and 
applied for a position on the police, having recommendations from their officers and from one 
or two well known citizens, to give them whatever place I had for them on the police. I did 
this and placed a number of those men on the police. I reported to him, from time to time, 
that I believed it was not working very well for us ; that I did not think anything we could 
do in that way would conciliate those men; for even when they were on duty as policemen, 
they were always expressing their sentiments, how they expected to get the whole control of 
things again from the Yankees. Such language was used even in the public station-houses, 
and reports were constantly brought to me to that effect by my officers. Previously to the elec- 
tion of Monroe I applied to some of these men in person, and through my officers, to support 
the Union candidates, and they very decidedly refused. Sooner than do so, a good many of 
them resigned their positions on the police. 

7008. You stated yesterday that you left the city of New Orleans some little time after the 
30th of .Tidy .' 

Yes, in eight or nine days afterwards. 

7009. State whether there was any reason for your leaving there; whether you had re- 
ceived any intimations, or notices, or threats ! 

I do not know that I was ever identified with what was called the conventionalists down 
there, but, even while I was yet chief of police, and before the election of Mr. Monroe, I was 
threatened publicly within a dozen yards of my own office. I was told that I, and every 
other damned Yankee, would have to clear out. This man, Captain William Tenbricks, told 
me that he would see me and several others of us hung up just as soon as things were settled. 
After that I received anonymous communications through the post office, ordering me to leave 
the city forthwith. 

7010. Were they couched in threatening terms? 

Yes, sir, I should think so; they told me that my absence was required. 

7011. State what came to your knowledge while you were chief of police, or at any other 
time, as to the existence or action of secret clubs, organizations, or societies of men who had 
been in the rebel service. 

I heard of a secret organization which had its headquarters in Algiers, a village on the other 
side of the river. After some time 1 succeeded in getting a list of men who, I was told, be- 
longed to that organization. That list I submitted to the mayor, who, I believe, forwarded 
it to Governor Wells. At least I understood so. 

7012. Do you recollect the name of that organization? 

I do not. It was designated by some initial letters, but I do not recollect what they were. 
By Mr. Siiellabakger : 

7013. What was the character of that association? 

I only know from the report of police "officers that it was a southern association. 

7014. Was it a Union organization? 

I should not judge so by the reports I received. I only knew of them through the reports 
I received from police officers. One man 1 detailed particularly to see after that society. 
He reported to me that he believed it to be a rebel organization. After he succeeded in 
getting a list of the members, and fiudiug out their meeting place, and after some talk was 
made about it, the place of meeting was changed, and we failed to get on their track again. 
I heard no more of it afterwards. 

7015. Do you know whether Hays's brigade was kept up as an organization after the sur- 
render? 

No, sir. There were some benevolent associations down there, consisting of the members 
of Hays's brigade and some other regiments, against which General Sheridan issued an order. 

7010. Do you know anything about public manifestations of hostility towards the gov- 
ernment of the United States by the people of Louisiana, either in the streets or theatres, or 
other public places, after the surrender ? 



496 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

So far as my observation extended, I believe the majority of the people down there to be 
heartily with the confederate cause. 
?nl7. What do you mean by being with the confederate cause? 

That they wished it success. 

7018. Have they ceased to desire that success now, according to the indications of their 
conduct I 

It is my opinion that they have not, but that they still continue. 

7019. What facts in the conduct of the people have you seen to indicate that that last 
opinion of yours is correct .' 

I should judge so from the tenor of their remarks on many occasions, and from their con- 
versations on matters and tilings. 

7020. Were you in New Orleans during the rebellion and at its commencement? 
I was there all through it. 

7021. Are you acquainted with Air. Roselius, who was a member of the secession conven- 
tion, with Mr. Randall Hunt, and with Mr. Jacob Barker .' 

I know those gentlemen. 

7022. Do you know whether they gave in their adherence to the cause of the rebellion at 
any time after the war had been inaugurated ? 

They seemed to acquiesce ; they never opposed it that I know. Mr. Roselius, I under- 
stood, voted against the ordinance of secession, but he contented himself with that. I never 
knew him to do anything in opposition to it or to help* the Union cause. After (lie occupa- 
tion by the federal troops there were opportunities for every Union citizen, particularly men 
like Air. Roselius, who had much influence, to help to establish the Union cause and to build 
up Union sentiment there, but I never heard of his doing so. 

7024 State if you know any fact indicating that the slaughter of the 30th of July was 
pre-arranged. 

No, sir; I know of no facts of that kind. It was my opinion that there would be trouble 
that day. I told Governor Weils in his office the morning that the convention met, that, from 
the number of men around the streets and gathering around the hall. I feared that there 
would In' some trouble ; but lie said, "No, I do not apprehend trouble." I was led to make 
the remark to him by seeing a number of those men 1 knew around the streets. 

7025. Please to stale what, in your opinion, from all the facts that you know of the con- 
dition of Louisiana, would be the position of the Union people of Louisiana if the govern- 
ment of the United Slates were to withdraw from them all military protection .' 

I think that whatever little Union sentiment there is there would very rapidly die out'; it 
would be forced out. Union men would find it wry unprofitable, I think, to stick to their 
opinions, ami they would probably have to leave there or change their opinions. One course 
or the other, 1 think, they would have to adopt. 

1 ! y Mr. B-oyer : 

•7026. The list of policemen which you have handed to the committee, containing the 
names of those whom you know to have been connected with the rebel army, was prepared 
by you since your examination yesterday / 

Yes, sir; the names are taken from the list furnished me by the chairman of the com 
mittee. 

7027. Did yen look over the list to ascertain how many of them had served in the federal 
army.' 

1 did not. 

7028. Were you asked to do so? 
No. 

7029. Did anybody assist you in making up the list which you have handed in? 
No, sir.- 

7030. Did you consult with anybody since your examination yesterday in reference to the 
antecedents of persons included in the list ' 

No, sir; it was not necessary for me to do so, because 1 know them probably as well as 
anybody else here does. 1 do not know anybody beve \\ bo knows them. 

7031. Were there, to your knowledge, persons employed on the police force in New Or- 
leans who had served in the fed< ral army? 

No, sir; I do not know of one, although there may have been. 

7032. Did you try to ascertain .' 

I inquired more than once from parties who I thought knew what was going on at. police 
headquarters, and the invariable reply I received was thai no federal soldiers were appointed. 

To;;;;. Whin did you make those inquiries .' 

I made inquiry particularly from a man who was recommended to me by General Canby 
shortly after the appointment of the new police ; i think it was in April or May last. 

7034. Whal was the occasion of yourinquiiy? 

This man was a discharged soldier who had served in the regular army under General 
Canby, and he came to me with a recommendation from General Canby, and I placed him 
on the police. He came to me shortly afterwards, about the time 1 state, and told me he 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN BURKE. 497 

was discharged, and that they had refused to pay him for the three or four weeks he had 
served. 

7035. Who had refused to pay him ? 

The police authorities, and he wished me to try and fret him his money, or to do some- 
thing for him. He is one of the men who told me that all the federal soldiers who had been 
on the police were discharged. 

7036. Did you apply to the mayor? 
No, sir ; I made no application at all. 

7037. Is not the mayor the appointing power? 
Yes, sir. 

7038. Oid you go to the chief of police? 

No, sir. In fact, I took very little interest in the matter. 

7039. By whom had your friend been appointed on the police? 
By Dr. Kennedy. 

7040. When did you leave New Orleans? 
I think on the 7th or 8th of August last. 

7041. How long before that had you ceased to be connected with the police ? 
I resigned on the 19th or 20th of March last. 

7042. What did you do in New Orleans in the mean time ? 

For about two months I was employed in the Internal Revenue department. The balance 
of the time I was engaged in settling up some accounts of my own and of some friends. My 
original position was that of book-keeper and cashier in a mercantile house in New Orleans. 

7043. After your retirement from the police, did you move about in New Orleans freely ? 
Sometimes. 

7044. By day and by night ? 
Yes. 

7045. Did you ever experience any personal violence ? 

Never, except on the occasion of the riot. As far as that matter is concerned, I have 
no personal fears. I should go there to-morrow if my business called me there, and go 
around as freely as ever. 

7046. Would you not think your life in danger ? 

Not unless they could get me into some such scrape as the convention, where they had me 
at a disadvantage. 

7047. Did you call on Colonel Tisdale last evening? 
No, sir ; I met hiin at Willards' Hotel. 

7048 Did you go there to see him ? 

No, sir ; I am stopping there myself, and I met him accidentally in company with another 
gentleman. 

7049. How came he to tell you that a majority of the soldiers of his regiment voted for 
Mayor Monroe ? 

He first put the question to me, what I was doing in Washington. I told him that I was 
summoned here before the New Orleans committee. He said, "Well, I hope you did not 
testify that your life was in danger down there, like the balance of them ?" I said, "No, I did 
not, for the reason that I do not believe my life is in danger. I have got sufficient confidence 
in myself and can look out for myself." We got to talkiug about the election, and he had his 
ideas of it. He said the affair was badly managed, and that if the election had been properly 
managed, we could have elected the Union candidate. I told him it was a very difficult job 
to accomplish, particularly when he and other federal officers, who should have assisted us, 
were opposed to us. 

7050. Did he say, then, that the majority of his own men had voted for Mayor Monroe? 
He said that he himself had voted for Mr. Moore ; but that he understood that part of his 

men who were stationed under Major Kilburn had voted for Mayor Monroe. I told him that 
my reports of the matter were, that nearly all his men had voted for Monroe. He said no, 
that many of them had voted for Moore. 

7051. Did he say that they voted for Moore on account of any influence that he used ? 
No, sir. 

7052. He said he himself had voted for Moore, the Union candidate ? 
Yes, sir. 

7053. When did Colonel Tisdale say to you he had received the money for the purpose of 
influencing the votes of his men? 

I think on the night of the election. 

7054. How much did he say he had received ? 

He did not say, but I understood him to have received the whole amount which I handed 
to Mr. Fairfax, which was $150 or §200. 

7055. How came he to tell you that? 

I asked him if he had received the money. 

7056. Had you been employed on other occasions to bribe voters ? 

No, sir. I did not consider that as bribing voters. He told me his men wanted whiskey 
and wanted a dollar or two in their pockets to go around and treat their friends and get them 
to vote. 

32 N O 



496 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

So far us my observation extended, I believe the majority of the people down there to be 
heartily with the confederate cause. 

7017. What do you mean l>v being with the confederate cause? 
That they wished it success. 

7018. Have they ceased to desire that success now, according to the indications of their 
conduct ! 

It is my opinion that they have not, but that they still continue. 

7019. What facts in the conduct of the people have you seen to indicate that that last 
opinion of yours is correct? 

I should judge so from the tenor of their remarks on manyoccasions, and from their con- 
versations on matters and things 
?H - JH. Were you in New Orleans during- the rebellion aud at its commencement ? 
I was there all through it. 

7021. Are you acquainted with Mr. Roselius, who was a member of the secession conven- 
tion, with Mr. Randall Hunt, and with Mr. Jacob Barker .' 

I know those gentlemen. 

7022. Do you know whether they gave in their adherence to the cause of the rebellion at 
any time after the war had been inaugurated ? 

They seemed to acquiesce; they never opposed it that I know. Mr. Roselius, I under- 
stood, voted against the ordinance of secession, but he contented himself with that. I never 
knew him to do anything in opposition to it or to help the Union cause. Alter the occupa- 
tion by the federal troops there were opportunities for every Union citizen, particularly men 
like Mr. Roselius, who had much influence, to help to establish the Union cause and to build 
up Union sentiment there, but 1 never heard of his doing so. 

7024 State if you know any fact indicating that the slaughter of the 30th of July was 
pre-arranged. 

No, sir; I know of no facts of that kind. It was my opinion that there would be trouble 
that day. I told Governor Wells in his office the morning that the convention met, that, from 
the number of men around the streets and gathering around the hall, I feared that there 
would l)e some trouble ; but he said, "No, 1 do not apprehend trouble." I was led to make 
the remark to him by seeing a number of those men 1 knew around the streets. 

7025. Please to state what, in your opinion, from all the facts that you know of the con- 
dition of Louisiana, would lie the position of the Union people of Louisiana if the govern- 
ment of the United States were to withdraw from them all military protection? 

I think that whatever little Union sentiment there is there would very rapidly die out'; it 
would be forced out. Union men would find it very unprofitable, I think, to stick to their 
opinions, and they would probably have to leave there or change their opinions. One course 
or the other, 1 think, they would have to adopt. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

•7026. The list of policemen which you have banded to the committee, containing the 
names of those whom you know to have keen connected with the rebel army, was prepared 
by you since your examination yesterday? 

Yes, sir; the names are taken from the list furnished me by the chairman of the com 
mittee. 

7027. Did you look over the list to ascertain how many of them had served in the federal 
army .' 

I did not. 

7028. Were you asked to do so? 
No. 

7029. Did anybody assist you in making up the list which you have handed in ? 
No, sir. 

7030. Lid you consult with anybody since your examination yesterday in reference to the 
antecedents of persons included in the list ? 

No, sir; it was not necessary for me to do so, because I know them probably as well as 
anybody else here docs. 1 do iii't know anybody beie who knows them. 

7031. Were there, to your knowledge, persons employed on the police force in New Or- 
leans who had served in the federal army ! 

No, sir: I do not know of one, although there may have keen. 

7032. Lid you try to ascertain ! 

I inquired more than once from parties who 1 thought knew what was going on at police 
headquarters, and the invariable reply I received was that no federal soldiers were appointed. 

7033. When did you make those inquiries .' 

I made inquiry particularly from a man who was recommended to me by General Canby 
shortly after the appointment of the new police; 1 think it was in April or May last. 

7034. What was the occasion of your inquiry ' 

This man was a discharged soldier who hail served in the regular army under General 
Canby. and he came to me with a recommendation from General Canby, and 1 placed him 
on the police. He came to me shortly afterwards, about the time I state, and told me he 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN BURKE. 497 

was discharged, and that they had refused to pay him for the three or four weeks he had 
served. 

7035. Who had refused to pay him? 

The police authorities, and he wished me to try and pet him bis money, or to do some- 
thin}; for him. He is one <>f the men who told me that all the federal soldiers who had been 
on the police were discharged. 

70:56. Did you apply to the mayor? 

No, sir; I made no application at all. 

7037. Is not the mayor the appointing power? 
Yes, sir. 

7038. Did you go to the chief of police? 

No, sir. In fact, I took very little interest in the matter. 

7039. By whom had your friend been appointed on the police? 
By Dr. Kennedy. 

7040. When did you leave New Orleans? 
I think on the 7th or 8th of August last. 

7041. How long before that had you ceased to be connected with the police ? 
I resigned on the 19th or 20th of March last. 

7042. What did you do in New Orleans in the mean time ? 

For about two months I was employed in the Internal Revenue department. The balance 
of the time I was engaged in settling up some accounts of my own and of some friends. My 
original position was that of book-keeper and cashier in a mercantile house in New Orleans. 

7043. After your retirement from the police, did you move about in New Orleans freely ? 
Sometimes. 

7044. By day and by night ? 
Yes. 

7045. Did you ever experience any personal violence ? 

Never, except on the occasion of the riot. As far as that matter is concerned, I have 
no personal fears. I should go there to-morrow if my business called me there, and go 
around as freely as ever. 

7046. Would you not think your life in danger? 

Not unless they could get me into some such scrape as the convention, where they had me 
at a disadvantage. 

7047. Did you call on Colonel Tisdale last evening ? 
No, sir ; 1 met him at Willards' Hotel. 

7048 Did you go there to see him ? 

No, sir ; I am stopping there myself, and I met him accidentally in company with another 
gentleman. 

7049. How came he to tell you that a majority of the soldiers of his regiment voted for 
Mayor Monroe ? 

He first put the question to me, what I was doing in Washington. I told him that I was 
summoned here before the New Orleans committee. He said, "Well, I hope you did not 
testify that your life was in danger down there, like the balance of them?" I said, "No, I did 
not, for the reason that I do not believe my life is in danger. I have got sufficient confidence 
in myself and can look out for m} r self." We got to talkiug about the election, aud he had his 
ideas of it. He said the affair was ba'lly managed, and that if the election had been properly 
managed, we could have elected the Union candidate. I told him it was. a very difficult job 
to accomplish, particularly when he and other federal officers, who should have assisted us, 
were opposed to us. 

7050. Did he say, then, that the majority of his own men had voted for Mayor Monroe? 
He said that he himself had voted for Mr. Moore ; but that he understood that part of his 

men who were stationed under Major Kilburn had voted for Mayor Monroe. I told him that 
my reports of the matter were, that nearly all his men had voted for Monroe. He said no, 
that many of them had voted for Moore. 

7051. Did he say that they voted for Moore on account of any influence that he used? 
No, sir. 

7052. He said he himself had voted for Moore, the Union candidate ? 
Yes, sir. 

7053. When did Colonel Tisdale say to you he had received the money for the purpose of 
influencing the votes of his men? 

I think on the night of the election. 

7054. How much did he say he had received ? 

He did not say, but I understood him to have received the whole amount which I handed 
to Mr. Fairfax, which was $150 or $200. 

7055. How came he to tell you that? 

I asked him if he had received the money. 

7056. Had you been employed on other occasions to bribe voters ? 

No, sir. I did not consider that as bribing voters. He told me his men wanted whiskey 
and wanted a dollar or two in their pockets to go around and treat their friends and get them 
to vote. 

32 N O 



498 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

7057. It was to pay the expenses of the voters T 
Yes. 

7058. It was not for Colonel Tisdale's own use? 
I did not so understand it. 

7059. Did you distribute other money to other persons on that occasion, to carry the elec- 
tion ? 

No, sir, except a few hundred dollars which I distributed among my own men for inciden- 
tal expenses on the occasion of the election. 

7060. Then you distributed money in the same way that you understood Colonel Tisdale 
to do 1 

Exactly. 

7061. You say you did not know that you were identified with the conventionists. I want 
to ask you for \\ hat purpose you attended the convention. 

Out of curiosity ; nothing else. I was there as a spectator. I had some private business 
with Governor Wells on the morning the convention met, and was at his office talking with 
him. I then walked up stairs where the convention was about assembling. 

7062. You stated that you anticipated trouble that day. If you anticipated a breach of 
the peace what was your motive in going to the scene of the difficulty ! 

I did not anticipate trouble until on going to the hall I saw around the hall and on the 
streets leading to it a number of men who seemed to be idle and who, I thought, were ready 
for a row. 

7063. What time of the day yvas that? 
It was probably eleven o'clock. 

7064. What time of day was it when you told Governor Wells that there would be trouble? 
About the same time. I said, "Governor, I fear there will be some trouble to-day; I see 

a lot of men collecting around here." He said, li Oh, no, there will be no trouble." 

7065. Why did you not go away yourself when you had made up your mind that there 
was going to be trouble? 

Because 1 had no fears. 

7066. Were yen armed ? 

For some yeais I have never gone unarmed in New Orleans. 

7067. You were armed that day ? 
Yes. 

7068. With what? 
A revolver. 

7069. Did you use it on that occasion? 
Yes; I drew it in my own defence. 
707(1. How often did you fire it? 

To the best of my recollection, four times. 

7071. At whom did you fire it? 

At men who were firing at me as I was coming out of the hall. 

7072. What kind of men were they? 
Policemen and citizens. 

7073. Did you hit any of them ? 
Not that I know of. 

7074. You tired into the crowd? 

I tired into the crowd that was firing at me. 

7075. Was anybody with you armed at that time? 
No, sir, not one. 

7076. Win n was it that you received the anonymous communication of which you speak? 
I think that the last one I received was a week previous to the meeting of the convention. 

The other one I received some days before. 

7077. Did you obey them? 
No, sir. 

7078. After the 30th of July, did you meet with anybody who attempted to execute upon 
you any threat? 

No, sir. 1 met with men who looked pretty hard at me on the street, but nothing more. 
I probably looked as hard at them. 

7079. You say you do not know that you were connected with the convention; do you 
know that you were, not? 

I was not a member of the convention. 

7080. Were you a friend, a supporter, and an advocate of^its doctrines and of the move- 
ment? 

I was in favor of anything that would relieve the Union men from the pressure brought 
against them at that time. 

7081. Then you did favor the movement? 

Yes, sir ; I thought it would result in some good. I did not understand that the conven- 
tion meant a riot, or trouble, or revolution, or anything of that kind. 

7082. Were you a candidate or applicant for office in New Orleans after your retirement 
from the police? 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN BURKE. 499 

I never was an applicant for office in my life but on one occasion. After leaving the police 
a friend of mine told me that if I applied to General Benton, their collector of internal revenue, 
there was a vacancy in his office that I might get. I applied tor it, and, some of my friends 
having recommended me, I got the appointment. 

7083. Where wire you standing when you discharged your pistol at the police ? 

I think 1 was standing, when I first fired, on the third or fourth step or probably on the 
secoud step from the bottom of the staircase inside the Mechanics' Institute. From the time 
I first held an official position there, nearly three years ago, I had charge of the secret service 
police in the department of the Gulf — the military police — and from that time until the day I 
left New Orleans I never went unarmed. 

7084. I see in the list which you have handed to the committee, that you have noted some 
of the policemen as "Noted thugs and assassins." Do you know them personally as such? 

I have known some of them to be in prison on the charge of assassination. 

7085. Do you know of any one connected with the convention that day who was in prison 
for the same cause ? 

I do not. There may have been, but I do not know of any. 

7086. Which of those men whom you have named have you known to be in prison on such 
a charge ? 

Lucien Adams was in prison several months when General Butler was in New Orleans, 
and he was about being tried by a military commission when General Butler was removed. 
Oscar Blascoe I know to have been in prison for murder. Allick Latimer I had orders from 
military headquarters to arrest on a charge of boat-burning. 

7087. Were either of these men brought to trial and conviction? 
Not that I know of. 

7088. Do you know whether or not the evidence against them would have been sufficient 
to convict them ? 

It would, anywhere out of New Orleans. It would in any other community, I think. In 
the case of Oscar Blascoe. I was pretty convenient at the time when he committed a murder 
in a saloon, and from what I heard stated about that affair I should think that in any com- 
munity out of New Orleans he would have been convicted. 

7089. Are you familiar with the facts connected with the others ? 
No, sir, except by general report. 

7090. Were there Union men in New Orleans who did not favor the action of the conven- 
tionists of July ? 

I heard there were some halting Union men. 

7091. Do you consider those who did not favor the action of the convention as "halting 
Union men?" 

Yes, sir; men of business who thought their business would be injured and who- wanted 
to conciliate men down there. Probably they were right ; I have no doubt they were. 

7(192. Do you mean to say that those who were connected with the convention did not care 
much about conciliation and quiet? 

No, sir; I do not mean that. 

7093. Do you think their mode of proceeding was a conciliatory one? 

It was my opinion, and is still, that they tried a conciliatory policy a little too long, and it 
seems that it failed. 

7094. I ask you to state whether their course was a conciliatory one. 

I cannot state that. I know that their course was a just one, so far as the Union people 
of New Orleans were concerned. I do not believe they intended any very serious hurt to 
the returned rebels. I never heard that they did, although some said it was the intention of 
the convention to disfranchise them. I understood that the majority of the convention had 
not that intention. 

7095. Do you think that if the constitution had been submitted to the electors of the State, 
they would have accepted it as you understand the conventionists were about to amend it? 

If submitted to the electors of the State, who voted for Mayor Monroe aud who voted at 
the previous election for governor, I mean if all the returned rebels were allowed to vote in 
the city and parishes, I believe that the whole constitution, with all its amendments, would 
be rejected almost unanimously. 

7096. When you speak of there being little Union sentiment in the community there, do 
you refer to the sentiment of the city of New Orleans, or do you refer to the sentiment through- 
out the State ? 

Only in New Orleans. I have been a little in tbe_ parishes immediately around New Or- 
leans, but not much. 

By the Chairman : 

7097. You have stated that you were armed when at the^convention, and that it had been 
your habit to carry a pistol for some length of time? 

Ever since I held an official position. 

7098. State whether you recollect to have heard Mr. King Cutler calling out in the conven- 
tion for those who were not armed to come within the railing, arid state how many they were 
who at that time appeared to be armed, and did not go within the railing. 



500 NEW OELEANS RIOTS. 

I remember such an announcement being made by Mr. Cutler. He got up on the platform, 
ami in a very loud voice, loud enough for me to bear at all events, made the announcement that 
all persons in the hall who were armed should get outside the railing near the door, and that 
all who were not armed should get inside the railing and take seats, and if they could not 
find chairs they should sit on the floor. I noticed that nobody followed me outside. I was 
on my way out at the time in company with Mr. Fairfax, trying to get out of the hall. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7099. When were you subpoenaed ? 
A few days ago in New York. 

71 lid. Do you know how you came to be subprenaed ? 

I understood through Shelley, who was for a long time the New Orleans correspondent of 
the New York Tribune. I did not volunteer my testimony. 

7101. Did you write a letter from New York to any member of the committee? 
No, sir. 

7102. Did you, since you have been here, give to any member of the committee a written 
statement in reference to what you knew? 

Yes, sir. 

71U:i. To which member of the committee? 

To Mr. Eliot. 

71(14. At whose request ? 

At no one's. It was my own idea. I wished to get through the matter as quick as I could. 



Washington, D. C, Tuesday, January 22, 1867. 
JOSIAH B. GRINNELL, a member of the House of Representatives from the State of 
Iowa, sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

7105. Do you recollect having seen Judge Howell, of Louisiana, in Washington at any 
time prior to the sitting of the convention at New Orleans on the 30th of July, 1800 ? 

I do. 

7106. Did you have any conversation with him concerning the political affairs of Louisiana ? 
I did. 

7)07. Did you give him any advice or instructions in reference to the holding of that con- 
vention? 
1 did not. 

7108. Do you recollect having, expressed to him an opinion concerning the propriety or 
expediency of holding the convention? 

I do not. 

7109. Do you recollect having written a letter to any person in Louisiana before the hold- 
ing of the convention, expressing your judgment as to what would be the probable action of 
Congress in any event, if the convention should proceed? 

I had a correspondence with a gentleman in New Orleans, and I recollect only a casual 
allusion to the political condition of the State. I may have expressed the hope that the loyal 
people of Louisiana would be found acting together. If I expressed such a hope or opinion, 
it was to Dr. E. H. Harris, a townsman of mine, in Grinnell, Iowa, who was at New Orleans 
in an official position connected with the freedmen's schools. I do not keep copies of my 
letters, and I am unable to say whether I did so or not. I did have conversation with Judge 
Howell, but the answers I have already given cover the whole ground. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7110. Did you in your verbal communication with Judge Howell advise him to proceed 
with his call for the convention ? 

No, sir. 

71 1 J . Did he show you the call ? 

I think not. My conversation with him was very general. I was introduced to him by 
General Banks as one of the worthy Union men of New Orleans, and he wished me to know 
him. We talked for a while on the sofa, and he said to me he would call at my lodgings. I 
told him I should be glad to see him. I expressed sympathy for the Union people there ; but 
I am confident that I gave no advice, and went into no detail in reference to matters there. 

7112. Did he explain to you what the call for the convention contained ! 

I do not recollect that he mentioned anything about the call. It is my recollection that he 
said the Union men would place themselves in a condition, probably, to support the loyal 
people of Louisiana. I am sure he showed me no call, and I am confident that he asked no 
advice in reference to any of their acts. 

71 1:5. Do you recollect having in any way encouraged him to go on with the call for the 
convention ? 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM D. KELLY. 501 

No, sir; my expressions were of general sympathy with the loyal people of Louisiana. I 
remember stating to him that I hoped twelve months would not roll round until the loyal 
people north and south would be acting together, until there would be fraternity and har- 
mony, and until we should be able to meet our pecuniary obligations, aud see good will 
restored between the two sections. 

7114. Did you include in your meaning of the term loyal any of those who had participated 
in the rebellion? 

No, sir. It never was part of my belief that they should at once have a part in restoring 
the government — those who had been fighting against it. 

7115. Did you mean to exclude all such, without regard to their present feeling or dispo- 
sition towards the government 1 

I meant only the leaders and such as "bring forth fruit meet for repentance." That has 
been my political theory always, and if I said anything about it to him, that was it. 

7116. Did he explain to you what the convention proposed to do when it got together? 

I must repeat that I have no recollection of his mentioning the convention at all. The 
conversation was very general. 



Washington, D. C, Tuesday, January 22, 1867. 

WILLIAM D. KELLEY, a member of the House of Eepresentatives from the State of 
Pennsylvania, sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

7117. Do you recollect having seen Judge Howell of Louisiana in Washington at any 
time prior to the sitting of the convention at New Orleans on the 30th of July, 1866 ? 

Yes, sir. 

7118. Did you have conversation with him concerning the political affairs of Louisiana? 
Yes, sir. 

7119. Did you give him any advice or instruction in reference to the holding of that con- 
vention ? 

I did not ; but perhaps I had better briefly state the circumstances of our interview. 
It was shortly before the adjournment of Congress; I cannot fix the time. It was during 
Judge Howell's visit to Washington that the interview took place. He called upon me, 
and after a little conversation of a very general character, the subject of the earning 
convention which had then been called came up. I cannot give a verbatim report of the 
conversation, but remember expressing my surprise that a convention which seemed to 
me to have exercised its functions and dissolved should be reconvened, when he brought 
to my attention by statement the resolution of adjournment, and another resolution or ordi- 
nance, by virtue of the language of both of which he claimed that the convention would 
legally and properly assemble. I also suggested the fact that the original convention had 
been composed of delegates from but a small portion of the territory which had formerly 
been governed in pursuance of the constitution of the State of Louisiana, and that it seemed 
to me that now, the war being over, the residents of the other portions of the territory should 
have a voice in framing a constitution which was to be the supreme power of the State; and 
he informed me that writs of election had either already been issued or were about being 
issued for elections in those districts. My impression is that they had been already issued. 
He promised to send to me a copy of the proceedings of the convention with the resolution 
of adjournment and the other resolution of ordinance, whichever it was, which referred 
to the question of the power of the convention to reassemble, which he subsequently did. 
That is the substance of the conversation 1 had with him. 

7120. Do you recollect having expressed to him an opinion concerning the propriety or ex- 
pediency of holding the convention ? 

I do not. I could not have expressed an opinion which could have been of any value to 
him, from the fact that, until I obtained the information from him, I did not know the au- 
thority by which the convention had been called. 

7121. Do you recollect having written a letter to any person in Louisiana, before the hold- 
ing of the convention, expressing your judgment as to what would be the probable action of 
Congress in any event if the convention should proceed ? 

I do not; I do not think I wrote such a letter. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

7122. How do you fix in your memory the fact that the convention had been ordered to 
assemble already at the time of your conversation with Judge Howell ? 

My recollection is somewhat vague ; but I fix that fact by remembering that he gave me 
assurance that writs of election had been, or were about being, issued for the other districts. 
If the convention had not been called, its calling was a foregone conclusion, and had been 
determined upon at the time, because I have no recollection of any discussion as to the pro- 
priety of calling such a convention. My recollection of the conversation is that it went on 
the legality of such a call, and ou the purpose of making it a convention for the people of the 



502 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

whole territory which had been the State of Louisiana, instead of merely those who had been 
members. 

7123. By the date of the call itself, which is already on the record, it appears that the call 
was made on the. 7th of July. I wish now to inquire of you whether your conversation with 
Judge Howell was after the 7th of July, and nearer to the adjournment of Congress than 
that. 

I can only say that it was when Congress was yet in session. It was in very warm 
weather. 1 remember that it was towards the close of the day, and that the windows in the 
back and front rooms of the hall were open. It was later than May, and was when the ses- 
sion was well advanced towards the close. I am quite certain it was after the convention 
had been called. The wholo scope of our conversation was on that assumption of facts. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7124. Do'you recollect whether he showed you a call for the convention issued by him ? 
I do not. 

7125. Had you any communication with Judge Howell, written or verbal, after he sent 
you the resolutions referred to by you in your testimony ? 

I think not. I am the more confident of it for I felt that Judge Howell might justly re- 
proach me with a want of courtesy. The pressure of affairs and my current correspondence 
prevented me from doing what I gladly should have done, and what is due from one gentle- 
man to another. 

712(3. Did Judge Howell accompany his copy of the resolution with that clause of the con- 
stitution of the State of Louisiana which provided for its amendment? 

My impression is, and it is very distinct, that he sent me a volume containing the proceed- 
ings of the convention. 

7127. I understood from you that after that you took no action in the matter, while you 
say now that you neither advised or encouraged the assembling of the convention ? 

I have no recollection of having done so. In connection with the last question, I 
should like to add, that in the course of my conversation with Judge Howell I may have 
said that if they had the legal right to re-assemble the convention, and the districts not 
represented in the original convention should send representatives, and they should adopt 
a constitution republican in form and spirit, they would probably do much toward effect- 
ing- the reorganization of the country ; for I thought, and I certainly expressed the opinion 
to Judge Howell in some part of the conversation, that if the people of any of those southern 
districts whose governments had been overthrown were to adopt of their own motion a 
constitution republican in form and spirit, Congress would waive technical considerations as 
it had done in the case of California, and in the case of Michigan, and admit the State 
organized by the adoption of such constitution. 

7128. Do you recollect whether, on your reading the constitution of Louisiana as it now 
exists, you formed the opinion whether or not it was republican in form ? 

I do not think I read it. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, Tuesday, January 22, 1867. 
DANIEL MORRIS, a member of the House of Representatives from the State of New 
York, having affirmed, was examined as follows: 

By the Chairman : 

7129. Do you recollect having seen Judge Howell, of Louisiana, in Washington at any 
time prior to the sitting of the convention at New Orleans on the 30th of July, 18d6? 

Yes, I remember very well that 1 had some two or three interviews with him. 

7130. Did you have conversation with him concerning the political affairs of Louisiana ? 
I did. 

7131. Did you give him any advice or instructions in reference to the holding of that con- 
vention ? 

None whatever. 

7132. Do you recollect having expressed to him an opinion concerning the propriety or 
expediency of holding the convention? 

I well remember that I wrote no such letter and saw no such letter. I remember talking 
with Judge Howell and expressing sympathy with the loyal men of the south, and regretting 
that they had not some proper shield ; but as to any action of Congress, I expressed no opinion 
whatever. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7133. Was your sympathy expressed in consequence of his representations of what the 
loyal men of the south were suffering '.' 

I do not think it was. I may, I think, have generalized by saying that my sympathies 
were in favor of the loyal men of the south, without any reference to his State or any other. 



TESTIMONY OF ROSCOE CONKLING. 503 

I said I felt sympathy with the loyal men, as they seemed to be Buffering, or something of 
that kind. 

7134. Did you not discuss with him particularly the condition of the loyal men of Lou- 
isiana ? 

O, no. 

7135. Do I understand you to say that he did not consult you at all with reference to the 
remedies to be »pplied there? 

No, sir. 

7136. Did he show you the call for the convention which he had issued ? 
He did not. 

7137. Did he explain to you the new features which they intended to introduce into the 
constitution if their convention proved a success ? 

He did not. 

7138. Did he ask you with reference to the legality of calling the convention in the mode 
proposed ? 

No, sir; we had no talk about the convention. He came to me with a letter of introduc- 
tion, which asked me to introduce him to some of the prominent men in this city, which I 
did. We merely had a general talk, without any reference to the convention, or to the pur- 
pose for which the judge was here, if he had any purpose. 

7139. Then you never said anything to him on the subject of the probable action of Con- 
gress in the event that the constitution, so amended by the convention, would get before 
Congress ? 

No, sir ; nothing whatever. 



Washington, D. C, Tuesday, January 22, 1867. 

ROSCOE CONKLING, a member of the House of Representatives from the State of New 
York, sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman : 

7140. Are you a member of the Reconstruction Committee? 
Yes. 

7141. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written 
concerning the proposed convention in New Orleans in July to some parties in New Orleans, 
giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing the hope that 
it might go on, saying something concerning the probable or possible action of Congress in 
some events. Be pleased to state whether you ever wrote any letter of such description, or 
of any description, concerning the convention, to any parties. 

I never did. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7142. Had you any interviews with Judge Howell, of Louisiana, a short time previous to 
the meeting of the convention on the 30th of July ? 

I have no recollection of any. 

7143. Have you no recollection of his having consulted you with reference to the legality 
of assembling the convention? 

I remember some person, whom I understood to be from Louisiana, coming to me in the 
House of Representatives and making some statements regarding the convention which had 
been held previously, and concerning some intention of its reconvening. I cannot be certain 
now what the particulars were; it was a very brief and passing statement. 

7144. Have you any recollection of having referred to you by any person, just before the 
convention met at New Orleans, the question as to whether the convention could be legally 
assembled in the mode proposed? 

Not for any action in any way. 

7145. Did you promise any person about that time to investigate the question as to whether 
such convention would be legal? 

I did not. 

7146. Did you hear discussions'among members of Congress in reference to the subject 
about that time ? 

I saw in the newspapers and I heard in conversations that the project of reconvening the 
convention was being agitated in Louisiana. 

7147. Was your attention called at that time to the clause in the constitution of Louisiana 
providing the mode for the amendment of the constitution ? 

No, sir. 

7148. Did any person about that time exhibit to you a pamphlet call for the assembling of 
the convention on the 30th of July ? 

I have no recollection ot it. 



504 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

7150. Then you had not hefore you any data for making up an opinion with reference to 
the legality or illegality of the convention at that time? 

I had not, and 1 was never called upon to investigate the question or to possess myself of 
any data. 

7151. And you never,did investigate the question nor give any advice on the subject? 
No, sir. 



Washington, D. C, Tuesday, January 22, 1867. 
IRA HARRIS, United States senator from the State of New York, sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

7152. Are you a member of the Reconstruction Committee? 
Yes, sir. 

7153. There has been some evidence laid before this committee that a letter was written, 
concerning the proposed convention in New Orleans in July, to some parties in New Orleans, 
giving encouragement and advice concerning the convention, and expressing the hope that 
it might go on, saving something concerning the probable or possible action of Congress in 
some event. Be pleased to state whether you ever wrote any letter of such description, or of 
any description concerning the convention, to any t parties ? 

None whatever. 



Washington, D. C, January 25, 1867. 
NATHANIEL PAIGE sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

7154. What is your age ? 
Thirty-three. 

7155. Where do you reside ? 
In New Orleans. 

7156. How long since you left there, and where have you been since ? 

I left there about a month ago. I have been in the city of New York most of the time. 

7157. What is your occupation ? 
I am planting cotton and sugar. 

7158. Were you in New Orleans last summer]? 
I was much of the time. 

7159. During the months of June and July ? 
During parts of those months. 

716U. What opportunities have you had to become acquainted with the sentiments of the 
people there ? 

I went there with General Banks when he took command of the department there, in the 
capacity of correspondent of the New York Tribune. I was at that time very intimate with 
many of the officers, having been engaged with the army from the very commencement of 
the war, and coming immediately in contact with all the leading citizens there, both those 
who were prominent in organizing the civil government under General Banks, and those who 
were in an official capacity in connection with the army officers. I was there at the time 
General Banks took command, and have remained there ever since, and am acquainted per- 
sonally with nearly all the leading men there. 

71til. Where were you at the time of the election of Mayor Monroe ? 

I was in the city. 

7162. Were you in New Orleans on the 30th of July, the day of the meeting of the con- 
vention ? 

No, sir ; I was not. I was in Mobile. 

7163. State what you know of the sentiments of the people of Louisiana, as to loyalty or 
disloyalty to the government of the United .States. Give us all the information you have 
upon that subject. 

After the close of the war, from the time of the surrender of General Lee, until the change 
of the policy of Mr. Johnson — as it is called — or rather, to the time he commenced pardoning 
leading rebels, the sentiment was very favorable, indeed. Northern men were not persecuted 
in any way that I ever saw. I had occasion to travel very extensively through Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Alabama, on business, and I met with no annoyance or persecution, until 
the leaders had been pardoned — the large wealthy planters, and those who had been leaders 
in the rebellion. After they had been pardoned, and their plantations had gone back to 
them, then they commenced agitating political questions of State organization, &,c., and be- 
gan to canvass for positions in the State legislature. From that very moment, northern men 
began to be oppressed and annoyed excessively, by the commencement of suits against them 



TESTIMONY OF NATHANIEL PAIGE. 505 

in the State courts, the district courts, and in every variety of way almost, especially those 
who have been engaged in planting during the war on those plantations which in huge num- 
bers had been in possession of the government, and were leased by its agents, 1 think there 
was a concerted movement upon the part of the leading politicians of Louisiana and Alabama 
to drive out from the business of planting, all northern men who had been there ; and not 
only that, but from all business avocations in New Orleans ; for very many northern men had 
gone there upon the arrival of General Banks, and had established large mercantile houses. 

7164. Did this feeling show itself toward southern men who were known as Union men? 
O, yes ; they made no distinction between the '•southern Yankee," as they termed him, and 

the northern Yankee. They were all classed together as enemies of the southern cause. 

7165. At the time of the election of Mayor Monroe, what have you to say concerning the 
state of feeling and affairs in New Orleans? 

Mayor Monroe impressed northern men as always having been popular with a class de- 
nominated " thugs" — the low, ruffian, rowdy class, which all large cities have. His strength 
is in that element. He was mayor when General Butler captured the city; and when the 
organization of the civil government took place, it was determined by that class of people 
that he should again be mayor, and it was the strength of that class of people that secured 
him his election. 

7166. State what you know of Mayor Monroe's antecedents. 

I know very little of him personally. I have met him several times. His general repu- 
tation is that of a man of not very much ability, but of popular social qualities. 

7167. I mean as to what connection he had with the rebellion in any way. 

I know nothing more than that he has been regarded as one of the most ardent sympa- 
thizers of the rebels, and one of the most active men in the city of New Orleans in organ- 
izing companies at the commencement of the war, and using all his influence, both official 
and personal, to aid the rebellion. In that way. he came in contact with the masses of the 
people. 

7168. When you left New Orleans in whose hands were the offices of trust and responsi- 
bility, considering their connection with the rebellion ? 

Monroe was mayor. I do not know all the subordinate officers. Several of the judges 
of the courts I know ; I am not acquainted with all of them. 

7169. You have said something concerning the condition of feelings in Louisiana; con- 
tinue, if you please, and give the committee further information upon that subject. 

I think there has been no favorable change toward the northern people since Mr. Johnson 
assumed the duties of President of the United States ; but it has been growing worse con- 
tinually, and it is growing worse to-day. I think it is almost impossible now for northern 
men to prosecute business there successfully. There are a gre,at many northern men there 
now, not from a desire to accumulate money, but on account of their health, who live there 
for the reason that the climate is more congenial, and wdio desire to remain there quietly and 
keep aloof from politics. They are oppressed now in every way. Parties who leased planta- 
tions there from private individuals, or from the government, have bad suits brought against 
them in the courts for damages to their plantations while they were lessees — many of them 
of the United States, and their plantations under the control of military authorities. They 
have commenced suits for from $20,000 to $80,000, $90,000, and $100, DUO against the lessees. 
The suits have been commenced in the State courts, and the parties themselves, being resi- 
dents of the State, have not been permitted to carry them into the federal courts There is 
scarcely a lessee who has not had one or more of these suits brought, against him. The 
lessees had given bonds to the government for the stock and property they found on the 
plantations; and yet the owners, when they were pardoned and had their property restored 
to them, commenced suits instantly against the lessees for the crops they had taken off 
during the war, and for the loss of personal property, stock, and agricultural implements. 
And that system of oppression has not been confined to those that leased plantations from 
the government. It has extended to those, that leased them from loyal owners and from 
those whose plantations had not been seized. 

7170. Before the sitting of the convention on the 30th of July what information, if any, 
had you concerning applications or negotiations at Washington between parties in New Or- 
leans and the President .' 

[Mr. Bover submits that if this witness is to speak of communications between the Presi- 
dent of the United States and other individuals, in reference to the affairs in Louisiana, he 
desires that he should be confined to those statements of fact which he has a knowledge of 
personally, and that he be not asked to state those matters which are merely hearsay.] 

Nothing more than a conference with one or two prominent men in Louisiania, and Colonel 
T. Maxcy Prince, of Alabama. 

7171. If you have any other facts within your knowledge bearing upon the subject of in- 
vestigation, please state them. 

With regard to the southern people before the meeting of this convention, all I have to 
say is, that they were determined to use all fair means, at least, to break up and discourage 
it through the press and every way they could. If fair means were not successful, then they 
were to resort to force. 

7172. Mr. Boyer. Who ? 



506 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

The entire community, almost, were determined the convention should not sit. There 
was scarcely a dissenting voice among' the original southern people who had participated in 
the war. There was but one sentiment that I saw. 

7173. Say, in this connection, whether or not the conversations you had with the two per- 
sons just named, respecting interviews they had with the President, were in connection with 
the proposed holding of the convention. 

No, sir ; they were not. In conversation with Mr. Kenner he alluded to the organization 
of the State government under General Banks. This was several months prior to the call of 
the convention. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7174. How long had you left New Orleans before the 30th of July ? 

About a week or ten days ; I cannot State exactly. I was absent from New Orleans two 
weeks altogether. 

7175. What wire you engaged in during that time ? 
I was engaged in planting. 

7176. How long had you been engaged in planting? 
Three years. 

7177. In Louisiana? 

In Louisiana and Alabama. 

7178. How long in Louisiana ? 
Two years. 

7179. When did you go there for that purpose ? 
I went there with General Banks, in 1863 

7180. Were you a lessee ol a plantation of the United States? 

I was interested in the lease of three plantations; but one of them leased directly from the 
government — it w. j s in the name of Mr. Hodges. 

7181. Were you managing with him? 

I was a partner. I was a lessee proper of one of the government plantations — the Mount 
Homos plantation, as it was called. 

7182. Were you a party to any suit in reference to it? 
No, sir: not the government plantation. 

7183. Then you were not sued by anybody as lessee? 

Not for the government plantation. I was for a plantation leased of a widow lady a year 
subsequently; at least I was not sued, but steps were taken to commence a suit against me. 
I saw it would be a waste of money to contend against it, and consequently the matter was 
compromised. 

7184. Do you consider it an evidence of disloyalty for a people to try to get back their 
property by law .' 

No, sir. 

718;"). In that respect, then, did not the owners of the property in Louisiana act pretty 
much as property-owners had in other places? 

Not altogether. The circumstances were entirely different. It is difficult to comprehend 
the situations of lessees there, for this reason: during the war plantations were worked at 
very great risk indeed. They were constantly subject to the raids of guerilla parties; and 
the leaders of these guerilla parties were frequently owners of plantations. After the war was 
closed, and they were pardoned by the President, they still kept up, secretly, their original 
guerilla bands, and would go to the plantations and say to the lessees that unless they paid 
over such and such damages they would not be permitted to take their crops away. The 
ditches of these southern plantations are very extensive, and a great many of them were filled 
up during- the war. The owners of these plantations would say to the lessees, that unless 
you pay five or six thousand dollars, or whatever the sum named was, for cleaning out those 
ditches, you cannot take your crop away ; and knowing that they would have no show t all 
in the parish courts, or the State courts, a compromise would be effected. 

7186. This was said to you, as I understand? 

Yes, sir. And, as we were under bonds to the United States government to pay the 
negroes for their labor, which amounts to a great deal on other plantations — eight or ten 
thousand a year — and the money must be paid down before a bale of cotton could be taken 
away, the negro is secured if everything else is lost. We have to give? bonds to the Freed- 
men's Bureau before the work commences on the plantations for the payment to the negro 
of his wages. These young men, very many of them, as I said, would not allow the lessees 
to takeaway their crops unless they were paid for cleaning out the ditches, fur the injury to 
their machinery, for claims for damages of almost every shape and form. 

7187. Was that while the war was going on? 
No, sir ; it was after they had been pardoned. 

7 IKS. What captain of guerillas exacted those tonus from you? 

Captain Henry R. Doyal, a notorious guerilla, who had been an annoyance to the parish 
during the entire war almost, or rather from the time General Butler took command. 
7189. Where does he live now ? 
In the parish of Ascension, about ten miles from Donaldsonville. 



TESTIMONY OF NATHANIEL PAIGE 507 

7190. You settled with him ? 

Yes, sir; with his sister. He represented his sister, and compelled a settlement. 

7191. When you went to take possession of the plantations in that country did not you 
take into account the risks you would naturally run in the unsettled state of affairs ? 

No, sir. I had an interview with General Banks. A number of gentlemen called upon 
him to ask him if it would be safe to cultivate plantations on the Mississippi river. He told 
them it was his intention to protect the plantations; that it was for the interest of the gov- 
ernment that these plantations should be worked ; that there was a very large number of 
negroes out of employment, and that unless these plantations were worked the government 
would have to support them ; that his instructions in all cases were, where northern men 
were disposed to risk their capital in working plantations to protect them with a military 
force. He said that from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, on both sides of the river, the plan- 
tations should be protected, and a few months after we had taken possession of the planta- 
tions and organized our labor, bought mules and everything else necessary to cultivate the 
plantations, he withdrew his force of cavalry, having had to organize a force for the Red 
River expedit'on. He needed every soldier in his command for that expedition. It left nearly 
all the plantations on the river at the mercy of the guerillas. Immediately after the cavalry 
force was removed the guerillas commenced their attacks upon the plantations, and it was a 
constant struggle with them ; and we were many of us captured. I was captured twice, 
and carried once into the confederacy and kept there six weeks. All sorts of persecutions 
were carried on. 

7192. How do you know that Mr. Doyal was pardoned ? 
He told me so himself. 

7193. Is that the only way you know it? 

I know it from general repute, and from the gentleman who was here to procure it for 
him, and who is now in the city — Doctor Cottmau. 

7194. Is he a Union man ? 
Yes, sir. 

7195. Was he from the beginning ? 

There is a diversity of opinion in reference to that. My own opinion is that he is a loyal 
man. 

7196. You say he procured a pardon for Mr. Doyal. Do you know what other Union man 
united with him ? 

I do not know. 

7197. Were you engaged in cotton speculations? 
Not to any extent of consequence. 

7196. Were you to some extent ? 

Very slight. Just as the war closed I was. 

7199. You say you travelled extensively through Louisiana and several other States; on 
what business was that? 

That was purchasing cotton, at the close of the war ; it was after the war was over. 

7200. That is called speculating in cotton, is it not? 

It is called purchasing cotton and speculating in cotton, as purchasing everything is spec- 
ulation. 

7201. So that, as I understand you, you did not find the manners of the people as agree- 
able as you found them before ? 

In that portion of the State where I had purchased cotton I had never been before ; it 
was within the confederate lines. 

7202 I understood you to say that at the close of the war you found a change in the man- 
ners and sentiments of the people of that section of country. I understood you to say it was 
after the close of the war that you began your operations in cotton and travelled through the 
country on that business ? 

I did not begin my purchases in cotton until after Mr. Johnson had changed his policy in 
regard to the South, and then the change of sentiment on the part of the southern people 
commenced. 

7203. Your cotton operations and the change of sentiment you found in the southern peo- 
ple were contemporaneous ? 

The change of the sentiments of the people and the policy of the President were contem- 
poraneous. 

7204. Did not you tell me just now that your cotton operations commenced with the 
change of the policy of the President ? 

I think it is very likely I purchased cotton before that; I cannot tell; I think I did. I 
cannot tell without referring to dates. 

7205. You say the sentiments of the people of Louisiana were universally against the 
holding of the convention on the 30th of July; how do you know that? Did you poll the 
southern people to ascertain the proportion who were in favor of the convention and the 
proportion who were against it? 

I travelled on steamboat aod by rail a great deal ; I went into the country on horseback, 
and stopped at hotels and various houses, and mixed up a great deal with the people. It 
was talked of a great deal and discussed in the newspapers, and almost every one who read 
the newspapers spoke of it. 



508 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

720^. How long before the meeting of the convention was the subject agitated ? 

It was not very much until within a short time, but it was talked of iu the streets long be- 
fore anything was said in the papers. It was talked about in whispers that the "Banks's 
convention," as it was called, was to be revived. 

72t»7. It is during these several weeks in which the subject was in agitation you profess to 
have been able to acquire information to pronounce the judgment you have just given? 

Yes, sir; I think I was quite well qualified as to the mass of the people in regard to the 
general sentiment of the community. 

7208. You have also said that it was their resolve that if fair means were not successful in 
preventing the meeting of the convention, it was to be resisted by force. I wish you to give 
the names of the individuals who, by their words or actions, indicated such a determinaton. 

I cannot do that for this reason — that these conversations were generally on board steamboats 
and cars, and on general travel, in the halls of hotels, and by the groups of people. They 
were like all conversations you listen to hear, but without remembering names ; such conver- 
sation as occurs all the time when one is travelling. I do not thiuk I could give the names. 

7209. Could you give me one name ? 

I should not want to do it, because I do not think it would be fair under the circumstances, 
although it was the general talk. 

7210. Would it not be just as fair as to slander a community in that Avay without positive 
evidence of the fact ? 

I am perfectly willing to swear that that was, so far as I could ascertain, the general senti- 
ment of the community. At the same time I am not prepared to give the names of the per- 
sons. I do not know who many of them were. 

721 1. Did you not converse with the conventionists during that time also? 

I had conversation with several persons who were interested in reviving the convention. 

7212. Did you hear them speak of what disadvantage there would be if there was any breach 
of the peace resulting from the meeting of the convention ? 

I advised two or three gentlemen, finding that they were really intending to revise this 
convention, not to participate in it. I told them I had been travelling pretty extensively 
through Louisiana, and I thought there would be trouble and bloodshed. They said whether 
there would be bloodshed, or not they were determined to revive the convention. The names 
of these gentlemen I could give you. 

7213. What are their names ? 

I conversed with a young man by the name of George Warmouth, with whom I occupied 
rooms in New Orleans; also with Doctor Dostie, who I frequently met in our rooms; also with 
Major Plumly, who is now at Galveston, Texas. Many of these gentlemen were frequently 
in our rooms. My judgment had always been against the convention, and I opposed it as 
far as I had any ability to do so, although I had no influence in politics at all. 

7214. Do you remember the names of any others ? 

I remember the name of John A. Lee, and Mr. McKee, the present United States marshal, 
and quite a number of gentlemen who were in the habit of meeting there. 

7215. Are you a correspondent for the New York Tribune ? 
No, sir ; I am not. 

7216. When did you cease to be ? 

I ceased to be about eight months after I commenced planting. 

7217. You say you think there was a concerted movement in Louisiana to drive out north- 
ern business men troin New Orleans. Are you not aware of the fact that there are a number 
of northern business men there successfully following their occupations ? 

I am net aware of very many who have been successful in their business there. I think a 
large majority of northern men who have been in New Orleans have lost money in their busi- 
ness, especially since the war closed, for the reason that combinations have been made by 
southern merchants to prevent them from having a fair opportunity to succeed. 

7219. When you speak of such combinations, do you speak of your own personal knowl- 
edge of the fact, or from rumor or report ? 

When I am speaking of business men in New Orleans I have to speak from rumor, because 
I have never been in business there myself, and from the general expression of northern busi- 
ness men there I derive my opinion. I am well acquainted with them, and know it is a sub- 
ject of conversation with them repeatedly that combinations, both secret and open, are made 
to thwart them in their business operations. 

7220. You do not mean to be understood as saying that you have any personal knowledge 
whatever in these circumstances ? 

Not directly. They never interfere with me, because I never engaged in business in New 
Orleans. 

7221. Have you any personal knowledge of any combinations or any acts done in concert ? 
I have not. 

7222. Do you anticipate returning to New Orleans to reside ? 
I do. 

722:5. What business are you engaged in there? 

Planting, in Alabama and Louisiana. .< 

7224. Then things are not so bad there as to discourage you from hoping for success in 
your business operations ? 



TESTIMONY OF JOHN A. BINGHAM. 509 

The reliance of northern men now is almost entirely upon Congress. I think that nine- 
.entlis of the northern men who are engaged in planting now would retire from the occupa- 
ion if Congress were not to legislate in such a way as that we should bo protected and have 
an equal chance with southern people. 

722">. Is there a pretty general expectation that Congress will so legislate? 
I think there is among northern men. 

7226. Have they held such communication with Congress as to inspire them with that sort 
of confidence? 

No, I think it is derived mainly from the press, which almost every northern man comes in 
contact with. Through the press they are thoroughly acquainted with the sentiments of the 
northern people ; and they have taken great encouragement from the result of the elections 
throughout the north during the fall. 

7227. Are there many northern men now engaged in planting in Alabama and Louisiana? 
Many have retired. There are not a great many. 

7228. Are there others expecting to resume operations ? 

There are a good many who desire to remain there. They have gone there with their 
capital for the purpose of developing the resources of the South, ami will remain, if Con- 
gress legislates in such a way as to afford protection. 

72'J1». Is their main motive in developing the resources of the South, or in making profit for 
themselves ? 

Undoubtedly they are connected. You cannot separate them. It is like the pioneers going 
to a new country. You cannot disconnect the two considerations. 

7230. When were you subpoeuaed to come before this committee ? 
Last week. 

7231. Where were you when you were subpoenaed ? 
In Albany. 

7232. Who subpoenaed you ? 

The Sergeant-at-arms ; Mr. Ordway was his name. 

7233. How was it known that you had the knowledge of the facts you have stated; had 
you any communication with any member of the committee ? 

No, sir ; I did not know one of them at that time. I never had seen them or met them. 

7234. Have you since you arrived in Washington ? 

Not until I called upon Mr. Eliot and desired to know when I was to give my testimony, 
after I arrived here. 



Washington, D. C, January 25, J 867. 
Hon. JOHN A. BINGHAM sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

7235. You are a member of the Keconstruction Committee? 
I am, sir. 

7236. There has been evidence given to the committee tending to show that a letter was 
written by some of the members of your committee to some parties in New Orleans prior to 
the holding of the convention of July 30, 186b', expressing some opinion in regard to that 
convention, and giving some advice in connection with its being held, stating that, under 
some instances, Congress might act in one way or another way. Will you please state whether 
you ever wrote a letter of that kind, or of any kind, within your recollection, to parties in 
New Orleans concerning that convention ? 

I have no recollection of any such letter, or of ever being consulted upon any such sub- 
ject ; and if there be any such letter, purporting to bear my name, I beg leave to see it. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

7237. Are you acquainted with Mr. Flanders, of Louisiana? 

If my colleague refers to a gentleman who was in the 37th Congress, I am partially 
acquainted with him. 

7238. Did you, or any member of your Committee of Reconstruction, so far you know, 
write a letter to Mr. Flanders about the propriety of calling the convention of the 30th of 
July, 1866 .' 

I have no knowledge of what other members may have done ; neither have I any informa- 
tion whatever upon that subject; but, for myself, I answer that I have no recollection what- 
ever of having had any communication with Mr. Flanders, or any other person, upon the 
subject. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7239. Are you acquainted with Judge R. K. Howell, of Louisiana? 

At present I have no recollection of any acquaintance with him. I may have met him 
casually. 



510 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

7240. Do you remember whether a person from Louisiana consulted you with reference to 
the legality of the assembling: of the convention of the 30th of July? 

I have no recollection on that subject, but it is but just that I should say that on one or 
two, and perhaps some more occasions, there was some general conversation with regard to 
the state of affairs in Louisiana between myself and Judge Warmouth, but I do not recol- 
lect of one word being said about the convention. 

7241. Have you any recollection of any person interested in that convention consulting 
you as to its legal effect ? 

I have no recollection that any such person did consult me, although it may be such 
persons have consulted with rue without my knowledge of their having any connection 
with it. 

7242. Have you ever, within your recollection, given any opinion in reference to the 
legality of the convention of the 3(Jth of July ? 

I can only answer by saying that my impression and belief is, that I never did to any 
person whatever privately ; that whatever I may have said upon the subject was in a public 
speech after the convention had assembled. I beg the leave, of the committee to add that, 
so far as I have any recollection of what I said touching the convention, it was after the 
fact of the assemblage, and was said in public speeches to the people, to the effect that if 
the convention did no act tending to abridge the rights of the people, their right peaceably 
to assemble was unquestionable, and ought not to be challenged. 

7243. Were you aware at that time that the convention which was called for the 30th of 
July, 184(5, was the same convention which, in 18(54, made and adopted a constitution for 
the State of Louisiana, which was submitted to the people, by them ratified, and went into 
effect as the acknowledged constitution of that State? 

I answer that, at the time I spoke of this convention after its assemblage and dispersion, 
and not before, I spoke under the impression and belief that it was the same convention 
under which the State government had been originally reorganized, and that it had assem- 
bled in pursuance; of the original power vested in it, which information was derived ex- 
clusively from what appeared in the public press. 

7244. Had you at that time read the constitution framed by that convention, and 
especially the clause in which it provided for its mode of amendment ? 

I had not; and whatever I said on the subject to which 1 have before referred, in public 
speeches, had no particular relation to any change in the constitution, for I was not advised 
that the convention proposed any change in the constitution in any mode or manner other 
than that which was provided for in the instrument itself. 

By Mr. Shellabarger: 

7245. Do you mean by that last answer to say that your opinion as to the right of the 
convention to peaceably assemble and discuss would have been different had you informa- 
tion of what is indicated by the question of Mr. Boyer in regard to the terms of the consti- 
tution of 18G4 ? 

My answer involves no more than my own opinion, and that is, that it was the undoubted 
right of the convention, as a body of citizens, peaceably to assemble and discuss what they 
deemed necessary for their own security and the public interest. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7246. Their assemblage and discussion in such case, if I understand you correctly, would 
be as citizens, and you speak of their right to assemble and discuss, without reference to 
their powers as membeis of a convention, and without reference to the question as to 
whether the convention proposed to be assembled was functus officio ? 

I have always said that from the information received through the public press, the con- 
vention was not functus officio, but had, as a convention, the undoubted right to assemble. 
I have also said that, being so assembled, I have never entertained the opinion, and do not 
now, that as a convention they could or should seek to change the constitution of their own 
creation except in the mode and manner therein provided; and l only wish to be understood, 
further, to say that, although they were members of a convention, they were nevertheless 
citizens, and had therefore the right, whatever may have been in the constitution of the 
State of Louisiana, to assemble in convention and discuss and consult together touching 
matters which they deemed essential to their own interest or to the public welfare. 

7247. Supposing the convention of J864 to have been functus officio; supposing that a 
convention assuming to be the convention of 1804 had assembled on the 3'Jth of July, was 
called together informally, without complying in any way with any mode provided for in 
the constitution, or consultation with the majority of those who had been members .of the 
convention of 1804, and that the minority of those who had been members of that conven- 
tion, assumed to be the lawful constitutional convention, assuming the authority to change 
the constitution, and to give and take away at their pleasure the elective franchise, would 
that body of men so assembled, in your opinion, be a legal body ? 

Assuming everything to be the fact as stated in the question, I can only answer by way 
of opinion, that there was nothing in the supposed constitution of Louisiana which could 
i law preclude any number of citizens of the United States from peaceably assembling to- 



TESTIMONY OF L. L. WALBRIDGE. 511 

gether and declaring for themselves their own opinions touching that constitution, or any 
part thereof, or suggesting such amendments thereto as, in their judgment, they might deem 
necessary for their own security or for the public welfare, because such peaceable assem- 
blage or discussion, and presentation of opinion, was no more than the exercise of the right 
of petition; and the supposed constitution itself was, in my judgment, in no sense law, 
save by the sufferance of the American people, and might be, at any time, declared void 
and of no effect by the interposition of that people through their representatives in Congress 
assembled. 

7248. As I do not regard the question as having been answered by the wituess, I repeat it 
in the same words in which it was originally propounded. 

It is due to the gentleman who propounded the question originally, and who suggested 
that there was not a full answer, to add to what I have already stated, that the legality of 
the body which is involved in the question, and the effect which was to be given to its pro- 
ceedings, would depend, in my judgment, exclusively upon what might afterwards be done 
by the sovereign power of the nation touching the validity of the supposed constitution of 
Louisiana. But in saying this, I do not mean to be understood as taking back what I have 
said before on the right of these persons to peaceably assemble and consider all the questions 
involved, because that is their right as citizens of the republic. 

7249. Do you answer in that way without regard to what the intentions of those thus 
assembling might have been as respects their action in changing the government of the State? 

My answer to ihat question is very general. It has been my purpose in all I have said to 
exclude the conclusion of any illegal intention whatever upon the part of the assemblage, or 
of any intention to do other than exercise their privileges, either as authorized by the original 
rules — I believe they were ml led — adopted by the convention, or their privileges guaranteed 
to them by the Constitution of the United States. 

7250. You have spoken of the right of the sovereign people through their representatives 
in Congress to change or abrogate at their pleasure the government of Louisiana. Do you 
mean by this to be understood as holding the opinion that on the 30th of July last there was 
no government in Louisiana which ought to have been recognized and obeyed as such by 
the people of the State 1 

I believe I did not speak of the government of Louisiana, but of the constitution adopted 
in the convention tor the purpose of forming a government in Louisiana, the validity of 
which, as I have said before, in my judgment, depends upon the will of the American people 
in Congress assembled. Until the Congress shall have acted upon it, I have no desire to be 
understood as saying or expressing any opiniou on the subject that it was not binding or 
that it was binding upon the people of that State; but only as saying that I suppose the 
parties and the members of the convention who organized it and asseuted to it weie them- 
selves expected to observe its requirements in any measures they took towards its reformation. 



Washington, D. C, January 26, 1867. 
L. L. WALBRIDGE sworn and examined. 

By the CHArRMAN: 

7251. State your age, residence, and occupation. 

I am thirty years old ; my residence is St. Louis ; I am a short-hand reporter, connected 
with the Missouri Democrat. 

7252. Were you at St. Louis during last summer when President Johnson was there with 
his party ? 

Yes, sir; I was. 

7253. At what time was that ? 

It was on the 10th of September. 

7254. Were you present, and did you hear the speech of President Johnson delivered from 
the portico of the Southern Hotel at St. Louis ? 

I was present, and heard the speech. 

7255. On what day was that speech made ? 

It was made on Saturday night, the 8th of September. 

7256. Say whether or not you reported that speech ; and if so, in what way. 

I did. I reported it in short-hand. I took every word, except it might be, possibly, where 
there were interruptions by applause, that I missed a word, but in no way affecting the sense 
whatever. 

[Mr. Boyer dissents from the judgment of his colleagues on the committee as to the pro- 
priety of receiving this testimony, it being, in his opinion, not pertinent to the subject-mat- 
ter of investigation referred to the committee.] 

7257. State whether or not you have with you the extended report made by you of the 
speech of President Johnson on that occasion. 

I have the original notes made of the report. 

7258. Refer to your report, especially to the parts now shown you relating to New Or- 



512 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

leans, and the riots that occurred there on the 30th of July, and say whether that is a correct 
statement of what the President said upon that occasion and upon that point. 

Yes, sir, I consider it a correct statement, word for word, as delivered. The speech, as 
published, was compared the next morning with the original notes I have here, and I know 
it to be an exact copy. The printed report before me is the report contained in the Missouri 
Democrat of September 10. I reported the speech for the Sunday Morning Republican, in 
which it appeared. I then, on Sunday morning, revised the speech, compared it with my 
original notes, and made certain changes, in which I gave the exact phrases, including cer- 
tain grammatical inaccuracies and peculiar expressions, and the}' all appear in this report of 
the Democrat. It also gives certain peculiarities of pronunciation. 
The extract referred to is as follows: 

"The time has come when it seems to me that all ought to be prepared for peace — the rebel- 
lion being suppressed, and the shedding of blood being stopped, the sacrifice of life being 
suspended and stayed, it seems that the time has arrived when we should have peace ; when 
the bleeding arteries should be tied up. [A voice: 'New Orleans; goon.'] 

"Perhaps if you had a word or two on the subject of New Orleans, you might understand 
more about it than you do. [Laughter and cheers.] And if you will go back [cries for 
Seward] — if you will go back and ascertain the cause of the riot at New Orleans, perhaps 
you would not be so prompt in calling out New Orleans. If you will take up the riot at 
New Orleans and trace it back to its source, or to its immediate cause, you will find out who 
was responsible for the blood that was shed there. 

" If you will take up the riot at New Orleans and trace it back to the radical Congress 
[great cheering and cries of 'bully,'] you will find that the riot at New Orleans was sub 
stantially planned — if you will take up the proceedings in their caucuses you will understand 
that they there knew [cheers] that a convention was to be called which was extinct, by its 
powers having expired ; that it was said, and the intention was, that a new government was 
to be organized ; and in the organization of that government the intention was to eufran 
chise one portion of the population, called the colored population, who had just been eman 
cipated, and at the same time disfranchise white men. [Great cheering.] When you begin 
to talk about New Orleans [confusion] you ought to understand what you are talking about. 
"When 3 mi read the speeches that were made, or take up the facts, (on Friday and Satur- 
day before that convention sat,) you will there find that speeches were made, incendiary in 
their character, exciting that portion of the population, the black population, to arm them- 
selves and prepare for the shedding of blood. [A voice, 'That's so,' and cheers.] You 
will also tind that that convention did assemble in violation of law, and the intention of that 
convention was to supersede the recognized authorities in the State government of Louisiana, 
which had been recognized by the government of the United States, and every man engaged 
in that rebellion — in that convention, with the intention of superseding and upturning the 
civil government which had been recognized by the government of the United States — I say 
that he was a traitor to the Constitution of the United States, [cheers,] and hence you will 
find that another rebellion was commenced, having its origin in the radical Congress. These 
men were to go there, a government was to be organized, and the one in existence in Louis- 
iana was to be superseded, set aside, and overthrown. You talk to me about. New Orleans ! 
And then the question was to come up, when they had established their government — a ques- 
tion of political power — which of the two governments was to be recognized; a new govern- 
ment, inaugurated under this defunct convention, set up in violation of law, and without the 
consent of the people. And then, when they had established their government, and extended 
universal or impartial franchise, as they called it, to this colored population, then this radi- 
cal Congress was to determine that a government established on negro votes was to be the 
government of Louisiana. [Voices, ' Never,' and cheers, and ' Hurrah for Andy.'] 

" So much for the New Orleans riot ; and there was the cause and the origin of the blood that 
was shed, and every drop of blood that was shed is upon their skirts, and they are responsi- 
ble for it. [Cheers.] I could trace this thing a little closer, but I will not do it here to- 
night. But when you talk about New Orleans, and talk about the causes and consequences 
that resulted from proceedings of that kind, perhaps, as I have been introduced here, and 
you have provoked questions of this kind, though it don't provoke me, I will tell you a few 
wholesome things that has been done by this radical Congress. [Cheers.]" 

7259. Was there or not any other report made of that speech, so far as you are aware of? 
Mr. Zuyder, of the Republican, made a full report of the speech, as I suppose. The re- 
port, however, was written out from my notes. Alter I received notice that 1 was summoned 
to appear before this committee, I got Mr. Zuyder to compare the speech with his notes. We 
compared the first part, and found that it agreed so exactly, that there was no necessity of 
going through the whole. 

By Mr. Shellabargek : 

^ 7260. Have you, in the extract shown you, all the President said upon the subject of the 
New Orleans riots, in that speech ? 

I am not certain. I think that towards the close of his speech there is a further allusion 
to the subject, though I am not positive. 



TESTIMONY OF NATHANIEL P. BANKS. 513 

72G1. If there is, it is contained in the report of the speech as published in the Missour 
Democrat ? 

It is. 

7262 You have stated that you might have omitted a word, at times of interruption, hut 
not to affect the sense, I wish to inquire whether you are certain you have put in nothing 
that was not said .' 

Yes, sir ; I am as certain as I can be of any fact. 

7263. If there is anything contained in the speech from which you have given an extract 
which relates to the New Orleans riot, or to the affairs of Louisiana, which is not contained 
in that extract, please give it in aDswer to this question. 

Towards the close of the speech, I rind a short extract here, which is as follows : 

" I know that there are some who have got their little pieces and sayings to repeat on 

Eublic occasions, like parrots, that have been placed in their mouths by their superiors, who 
ave not the courage and manhood to come forward and tell them themselves, but have their 
understrappers to do their work for them. [Cheers.] I know there is some that talk about 
this universal elective franchise, upon which they wanted to upturn the government of Louisi- 
ana and institute another ; who contended that we must send men there to control, govern, 
and manage their slave population, because they are incompetent to do it themselves. And 
yet they turn round when they get there and say they are competent to go to Congress, and 
manage the affairs of state. [Cheers.] Before you commence throwing your stones, you 
ought to be sure you don't live in a glass house. Then, why all this clamor? Don't you 
see, my countrymen, it is a question of power ; and being in power as they are, their object 
is to perpetuate their power? Hence, when you talk about turning any of them out of office, 
O, they talk about 'bread and butter.' [Laughter.] Yes, these men are the most perfect 
and complete ' bread and butter party' that has ever appeared in this government. [Great 
cheering."] 

7264. Is what you have now been giving all the President said in that speech in regard.: 
to New Orleans and Louisiana 1 

Yes, sir ; I think that is all. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7265. When were you subpoenaed to attend here ? 
Last Saturday, I think. 

7266. Where were you when you were subpoenaed 1 
In St. Louis. 

7267. By whom were you subpoenaed ? 
By Mr. Ordway, the Sergeant-at-arms. 
726S. Personally? 

By telegraph. 

7269. You were subpoenaed in no other way than by telegraph ? 
No, sir. 

7270. Did you not receive any communication before that time from any member of the 
committee ? 

No, sir ; I had not the slightest intimation. 

7271. Had you a conference with any member of the committee after you got here ? 

I merely announced to the Sergeant-at-arms my arrival yesterday. He introduced me to 
Mr. Eliot ; Mr. Eliot said that he would arrange it so that I could be examined this moruino-. 
I was very anxious to get away from here to-day. 

7272. Did you have any conversation upon the subject-matter of your testimony? 
Simply to the effect that he wished to know whether I had brought my original papers or 

report of the speech with me. 
By the Chairman : 

7273. You were subpoenaed duces tecum ? 
Yes, sir. 



Washington, D. C, Tuesday, January 22, 1387. 

NATHANIEL P. BANKS, a member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts, 
sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman : 

7274. Do you recollect having seen Judge Howell, of Louisiana, in Washington at any 
time prior to the sitting of the convention in New Orleans in July, 1866? 

Yes, sir; I saw him here in the House. 

7275. Did you have conversation with him concerning the political affairs of Louisiana ? 
Yes, sir. 

7276. Did you give him any advice or instructions in reference to the holding of the con 
vention ? 

No, sir ; I did not. 
33 N o 



514 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

7277. Do you recollect having expressed to him an opinion concerning the propriety or ex 
pedieucy of holding the convention? 

I recollect having talked with him about the conveniion ; but my recollection is, that I said 
to him that, not knowing the condition of things there at that time, nor the men upon 
whom reliance must be placed in reassembling the convention, I could not advise whether 
it would be better to do it or not. I expressed to him my willingness to support the loyal 
people in that State, and my interest in their welfare ; but I did not advise what to do in that 
matter, and could not, for want of knowledge of the exact condition of affairs. 

7278. Do you recollect having written a letter to any person in Louisiana before the hold- 
ing of the convention, expressing your judgment as to what would be the probable action of 
Congress in any event if the convention should proceed ? 

I do not recollect having written to any one on that subject, although it is not impossible I 
may have done so. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

7279. Did Judge Howell exhibit to you the call which he had issued for the assembling of 
the convention on the 30th of July ? 

No, sir; I think not. I do not think he exhibited to me any paper of that kind; but he 
spoke to me about calling the convention, and said that he had been designated or requested 
to call the convention together. Judge Howell was here in the summer of 1866. It may 
have been in July, for it was very soon after he left that the riot occurred. 

7280. Did he ask your opinion with reference to the legality of assembling the convention 
in the mode proposed? 

I think we talked about that. 

7281. Did you give him any opinion on that point? 

It is quite likely I may have expressed to him my belief that the convention could be pro- 
perly called together. That was my opinion then, and it is my opinion now. 

?-j <- J. Was it in your mind at that time that the constitution of 1864 provided the mode for 
its amendment? 

Perfectly, sir. 

7283. And were you aware that it was not proposed by the conventionists of July 30 to 
amend the constitution that way? 

Yes, sir. I supposed that if the convention was reconvened, it was not for the purpose of 
amending the constitution in the form provided in the constitution itself; that it was for the 
purpose of completing or perfecting the constitution, by the act of the same convention that 
trained it originally. I do not know that I talked on this particular point with Judge Howell ; 
but having been there, I understood the facts of the case to some extent, and had opinions 
on the matter which I expressed to all persons that spoke with me about it, at all times. 

7284. Was your opinion on that point founded on the idea that the constitution adopted 
by the convention of 1864 was not binding ? 

It was formed ou the idea that the constitution of 1864 was not complete. It did not make 
a perfect government ; and, although it might be considered binding on the people of that 
State, it was not binding on the government of the United States, and was not a complete 
frame of government. 

7285. Was it not framed under an authority of an order issued by yourself as commander 
of the department of the Gult 7 

The elections for the convention were held under separate orders issued by myself aud by 
the provisional governoi of the State. Beyond that I had nothing to do with the convention. 

7286. Was not the constitution that was adopted by that convention submitted to tin- 
people for ratification ? 

Yes, sir, it was submitted to the people who were within the lines of the federal arm v. 

7287. Was it not afterwards proclaimed by the governor as having been duly ratified by 
the people ? 

Yes, sir, it was. 

7288. Did it not afterwards go into effect as the constitution of the State of Louisiana? 
It did. 

7289. Were not the State offices afterwards filled in compliance with the provisions of that 
constitution ? 

I think they were. 

7290. Did not two different legislatures of the State assemble in accordance with that con- 
stitution previous to the 30th of July, 1866? 

I have knowledge that one legislature assembled under it, but not as to the second, or any 
other. It is probable, however, that a second legislature did so meet. 

7291. So tar as you know, was there not a general acquiescence on tho part of the people 
of Louisiana in the constitution thus framed, ratified, and put into force ? 

1 think there was. 

7292. Did not that, iu your estimation, constitute a complete constitution and government ? 

No, sir. Two things were wanting to make that constitution a complete frame of govern- 
ment for the State. One was the assent of the parishes that were not within the lines of the 
army at the time it was framed, and were not represented in the convention ; and the other 



TESTIMONY OF NATHANIEL P. BANKS. 515 

was the recognition of (lie constitution and of the government under it by the Congress of 
the United States. These two things were wanting to make it complete. The fact upon 
which my opinion was founded that the convention could be properly called together was 
this : that if any further action was requisite on the part of the people to complete their frame 
of government, either to satisfy the parishes that had not taken part in it, or to satisfy the 
_i'n\ eminent to which it applied for recognition and admission, it was proper that the conven- 
tion should initiate the action necessary to complete the constitution, inasmuch as it was the 
body that framed it, and its work would not be complete until the people were represented, 
and the government of the United States had recognized it. 

7293. Have you any knowledge of any dissatisfaction on the part of the people of Louisi- 
ana with that constitution ? 

I have not; but my belief is, that the parishes not represented in the convention when it 
was first called together were not afterwards represented in the framing of the constitution. 
Whether they acquiesced in it and were entirely satisfied with it or not, I do not know. The 
constitution should not be amended in the manner provided for in the constitution itself be- 
cause it was not a completely established instrument for the reasons that I have mentioned: 
first, that the people of the State had not all participated in framing it ; and, second, that it 
had not been recognized by the government of the United States. 

7294. You mean recognized by Congress ? 

I mean by Congress. After the constitution had been acquiesced in by the people, and 
recognized by the government of the United States, I think the proper way for amendment 
would have been according to the forms provided for in the constitution itself; but even that 
would not preclude the calling of an original convention. I did not, however, talk with 
Judge Howell on that subject. I expressed to him my desire to sustain the loyal people of 
Louisiana in all their troubles, and that I had a great interest in their welfare ; and probably 
I expressed a belief that the convention could be properly called together, but not that it 
should be. When the riots occurred, I was very glad to feel that I was free from responsi- 
bility as to the act of calling the convention. 

7295. As I understand you, you thought that the resolution passed by the convention 
before its adjournment was of higher authority than the constitution itself, as respected the 
mode of alteration or amendment ? 

Yes, sir. Let me qualify my answer. I think the ordinance of the convention providing 
for reassembling the convention when all the State should be within the lines would be of 
higher authority than any provision in the incomplete constitution respecting its amendment. 

7296. Are you aware that the provisions of the resolution itself were not observed in the 
calling of the convention of 30th July ? 

I am not personally acquainted with that matter. 

7297. Do you recollect that that resolution provided for the reassembling of the convention 
on the call of the president of the convention ? 

I think that was the character of the resolution. 

729d. Are you aware that Judge Howell was not the president of the convention? 

Yes, sir, I am aware of that fact. 

7299. Are. you aware that he was chosen to act as president pro tern, by a minority of those 
who had been members of that convention? 

I am not aware of that fact. I know very little about it. 

730U. Are you aware that Judge Durell, who was the president of the convention, declined 
to issue the call for the reassembling of the convention? 

Yes; I understand that to be the fact. 

7301. Ho you think that a minority of the members of the convention of 18b'4, acting in 
that way, had competent authority to assemble the convention aud proceed to amend the 
constitution ? 

I think that the right of reassembling was in the convention itself — that a minority of the 
members of the convention, if only a minority could be brought together, would have the 
right to take initiatory steps for filling vacancies preparatory to the convocation of the con- 
vention. I do not think a minority would have the right to assemble and act as a conven- 
tion, but they would have a right to assemble and take such steps as were necessary for fill- 
ing vacancies and making the convention a complete representation of the people. My opin- 
ion was and is that the fact that the president of the convention did not execute its order, or 
that he declined to do so, is an immaterial fact. The right of assembling was in the conven- 
tion itself, and could not be taken from it by any inability or indisposition on the part of the 
president. 

7302. Do you think that the convention itself had not the power, by a clause in the con- 
stitution, to vest the right of amending that constitution in another body of men? 

Yes, sir ; it undoubtedly would have had the right to do that. 

7303. And did it not provide that the constitution, after its adoption, should be only 
amended in a particular way, and after initiatory action on the part of the State legislature ? 

I believe there was a provision in the constitution providing for a form of amendment by 
the legislature, as is usual in all constitutions ; but the constitution was never regarded as a 
complete instrument. It was not a perfect frame of government, and until it was perfect in 
the two points to which I have referred, the convention, as the parent of the constitution, 



516 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

could very properly take any steps that were necessary to complete it and make it accept- 
able to the people of Louisiana and to the government of the United States. 

7304. The convention was a complete body. Could it not provide how the constitution 
should be amended; and when it thus provided, and when the provision was incorporated 
into the constitution itself, would it not be binding on that convention ? 

Yes, if the convention had represented, and the constitution had been accepted by, the 
whole people ; but it was provisional. It was regarded by the people and the convention as 
provisional. It only represented a portion, about three-fifths, I believe, of the parishes. It 
could not be regarded as complete until formally accepted by all the parishes, and until re- 
cognized by the government of the United States. These two things were necessary to 
complete it. Before its completion in that way the provisions of the constitution regarding 
the power of amendment were inoperative. After its completion in that way the constitution 
must have been amended, according to its provisions, by the action of the legislature ; or, as 
has been done in other States, the legislature might have issued a call for a new convention. 

7305. Was it part of the plan of the conventionists of the 30th of July, as represented to 
you, that the constitution should be submitted for ratification to the people ? 

I had no conversation on that subject. The idea that I received in my conversation with 
Judge Howell was, that they proposed to call the convention together for the purpose of 
filling the vacancies. I asked particularly if loyal men could be elected. He expressed the 
opinion that they could be elected — that there would be no difficulty about that. Their plans, 
beyond that, I did not inquire into ; but I never doubted that auy amendment that should be 
made would be submitted to the people. I had no knowledge of their plans on that point. 

7306. Are you aware of the main features of the proposed amendments ? 
I am not. 

7307. By submission to the people, do you mean submission to the legal electors of the 
State under the existing constitution 1 

Yes, sir. I mean such persons as would have been allowed to vote or as did vote in the 
organization originally. I do not mean to include those men who had been engaged in war 
against the government. When I left the State they were not allowed to vote or to engage 
in any pursuits which directly influenced or controlled public opinion. 

7308. Were they excluded by the terms of the constitution framed by the couveution of 
1864? 

I do not think that class of citizens was mentioned in the constitution. They were sub- 
ject to the military orders and the laws of the government of the United States. 

7309. By a submission of the constitution to tho people, you mean, therefore, submission 
to those only who had never been connected with the rebellion ? 

Yes, sir. Those were the only people that were recognized in the State of Louisiana at 
the time of the convention as having the political rights of citizens. 

73 JO. Do you include among the people to whom the constitution was thus to be sub- 
mitted, the colored people of the State ? 

Not unless there should be some order to that effect. 

7311. Orders by whom ? 

By the convention. The orders issued previous to the assembling of the convention, and 
under which it was held, did not recognize the colored people as voters. 

731 2. Then you think, notwithstanding what had transpired, that if a convention had 
been got together, as proposed by the conventionists of the 30th July, it would have been 
competent for it to pass an ordinance giving the right to vote on the acceptance or rejection 
of the constitution to the colored people ot the State ? 

Perfectly. There was a provision in the constitution that the legislature should have 
power to give the colored population of the State, or certain classes of them, including the 
whole substantially, the right of suffrage, and the power which it could confer on the legis- 
lature it could exercise itself. 

7313. But, having conferred that power on the legislature, would it not have been trans- 
cending its authority to take it back? 

Not at all, because the constitution was not a complete instrument, and tho convention 
which framed it. originally would have the power to amend it until it had been completely 
established by the action of the people and the general government. It was an incomplete, 
an inchoate instrument, and not binding in any of its provisions until then, except so far as 
the people and tho officers representing tho government chose to recognize it. In reference 
to the condition of the people of the State, those who were recognized as loyal citizens, and 
who had the right to participate in public affairs, it was a mixed arrangement. It was 
partly of military order and partly upon the voluntary action of citizens assembling in con- 
vention for the purpose of establishing civil government. The military orders I issued my- 
self. The constitution and all arrangements in reference to the establishing of civil govern- 
ment were made by citizens of the State — nearly all native-born citizens or people who had 
been long residents in the State. 
By Mr. Shellabahger: 

7314. You have spoken of the government in Louisiana in 1864 having been provisional 
in its character. I wish to ask you whether, at the time, it was deemed by those who origi- 
nated that government that it should be binding on the people of the State after the violence 



TESTIMONY OF HU. KENNEDY. 517 

of the rebellion should be overthrown and the entire population should he admitted to act in 
framing the government; so binding on them us that they should not be allowed to estab- 
lish a government in any other way than as provided for in the constitution of 1864? 

I understood the constitution to have been formed in perfectly pood faith, and with the inten- 
tion of its being the established law of the State, and that power could not be exercised in 
any other way than as provided in the constitution of the State, unless amended in con- 
formity with the usage of other States. It has been held in other States that the legis- 
lature of a State has the constitutional power to submit to the people the question of 
calling a convention, to amend a constitution, even though the constitution itself provided 
for its amendment by the legislature. The people of other States have acted upon the theory 
that they have a right to amend their constitution by two methods: first, by the legis- 
lature, if that be provided for in the constitution; and second, by submitting the question 
of calling a convention for that purpose to the people. That has been done in Massachu- 
setts, and, I have no doubt, in other States. The people of Louisiana made this constitu- 
tion in good faith, intended to abide by it, and, after its complete establishment, would not 
have amended it in any other way than in accordance with its provisions for amendment, 
unless the people of the State should have ordered a new convention for that purpose upon 
the submission of the question directly to them by the legislature ; but that question was 
never presented. In a word, I considered the constitution of 1864 to have been framed by 
the loyal people in that State in perfect good faith, and with the most solemn regard for the 
rights of the people of the State and of the United States. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

7315. In your opinion was it in perfectly good faith afterwards to annul or subvert that 
government in any other way than as provided in the constitution, so accepted in good faith 
by the people of the State? 

In my opinion it was perfectly proper for them to complete their work by reassembling 
the convention of 1864, and filling the vacancies, so that all the parishes of the State should 
be fairly represented as proposed in 1866, and provided for by express ordinance in the con- 
vention of 1864, and indirectly ratified by the vote of the people in that year. 

7316. And you give it as your opinion now, that the mode in which it was proposed to re- 
assemble the convention in July was a legal and constitutional mode? 

I think it was a proper method ; perfectly proper. I speak of everything there as provi- 
sional, not as haviug a fully established legal character. The constitution was incomplete. 
Something was wanting to make it the work of the whole people, to give them the power of 
participating in its organization, and to make it acceptable to the government of the United 
States. In my opinion it was perfectly proper for the convention to reassemble, and to fill 
all the vacancies so that the State should be represented, and that the convention so re- 
convened would have just authority to submit to the people such amendments of the constitu- 
tion as should be necessary to make it acceptable to the government of the United States. I 
not only think this course was proper,, but the only course that could be pursued with a 
just regard to the rights of the people of Louisiana and the general government. 

7317. You speak of there being something necessary to make the constitution acceptable 
to the people. I understood you before to say that it had been accepted by the people. 

Yes, sir ; accepted by all the parishes that were then within the lines of the army. It was 
submitted in a perfectly fair election, and was accepted by very large majorities in all the par- 
ishes within the lines of the army, amounting, I suppose, to three-fifths of the parishes of the 
State. 

7318. Was there anything said in the consultation between you and Judge Howell about 
appealing to the colored people of the city of New Orleans, and having their presence during 
the deliberations of the convention, for any purpose ? 

No, sir ; nothing whatever. 



Washington, D. C, January 25, 1867. 
HU. KENNEDY sworn and examined. 

By the Chairman: 

7319. State, if you please, whether you have at any time held the office of mayor of the city 
of New Orleans ; and if so, under what appointment, and for how long a time ? 

I was appointed by Governor Wells iu March, 1865, and held the office until the election 
of Mayor Monroe, in March, 1866. I had been at one time separated a few days from the 
office by General Banks, but reinstated by order of the President. I am not positive about 
the date. I came on north, and I think I was reinstated in two or three weeks after my su- 
persession by General Banks. It was after I had been in office about a month, or less. 

7320. Before the time when you left the office and Mayor Monroe was installed, say whether 
you had any communication with the President upon the subject, and what that communi- 
cation was. 



518 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I had written to the President in relation to the elections that were about to be held, and 
represented the character of those I thought were likely to be chosen. When the election 
had been held and candidates chosen I telegraphed to the President for instructions, as I 
was in doubt whether the government would permit the elected officers to take charge of the 
city. 

7321. Have you a copy of the telegram sent on that occasion? 
I have. The following was the telegram sent : 

"Mayoralty, March 14, 1SG6. 
''Andrew Johnson, President of the United States : 

Has the government any instructions to give me in regard to my surrender of the mayor- 
alty to Monroe, the mayor elect, on Monday next, the nineteenth instant ? In the absence of 
instructions I shall surrender it. 

"HU. KENNEDY, Mayor." 

On the 17th of March I received this answer : 

" War Department, 

." Washington, March 16, 1866. 

"Hon. H. Kennedy, Mayor: 

"I have no instructions to give in regard to surrendering the mayoralty of New Orleans to 
the person who has been elected to fill that position. We have no information showing that 
the election was not regular, or that the individual who has been elected cannot quality. In 
the absence of such information, the presumption is that the election has been [according] to 
law, and that the person elected can take the oath of allegiance and loyalty required. 

"ANDREW JOHNSON. 

" Received at New Orleans, March 17, 1866." 

I then, the same day, telegraphed to the President in these words : 

"New Orleans, March 17, 1866. 
" ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States, Washington : 

"The mayor elected was mayor under the confederate authorities, imprisoned by General 
Butler for aggravated hostility to re-establishment of the national authority, and finally vol- 
untarily left Union lines for the confederacy, peremptorily refusing to take the oath of 
allegiance, and is not especially pardoned, and the Union sentiment is unanimously against 
him. 

"HU. KENNEDY." 
•* 

Previous to that, on the 30th of January, the President telegraphed to Governor Wells, 
who handed me the telegram, of which the following is a copy : 

["By telegraph from War Department.] 

" Washington, January 30, 1866. 
" To Governor J. Madison Wells : 

"By whom was your city council represented prior to the rebellion ? Is there any good 
reason why the mayor and other civil officers for the city of New Orleans should not be 
elected by the loyal qualified voters ? 

" The election should be confined to persons who are unexceptionably loyal. There may 
be some facts in connection with this matter that I am not aware of. If so, please to advise. 

"ANDREW JOHNSON, President." 

7322. Have you the answer to that telegram 7 

No, sir ; the answer to that was a letter. The governor wrote by mail, and so did I, in 
February. I have not here a copy of my letter ; it is in New York. 

By Mr. SnELLABARGER : 

7323. Is there also there a copy of the letter to which you allude, written by you to the 
President, in regard to the character of these men? 

Yes, sir ; I think it is possible. 

By the Chairman : 

7324. If you have any other letters or telegrams state them. 

In explanation to the committee of the state of affairs in Louisiana, I will state that the 
relations between the government of the city and of the State were such as to make it some- 
what difficult always to separate them. Tho governor held his office in the same building in 
which I held mine as mayor, and our relations were such as to make it difficult to separate 
them. There is a letter here from General Canby to Governor Wells. Governor V\ ells, it 
was understood, would refuse to allow these officers to qualify, and would refuse to issue to 
them certificates of election. He received a letter from General Canby, of which the follow 
ing is a copy : 



TESTIMONY OF HU. KENNEDY. 519 

"Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

" Neic Orleans, La., March 17, 1866. 
"Sir: Referring to the subject of the recent municipal election in this city, I deem it 
proper to advise you that the military situation hero presents no obstacle and alFords no rea- 
son for withholding the usual certificates from the successful candidates. 
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"ED. R. S. CANBY, 
"Major General Commanding. 
"His Excellency the Governor of Louisiana." 

After receiving that letter the governor issued his certificates of election, and a military 
order was issued for nae to surrender the government to the officers elected. 



Washington, D. C, Monday, January 28, 1867. 
HU. KENNEDY recalled and examination continued. 

By the Chairman: 

7325. State whether you have made an examination since you were here on Saturday to 
see if you had telegrams or letters concerning the state of affairs in New Orleans preceding 
the election of Mayor Monroe. 

I have. I found two letters addressed by Governor Wells to the President, together with 
the by-laws of the Southern Cross Association, with a list of members. I found no letters 
from myself to the President in reference to city affairs connected with the election. 

Witness produces papers which were ordered to be put in evidence, and of which the fol- 
lowing are copies : 

" Executive Chamber, 

" New Orleans, February 6, 1866. 

" Sir : Herewith, in response to the telegram of the Secretary of War of the 3d instant, I 
have the honor to enclose numerous papers, which have been placed in my hands by Mayor 
Kennedy, in relation to military interferences with him in the performance of his civic duties. 
In matters of still smaller moment, not referred to, General Canby's officiousness was equally 
active. 

"Every one resident or a sojourner here is surprised at finding the currency indebtedness 
of this city, now exceeding three million three hundred thousand dollars, maintained at par 
with the national paper money ; and that fact of itself is the highest compliment that 
could be paid to the mayor's financial talent, his administrative capacity, and his personal 
integrity, and may well excite astonishment, because, under similar circumstances, it has no 
parallel. 

"General Canby, who is so prompt in throwing obstructions in the mayor's way, does not 
show any plan of his own, eligible or otherwise, to accomplish the same end, the importance 
of which your excellency can weigh, when you recollect that, of the thirty-three hundred thou- 
sand dollars of this city currency in circulation, two-thirds at least are in the hands of classes 
who would be ruined by its great depreciation or unchangeability. What would be the con- 
dition of the city itself in such a contingency, I am appalled at being obliged to imagine. 

" There has been a large addition made to what is called the bottom property of the city 
by the high water of the Mississippi. This is owned conjointly by citizens and the city of 
New Orleans. The former, represented by the Hon. Randall Hunt, now in Washington, 
deem the present favorable for its sale ; and as the city's proportion is expected to be at least 
half a million of dollars, which can be immediately applied to the extinguishment of a por- 
tion of the floating debt, Mayor Kennedy acceded to the proposal to have it sold. If current 
talk is worthy of consideration, General Canby intends to prevent this sale also. 

" The city never was under as good an administration in its history before ; and should 
the secret associations now organizing rapidly be able to regain the ascendency which made 
it a living hell for years preceding the rebellion, I shudder at the consequences. I have the 
honor to enclose the by-laws of one of these associations. 

"The mayor has no wish to retain office; on the contrary, has repeatedly asked to be re- 
lieved ; and should his health get worse, I really do not know how I am to replace him. Of 
course, his independent, impartial, and just conduct has made every bad man his enemy. 
Such men as Jacob Barker, the member of Congress whom he was obliged to sue for twenty- 
seven thousand dollars of trust funds he, Barker, had borrowed from the mayor's immediate 
predecessor, Captain Hoyt, are active in agitating opposition to him ; which opposition is the 
only kind known here. 

" I have the honor to be, President, your obedient servant, 

"J. MADISON WELLS, 

" Governor of Louisiana. 
' Andrew Johnson, 

" President of the United States." 



520 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

"Evecutive Chamber, 

"A r e»c Orleans, February 10, 18GG. 

" Sir: Some days since I telegraphed directly to you two letters of Major General Canby 
to Mayor Kennedy, with some remarks of my own; and, by the steamer Matanzas, I had the 
honor to transmit a voluminous correspondence in relation to the same. 

" To-day Major General Canby, in a new order, a copy of which I enclose, has again 
stricken, by a deadly blow, at the city government, and manifestly is determined to compel 
me, through its administration, to shape the policy of Louisiana to his purposes, or to create 
an anarchy. 

"The mayor has addressed me on the subject, especially in regard to the sale of the bottom 
property. On former occasious the mayor took much pains to explain the advantages of this 
sale, which would not only yield a large sum, immediately, for the diminution of the floating 
debt, but which property, when improved, as it speedily would be by the erection of fine 
buildings, would increase the taxable real estate by at least ten millions of dollars, and yield 
a permanent tax, at the present rate of assessment, of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
per annum. 

"All the well-grounded expectations of the clear-headed and far-seeing mayor are conse- 
quently dissipated, and his sage previsionary calculations scattered to the winds. 

"I have concluded to veto the city election bill. The failure to amend the charter in 
many essential particulars, and to reform the registry and elective laws, so that the hideous 
scenes which characterized popular elections in the parish of Orleans before the reoocupation- 
of this city by the federal army may not again be produced. 

" For years before the rebellion, the elections of New Orleans were a disgrace to civilization 
and the greatest opprobrium of popular government. A branch of the know-nothing party, 
known and called from their practices "thugs," were accustomed before every election to 
go, painted and otherwise disguised, into the poorer quarters of the city and shoot down in- 
nocent and inoffensive citizens, and repeat their assassinations if these atrocious and diaboli- 
cal outrages failed, as they sometimes did, to effect the object, upon citizens obnoxious to 
their employers, who had the temerity to attempt to vote. 

" I would infinitely prefer to renounce the governorship than be compelled to witness a 
revival of such things ; and present indications are that such may be expected if the proper 
legislation cannot now be obtained before a city election. The old bodies, and such of their 
unprincipled followers as are now here, are organizing in the main the new secret societies ; 
and it follows, therefore, that the old modes of controlling elections will again be resorted to. 

"On the 12th instant the legislature will again meet, when the veto will be sent in. 

"Hoping the turmoil, constantly produced by General Canby, may be soon definitely 
terminated, 

" I have the honor to be, President, your obedient servant, 

"J. MADISON WELLS, 
" Governor of Louisiana. 

"ANDREW Johnson, President of the United Slates." 



By-Laws of Southern Cross Association, No. 9. 

Art. 1. This association shall be known as the Southern Cross Association, No. 9, under 
the jurisdiction of the Central Association, of the, president, vice-president, and one of the 
delegates elected from among the members of the subordinate associations. 

Sec. 2. The dues of this association shall be twenty-five cents per month, payable each 
quarter. 

Sec. 3. Non-payment of dues for any member of the association for the space of two 
months will subject him to bo stricken from the rolls, and deprived of any of the benefits of 
a member. 

Art. 2. Sec. 1. The meetings of this association shall be held every Saturday evening, 
at 1\ o'clock p. m. 

Sec. 2. The time and place of meeting can bo changed at any time the president may see 
fit to order. 

Art 3. Sec. 1. The officers of this association shall consist of a president, vice-president, 
secretary, and treasurer, and a guard of three members, to be appointed by the president. 

Sec. 2. Officers of this association shall hold office for the term of six months. 

Sec. 3. The election of officers shall take place on the first Saturday of January and July 
of each year. 

Sec. 4. Amendments to theso by-laws shall be proposed at the regular meeting, and shall 
lie over for two weeks, and a vote of two-thirds of the members present shall be necessary 
to adopt the same. 

This association has for its foundation the advancement of the interests and support of all 
persons who have served the Confederate States of America, in any capacity, provided he 
becomes a member of this association. 



TESTIMONY OP HU. KENNEDY. 521 

Qualifications for Membership. — The candidate must have been in the service of the 
Confederate States, be twenty-one years of age, and make the following declaration in wri- 
ting : 

I do seriously declare upon my honor that I have been in the service of the Confederate 
States of America; that I do solemnly declare on my bono", that I will never communicate 
any of the signs or pass-words of the association to an uninitiated, nor will I speak of any 
of its business to any one outside of the association room, unless authorized by an elective 
officer of the association. 

That I do further declare on my honor that I will always give to a member of this associa- 
tion the preference of any employment or advantage t hat may be within my control or gift. 

I do furthermore declare upon my honor that I will cheerfully conform with all orders 
emanating from this association or the Central Association. 

This lodge is called the Southern Cross, No. 9. 

Members. — Thomas Askew, president; A. G. Lemmer, judge; W. J. Taylor; James 
Davis, sr., treasurer; Robert Davis, son the Dr. ; Charles EL Forns, col. son; P. H. V. 
DeGruys, old constable ; George Oliver, gambler; George Sadler, thug, 20 tire company; 
W. H. Kitchen, keeps Dragon, St. Charles ; Ad. Macs, Bayou Sara ; E. B. Parker, butcher, 
St. Mary's market ; Joseph Murphy, sergeant-arms representatives ; Thomas Thorn, clerk; 
Charles Dermeyer, clerk in commissary department ; Louis Kolski, Jew ; Isaac Henriques, 
Jew ; William C. Lyttle, warehouse keeper ; Charles Crawford, clerk on J. R. R. ; B. 
Holmes, old Holmes, the gambler; William Carr, conductor on Baronue H. C. ; T. K. 
Askew, sou of the old man ; George Murphy, gambler ; Joseph Trenchard, cotton sampler ; 
Hy. Apps, do not know : N. T. N. Robinson, house of representatives ; U. D. Terrebone, 
old sergeant -at-arms ; Charles Fagot, Godford Fagot, Edtnond Bienvenue, Adolph St. 
Amand, James B. McConnell, Adolph Layet, book-keeper of Marsdon. 

7326. Do the papers which you have produced comprise all the papers which you found 
connected with New Orleans affairs just preceding the election of Mayor Monroe ? 

These contain everything that I found. 

7327. State what other letters or telegrams there were in your possession which you hoped 
to find? 

I did not expect to find any telegrams, but I thought I could have found copies of some 
letters which I may have written to the President. 

7328. Can you state, from your recollection, substantially, the dates and contents of those 
letters ? 

The dates would be a short time anterior to the election of mayor, and the letters would 
contain my apprehensions touching the character of the men who would succeed to the city 
government, and my request to the President to take such steps as would prevent the city 
government from passing into the hands of such men as I apprehended would be elected. 

7329. In reply to those letters, did you receive any written communication from the 
President ? 

I never had any written communication from the President except by telegraph, and had 
no special answer to those letters. 

7330. During your administration of the mayoralty of New Orleans, state what the con- 
nection was, if any, between the administration of the city affairs and the administration of 
the State affairs. 

The connection was almost identical. The interests of the State and of the city are so 
interwoven in Louisiana that it is almost impossible to separate them, and not at all possible 
if the true interests of city and State are regarded. It should be borne in mind, how- 
ever, that when the mayor is elected by the people, he is measurably independent of the gov- 
ernor, while I derived my appointment directly from the governor. 

7331. How long after the date of the letter of the 16th of February was the election for 
mayor held ? 

The election was held about the 10th of March. 

7332. State how it happened that you found among your papers copies of letters from 
Governor Wells to the President. 

All letters written by the governor in reference to city affairs he usually gave me copies 
of. They were usually transcribed in my office, my clerical force being large. 

By Mr. ShellabargEr: 

7333. Did you ever see the President, personally, before you left the office of mayor? 
I saw him after my removal by General Banks, in May, 1865. 

7334. When was it you walked out of the mayoralty and Monroe walked in? 
In March, 1 866. 

7335. You never were in Washington so as to see the President about letting Monroe take 
possession? 

No, sir. 

7336. All that occurred about that was by correspondence ? 
It was all by correspondence. 



522 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

By the Chairman : 

7337. State what occurred after you were superseded, and until the time when Mayor 
Monroe entered upon the duties of his office. 

I left Louisiana shortly afterwards, and went to Europe, being in bad health, and I can- 
not recollect exactly what did happen. 

7338. You were there until Monroe went into office i 
No. sir; he went in after I left. 

7339. You were not there when he was superseded by General Canby ? 

He was superseded immediately after taking possession of the office, and, of course, I 
was there then. 

7340. Why was that done ? 

I presume Canby wished to have me removed. 

7341. Why was Monroe superseded by Canby? 

Because he had not been pardoned by the President. That was the pretence. 

7342. Why was he. allowed to enter on the duties of the office ? 

I cannot say, except, as I said in my previous answer, that I supposed Canby wished to 
have me removed. 

By Mr. Boyer ; 

7343. Were Canby and you on good terms ? 
No, sir ; not on good terms officially. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

7344. You have said, in a former answer, that you had written to the President in refer- 
ence to the election, and represented the character of those who you thought were likely to 
be chosen. I wish you now to state, as fully as your memory will enable you to do, what 
your representations to the President w r ere touching the character of those who you thought 
were likely to be chosen. 

Judging from the character of the men whose names had been presented, and knowing 
them from their antecedents to be bad men, I was anxious that the President should inter- 
pose his authority in some way or other to prevent the election. 

7345. Whose names had then been presented ? 

Monroe's name for mayor, and others for members of the city council. The general 
character of those men was such that I did not think them suitable to take charge of the 
city government. 

734<>. Oid you, in your letter to the President, give the name of Monroe as one who was 
likely to be elected 1 

No ; I think not. 

7347. What representations did you make, showing these men to be unfit to take charge 
of the government of New Orleans? 

My objections were general. They were entirely based upon my knowledge of the men 
and upon the then condition of New Orleans. 

7348. What representations did you make, if any, to the President in relation to these 
candidates having been rebels ? 

I do not know that I laid particular stress upon that. I spoke of their general character, 
not merely for past disloyalty, but of their general character, as unfitting them for the 
places to which they aspired. 

7349. Then you represented both aspects of their character ? 

Yes, sir ; both aspects. I regarded them as politically unfit, in the estimation of the 
friends of the government, and as morally unfit, in the estimation of the great bulk of the 
people of New Orleans. 

7350. At what date was the society, whose constitution and by-laws you have given in 
evidence, in operation in New Orleans ? 

It was reported to me in the fall of 1865 that there were a number of those associations 
organized. 

7351. How was the existence of this association ascertained? 

The by-laws were furnished by a young man who was a member of it 

7352. Furnished to whom? 

To a member of the city government. 

7353. At the time you were mayor ? 
Yes. sir. 

7354. State any reason you have for thinking that there were other such organizations in 
the city. 

It was very generally talked of and almost universally believed that such organizations 
existed; but I took no evidence of the subject, not having any means of punishing them. 

7355. Do you recollect whether in your representations to the President you said anything 
about the existence of those organizations ? 

I turnished the governor with a copy of those by-laws, which he sent to the President, in 
February, 1866, I think. He had previously in his message drawn the attention of the legis- 
lature to them, and asked for the enactment of some suitable laws to reach them. 



TESTIMONY OF HU. KENNEDY 523 

7356. In March, 1866, what, by the then existing laws of Louisiana, were the legal qualifi- 
cations of electors? 

Tbey were the legal qualifications as fixed in the constitution of 1864 — twelve months' 
residence and citizenship of the United States. 

7357. Was there any provision known to the laws of Louisiana by which all persons, 
except such as were unexceptionably loyal, could he prohibited from voting? 

The term "unexceptionably loyal" had really no meaning. There were no qualifications 
in law, and that term rather embarrassed us than aided us in the election. 

7358. Could an election have been held under the laws of Louisiana in March, 1866, ac- 
cording to the then existing laws, where those who had been engaged in the rebellion could 
bo excluded from voting? 

There was no State law to prevent them ; but the President's proclamation required them 
to take the amnesty oath, as it is called. 

7359. Did the requirements of that amnesty oath exclude from voting those who had been 
engaged in the rebel army ? 

No ; it did not exclude anybody who took it. 

7360. Were all persons prohibited from voting in that election except those who took the 
amnesty oath ? 

They could not register without taking it. 

7361. What was the fact in regard to that — were any persons registered except those who 
took the amnesty oath 1 

None that I am aware of. The registry was a very heavy one. 

736*2. Was your despatch to the President, expressing your apprehensions as to what kind 
of a man would be elected to the mayoralty, before or after the registry had been made ? 

The registry had been going on a long time. A great many men were eager to register as 
a part of their return to citizenship, aud possibly with a view to have political strength. 

7363. The President in his despatch to you of the 16th of March says, " We have no in- 
formation showing that the election was not regular." I wish to inquire whether any election 
could have been held that would have been regular according to the laws of Louisiana, and 
yet have excluded from voting all persons except those who were in fact unexceptionably 
loyal ? 

I think not. I do not know of any law that would have excluded them. 

7364. Was it, in your judgment, at all within the range of probability that any man could 
have been elected to the mayoralty of New Orleans at the time Monroe was who had been 
unexceptionably loyal to the government of the United States during the rebellion ? 

I think so, provided the people were led to believe that such loyal citizen was supported 
by the government, and that his election would be agreeable to the President and the govern- 
ment. 

7365. Then you mean to say by your last answer that the people of New Orleans would have 
elected to the mayoralty such person as was agreeable to the Executive at Washington ? 

I think tbey would at that time, especially if the candidate was of good character, and un- 
exceptionable in other respects. There would have been a strong desire to conform to the 
wishes of the Executive. 

7366. Do you mean to be understood as saying that the known wishes of the Executive in- 
fluenced the election of Monroe, or contributed to that result ? 

I think that was the inference from the action of the military. The military action led to 
the inference that they were acting by instructions from Washington. 

7367. Did the military favor the election of Monroe? 

Decidedly. I think that without them his election would not have taken place. 

7368. What gave character to the action of the military at that time ? 

The general assurance that was given to the legislature that if it passed the act appointing 
a time for the election different from the usual time, it would be in accordance with the wishes 
of the government. The papers that were supposed to be in secession interest all said that 
General Cauby favored that policy, and it was uncontradicted. I have no doubt, taking all 
his conduct together, that he desired the election of this man, or probably of any other man. 
I cannot say what his motives were, but he did all in his power to bring about the election — 
whether of this man especially I cannot say. A respectable candidate then running with the 
government approval would have brought out a considerably larger vote, for little more than 
half the registered voters cast their suffrages at that election. 
By Mr. BoYER: 

7369. At what date did Mayor Monroe first enter on the duties of his office ? 
I think it was about the 17th of March, 1866, that he superseded me. 

7370. Was that the day appointed by law for the commencement of his term ? 
Yes, sir. 

7371. What was the date of his subsequent suspension? 
It was immediately. 

7372. On the same day? 

Yes, I think it was on the same day. 

7373. What was the date oi his subsequent re-entry on the duties of his office ? 



£24 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

I cannot say. I had left Louisiana at that time. 
7374. How long- after the 17th of March did you leave Louisiana ? 
I think about a mouth afterwards. 

737;"). What was the date of your letter to the President in which you spoke of the charac- 
ter of the men who were likely to be elected to office in New Orleans? 
I think that it was about the 10th of February, 1866. 

7376. When did the election take place? 
It took place about the 10th of March. 

7377. Did you know at the date of your letter that Monroe was a candidate ? 

Yes, I knew that he was a candidate. He had been mentioned as a candidate a long time 
before the act of the legislature was passed appointing a day for the election. 

7378. Was there any other candidate for the mayoralty besides him at the time you wrote 
your letter in February? 

I do not recollect that there was on his side. There may have been other names spoken of. 

7379. Was there no candidate named against him on any side? 

There may have been persons named, but he was regarded as most promiueut, having 
been mayor previously. 

738(1. You say that in your letter to the President you did not lay much stress on the rebel 
antecedents of the candidates, but spoke of their general character? 

Yes, sir. 

7381. Do you recollect whether you mentioned anything with reference to their rebel ante- 
cedents? 

I fancy not, except in geueral terms; because I did not think that the mere fact of a man 
sympathizing with the rebellion should disqualify him under the circumstances under which 
the election was held 

7382. What proof have you of the genuineness of the copy of the constitution and by- 
laws of a certain secret society that have been produced here? 

Nothing more than their having been furnished to me as genuine. 

3783. From whom did you receive them? 

From a member of the city government at that time. 

7384. Do you know from whom he received them? 
I do. 

7385. Was the member of the city government alluded to a member of that secret society? 
No, sir. 

73S6. Have you any positive knowledge that the person from whom he received them was 
a member of that secret society ? 

I could have no positive knowledge of it unless I was a member myself, and, therefore, I 
have none. He told me himself, subsequently, that he had furnished them, and that he was 
a member. 

7387. What was his name 7 

I would rather not give the name, because that might do him a great deal of injury there. 

7388. Did he tell you why he furnished copies of the documents ? 

Yes. He said he did not like the association, and did not share in the sentiments of the 
association. 

7389. Did he tell you why he did not cease to be a member ? 

He did not say whether he had ceased or not. I concluded that his objection to the asso- 
ciation was that there were many persons in it who had belonged to the old whig associa- 
tion, while he has been a democrat, and I supposed the same feelings still animated them. 

7390. Do you know R. F. Daunoy ? 
Yes, sir. 

7391. What were his antecedents? 

His antecedents up to the time of know-nothingism were not bad. At that time I thought 
he was a thug. That I judged from his proceedings. 

7392. Did he ever kill anybody ? 

Not that I know of. I knew him to knock down the judge of the criminal court in the 
open day, without cause, which was an act of thuggery. 

7393. In the street ? 

Yes. The judge was going to the court. 

7394. Were you in New Orleans at the time ? 
I was. 

7395. Do you know of his having been arrested for murder? 

I have heard he was, but I cannot tell the particulars. There were many murders com- 
mitted at that time that I cannot remember. 

7396. Do you mean, from anything that you have said in your examination, to have it 
implied that the President of the United States had selected any particular person to be a 
candidate for mayor of New Orleans 1 

No ; I do not mean such a thing. 

7397. What do you mean then when you say that an unexceptionably loyal person might 
have been elected mayor, if agreeable to the President. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS W. CONWAY. 525 

It wan generally understood from tlio military action that it was the desire that the ticket 
ot which Monroe was head should be elected. 

7398. You only infer that from the action of the military? 
Yes, from the continuous action of the military. 

7399. Was General Canby in command there at that time? 
He was in command there at that time. 



Washington, D. C, January 26, 1867. 
THOMAS W. CONWAY sworn and examined. 
By the Chairman: 

7400. State your age, residence, and occupation. 

I am thirty years old ; I reside in New York city; by occupation a clergyman. 

7401. Say whether or not you were at auy time connected with the administration of the 
Freedmen's Bureau ; and if so, in what capacity, where, and when 1 

I was in charge of freedmen, as general superintendent of the department of the Gulf, prior 
to the organization of the Freedmen's Bureau under law of Congress. After the pass icn 
of that law I was appointed assistant commission er of the bureau, and held that office until 
the fall of 1865, when I was relieved. 

740 - 2. Where were your headquarters ? 

At New Orleans. 

7403. During what time did your headquarters remain at New Orleans ? 

Up to the day I left my headquarters were at New Orleans, aud the headquarters of the 
bureau are there to this day. 

74i>4. State how long you were there. 

I was in charge of freedmen under the military authorities aud under the bureau about 
eighteen mouths. I was connected with the freedmen's affairs, though not in charge, for 
two years and a half. 

7405. State what facts are within your knowledge showing the condition of feeling in New 
Orleans during your residence there, on the part of the people towards those known as Union 
men, or men who, during the rebellion, were friends of the Union, aud are now known as 
such. 

There were two classes of professed Union men in New Orleans. One was radical, friendly 
to the negro, always ready to give him protection, and the other courting the favor of the 
rebels, and joining them against radical measures for the protection of the freedmen — doiu^ 
the cause of the freedman greater damage than the rebels could do by their own means. The 
acting mayor of the city of New Orleans at that time, Governor Wells, Doctor Cottman, and 
men of that stripe there, started a paper in 1865. They were the owners of it. That paper 
fomented a great deal of hatred towards the negro, towards the officers of the bureau, and 
they themselves practically furnished encouragement to the rebels to carry out their designs. 
In fact they became the right-arm and month-piece of the rebels. The police of New Orleans, 
under the administration of Governor Wells, and the acting mayor, Hu. Kennedy, were 
then, nearly all of them, rebels, and inflicted violence and injury upon the freedmen almost 
without limit. The police, instead of arresting negroes quietly, would take their clubs and 
pound them on their heads, as if anxious to have the opportunity to maltreat them. Many 
times these negroes would come into 1113' headquarters with their heads badly bruised and 
their bodies badly beaten, saying that they had been persecuted without offering auy resist- 
ance to provoke it. I had, at the time, frequent controversies- with the acting mayor in regard 
to the imprisonment of negroes without commiting any offence whatever. They were ar- 
rested by the police merely because the police wanted to arrest them, and were being incar- 
cerated in the prisons there. In many instances we had to deliver them fr >m prison by mil- 
itary force. The result of the action of the mayor and police at that time was to stimulate 
and produce great dissatisfaction in the breasts of the negroes, and to stimulate a feeling of 
great rejoicing and great satisfaction in the hearts of the rebel element there. 

7406. When, and for what reason, were you relieved from duty in Louisiana ? 

I was relieved in October, 1805, at the instance of those men professing to be loyal, aoupled 
with the resolutions of a meeting of plauters, who, I learned from their own statement at the 
time, and from the lips of Governor Wells, pledged, if necessary, a million of dollars hi order 
to get rid of me. 

7407.. Who was your successor ? 

General Fullerton. 

7408. Have you had any means of knowing the effect of what is known as the "Presi- 
dent's policy" in his pardon system on the people of Louisiana? If so, state it. 

I received all these pardons for the last five or six mouths I was there. They came in 
great numbers. Every pardoned man brought iu his certificate to my office with" a view of 
having his property restored. They came with a boldness of tone and a defiance indicating 



526 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

that they felt themselves strong, and stronger than the officers of the government. They 

sometimes with threatening language. For instance, they would come, saying, as 

they entered the office, that they had a friend at Washington who would stand by them, 

and they would apply to him against my own or General Canby's decisions as to their 

lerty, and against those of General Howard; that he (the President) had very willingly 

q them his ear, his attention, and his favor. I have heard them, as they were walking 
along the streets, shout for President Johnson, and couple his name with that of Jeff. Davis, 
and in some instances the very day they had their property given back to them. Some of 
them, in conversation with me, would say they would soon have the negroes in their own 
charge, and manage the system of labor entirely to suit themselves ; that the President 
would sustain them in it. Governor Wells and some others who were at that time pursuing 
the President's policy, as it was known, said that they were to manage the affairs of the 
(reed men themselves. The feeling created in consequence of that indication of the Presi- 
dent's favor throughout the community generally was a feeling entirely wide-spread, es- 
pecially acting upon the lower order of the community there, and stimulating them to acts of 

ased violence upon the negroes. About the time 1 left there the citizens had commenced 
inflicting violence upon the colored people, and in some cases threatened violence upon 
some of the loyal whites also. About that time I ascertained that there were organizations 
formed in New Orleans tor the purpose of keeping the negro in his proper place, as they 
I jrmed it, and for the purpose of keeping out of office all who were friendly to the negro. 

• of my detectives and some negroes who lived adjacent to the headquarters of one of 
these organizations brought me reports that they had listened at the windows of some of 
the meetings of these organizations, and heard words which had passed inside — words which 
indicated their intention to crush out the loyal men of the city, mentioning some of them by 
name; that they knew they had the President of the United States at their beck; and that 
they could carry on their put poses without much fear of hiudrance. These statements I 
took to General Cauby at the time and told him about them. I remember one day when I 
was talking with General Canbyupou the subject, he said he had heard some reports through 
his own officers and others, which led him to believe, if their intention was carried out, that 
within sixty days all the loyal men would be driven out of Louisiana. General Sheridan 
came into my office about that time, seeing the action of one or two of the judges there in 
regard to freedmen, and their dangerous and uuusual decisions in its bearing upon loyal 
men and upon the negroes, and said to me about as follows : 
(Mr. BOYER objected to these statements of the witness.) 

7409. Do these statements relate to what was then transpiring in the city ? 

Yes, sir , these remarks were occasioned by this state of things then existing. What I 
was about to say was General Sheridan's remarks growing out of the troubles and condition 
affairs in New Orleans at that time. 

7410. You will state what General Sheridan said to you. 

General Sheridan came into my headquarters, and manifested a good deal of feeling on 
seeing these decisions and reports. He said to me, "Mr. Conway, I came here to see you in 
regard to this action of Judge Abell's, and the action of others." lie said: " The rebels here 
want to drive us out of this community, but, by God, we will show them we shan't go." That 
was his language. 

'Ml !. State the date of this, as near as you can remember. 

I think it was about the 10th ot October, 1865. On the 17th of October, the day I was re- 
lieved, alter 1 went to my headquarters, I saw one of the police of the city going along ahead 
of me, knocking on the head with his fist every negro man, woman, and child he met, and 
in some cases tumbling them into the gutter. The sidewalk ou the opposite side of the street 
was filled by men who, from their appearance, I judged to have been in the rebel army, and 
who hurrahed and shouted loudly in token of their appreciation of the action of the policeman. 
I immediately started to arrest him, hut the crowd surrounded me and took the man out of 
my hands. I called one of my guard, and sent him to my headquarters for one or two soldiers 
who were there. They came up to assist me in arresting the policeman, and bringing him to 
my headquarters. -But the crowd kept them off. A colonel of one of the colored regiments 
there, who was dressed in uniform — Uoloniel Frisbie — happened to be there, and took hold 
of the man, and with his assistance 1 was able to arrest him Some fifteen or twenty of the 
uegroes had been very seriously bruised ou their faces by the act of this man. At the time, 
the action was only in accordance with the system of persecution which was being inflicted 
by the* policemen, and by citizens id' the community, producing in the hearts ot the blacks a 
feeling of dissatisfaction, so that they came constantly and complained to me, complained to 
General Sheridan, complained to General Canby, and complained to every one from whom 
they could expect protection. 

7412. You spoke of persons being on the sidewalk. Were there any others there besides 
the men you saw having the appearance ot' returned soldiers from the rebel army — any citi- 
zens of New Orleans ? 

Yes, sir; there was quite a large crowd of ( itizens and others, who appeared to be jubilant 
and glad at what had been done by the policeman. 

741 :i. What would be the condition of things if the military forces of the United States 
should be withdrawn from New Orleans and from Louisiana, and matters left to take their 
own course 1 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS W. CONWAY. 527 

I cannot- state positively what the effect would be now. I can state what I believed then 
would have been the effect had the military been withdrawn, and what was the effect of the 
reduction of the military force at that time. 1 believe there was a fixed determination to ex- 
terminate and drive out of theState the whole negro population. I heard ii from a great 
many. They were wild about the subject at the time. Even Governor Wells himself said 
that be hoped in ten years the negroes would be driven out, not only from Louisiana, but 
from the entire south, He told me so. Many of the old slaveholders ot the State talked in 
the same way; that they were going to get rid of the negroes, and get coolie laborers, and 
German laborers, or some other kind of labor than that of the negro. 

7414. What would be the effect of that withdrawal upon the Union men? 

1 believed at the time the intention was to have the Union men driven out of the State — 
not so much by a resort to violence as by a system of treating them with contempt, with 
coldness, and with insult. In case they were established in business, the plan was not to 
patronize them in any case, and to force them out under a process of that character. 

7415. Supposing there had been a foreign war, and a reasonable opportunity offered to 
make successful resistance against the government, say, upon your oath, and from your 
knowledge of affairs there, what, in your judgment, would have been the course pursued by 
the men you have just described. 

I believe the people there who have been in the rebel army, and many who have not 
been, but who have preferred to remain at home, would raise their hands en masse in welcome 
of a foreign war, as a means of punishing us, and possibly of securing their independence 
and the confederacy's. 

741b\ State wdiat induces you to say that. 

Frequent interviews with the people and with their leading spirits. 

7417. Can you state the names or leading men with whom you conversed ? 

There is a man by the name of Downs, whom I think was formerly judge of a court iu the 
parish of Ibetville. He came into my office one day and expressed the opinion, which he 
represented to be the opinion of the entire community in whiph he lived, that a war of the 
United States would occur with some foreign government ultimately, and probably very 
soon, and from that time, if they were not successful with the rebellion, they would join 
hands with any foreign power that would make war upon us. I remember talking with 
Raphael Semmes, formerly of the Alabama, as he was going home from the surrender, and 
with General Maury, who was in command of the rebel forces at Mobile when they captured 
the city, and with several of his staff officers, who were on board. They, all of them, stated 
that a foreign war would occur, and that they would certainly join hands with any foreign 
power to punish the United States, and enable them, were the opportunity afforded, to again 
make the attempt to have their confederacy, saying the southern confederacy, south of the 
Potomac, was destined to be established, sooner or later. 

741^. You have said that some leading wealthy men, who came to your office for the pur- 
pose of having their property restored, came in a bold and defiant way, expressing hostile 
feeling towards the government. I want you to say whether or not that was confiued to a 
few eases, or was it general ? 

I think it was general. I know of but two or three cases where men came with the same 
courtesy that they manifested prior to receiving their pardon. Before that time they were 
always courteous in their deportment, but as soon as they received their pardons, they came, 
in almost every instance, in a bold and defiant manner, even giving direct insults, and going 
away with an air of triumph. 

7419. Have you any means of stating how much property was restored in that way, after 
pardon ? 

I think I gave up to these parties something like a million dollars' worth, and that there 
remained still to be restored not less than a hundred millious' worth. 

7420. Were you examined before the Reconstruction Committee ? 
I was. 

7421. I find in your statement, as recorded, that you stated the amount of property held 
at one time in Louisiana as nearly a hundred million dollars' worth, more by far than was 
held in any other State, and that you think about ninety per cent has been restored to the 
rebels ; that you do not think more than five per cent, is still retained by the bureau. Be 
kind enough to state, in explanation of your last answer, what appears to be a discrepancy 
between the statements. 

I remember when I gave testimony to that committee I made a statement from memory, 
and when my testimony was given me to correct, I did so from the figures before me. That, 
therefore, is an accurate statement. 

7422. Then do you mean to say that about ninety per cent, of the hundred million dollars' 
worth of property had been restored to rebels ? 

I do not mean to be understood as saying that I restored that ninety per cent. General 
Fullerton, who was my successor, before 1 left the city was returning property to its former 
owners very rapidly. In the two weeks I remained there after I had left the bureau it had 
been nearly all returned by him. 

742% Then while you were there, there was about one million restored, and after General 
Fullerton took possession he gave up the balance ? 

Yes, sir. 



528 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

7424. Now state the nature of that property, the situation of it, &c. 

The property consisted of houses, lauds, and personal property, consisting of furniture, in 
some cases, animals, farming utensils, large plantations, sugar-houses, cotton gins, and all 
the material used by planters. We held all that sort of property in our hands, it having been 
transferred to us by the Treasury Department at the time the bureau was organized. The 
majority of the plantations along the Mississippi river from New Orleans to Vicksburg, and 
opposite Vicksburg on the Louisiana side, were in our hands. 

7425. How much of that property belonged to the wealthier rebels — the twenty-thousand 
class ? 

A majority of it. 

7426. And these persons received special pardon 1 
Yes, sir. 

7427. In what way was General Fullerton regarded, so far as you know, by that class of 
people ? 

When he went to New Orleans the rebel newspapers throughout the State welcomed him 
with a great degree of satisfaction. Delegations of planters would call upon him, and I saw 
them sometimes sitting in his office congratulating him, and congratulating themselves that 
the President had sent a man whom they would esteem, and who could aid them. They 
invited him to a public dinner in appreciation of what he had done for them since he had 
been there. He, as they requested him to do, issued some orders very much to their satis- 
faction, and which were applauded by the newspapers and individuals. Under these orders 
a reign of tenor was inaugurated in that city, which produced a wide-spread sensation, not 
only in the hearts of the negroes, but in the hearts of the better class of the community. He 
issued one. order there, which the rebels had begged me to issue many times, for the arrest of 
negroes who were found without certificates of employment from white men. Under that 
order the jails of the city were filled in about twenty-four hours by negroes, who were, many 
of them, picked up on the streets as they were going home from their labors. I remember 
one day seeing the police marching a band of negroes who were handcuffed, and tied together. 
Iinquir ed the cause of their being handcuffed, and found that the policemen had attempted to 
arrest them on their way home from labor, that they objected to the arrest, and were handcuffed. 
Two hundred members of a colored regiment just discharged were attempted to be arrested 
on Claiborne street, while I was there. They had been mustered out of the United States 
army only two days before. They resisted the police, who attacked them and tried to force 
them to jail. A riot was produced, and the police were beaten from the ground by the black 
soldiers. The matter was reported by me to General Canby and to General Sheridan, and 
after the operation of the order for one or two days, General Sheridan and General Canby 
advised General Fullerton to withdraw it, and not to attempt to arrest these negroes, as it 
produced great feeling of rejoicing in the hearts of the rebels, and stimulated a great many 
of them to commit deeds of violence against the negroes, and to oppress them. The negroes 
themselves were disheartened, many of them saying that if they were to be persecuted in 
that way they would go in large bands down to Mexico, and see if they could not get their 
living there. 

7428. Say whether yon did at any time after you left New Orleans, and if so, about when, 
have an interview with the President upon the subject of affairs there, and whether you made 
him acquainted with the state of things. 

I did. When I came north about the month of December, 1865, I went to see him. I 
told him about this riot that had occurred, and of this conduct of General Fullerton. I told 
him that I had learned about these secret organizations of the rebels, and of their disloyal 
purposes, as I had been informed. I told him what the feeling of the people was. He said 
to me that he had heard statements in regard to these organizations before, but that he did 
not believe they were organized for any bad purposes, and that he thought they were loyal 
people; that they had taken the oath of allegiance, and it would be for their interest to be- 
have themselves; as soon as the government was organized they would take care of them- 
selves. He did not see that he had any right to issue orders upon the subject, lie said that 
instructions had been given to General Fullerton and to the military commanders there, by 
which he thought any trouble which might be brewing would be avoided. He indicated 
that I had better go and see General Grant about it. I went to see General Grant; he told 
me about the same as the President He said that instructions had been given to the mili- 
tary commanders which he thought were sufficient. I told the President that the people there 
seemed to lie acting under a misapprehension; that they were acting a good deal on the 
strength of his assurance and sympathy ; that they were hurrahing for him, and even coupled 
his name with Davis's when they were shouting and drinking wine; that if his policy was 
such as I had heard him indicate in former speeches ami in recent papers, it was greatly mis- 
understood there. He said that his policy was doing very well, and that in regard to it Gov- 
ernor Wells was at the time in possession of his views, and that he thought sufficient had 
been done for the preservation of order. He appointed another interview with me, and I 
went there and saw him the next day. I begged him again to give some attention to the 
matter of my statement of the day previously. He indicated that he was very busy, and ap- 
peared to be annoyed that 1 presented that subject again, lie said that at some future time 
he would be glad to hear me further. I came away, and have not seen him since about that 
matter. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS W. CONWAY. 529 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 
7429, VVhai facts did you lay before the President indicating that trouble whs brewing, us 

you said ! 

1 laid before him these reports in regard to secret societies that I had seen ; the evidence of 
the fact that they existed; that it was the habit of the memhers of these societies to wear 
badges by which they could know one another; of conversations that I heard, and oilier cir- 
cumstances which convinced tne of the (ruth of my statement. 

74:50. Did you tell him anything about the violence that had been committed upon the 
negroes ? 

Yes, sir. 

?4'e1 . Did you tell him anything about the rebel character of the city police ? 

I did. 

7432. Was the city police at the time you informed him composed of loyal or disloyal men ? 

The. loyal men had been mainly dismissed, and disloyal men put in their places, at that 
time. 

74:!:!. What were the antecedents, generally, of the police, as. you informed the President ? 

I told him I had reason to believe they were nearly all of them men who had been in the 
rebel army. 

7434. Who did yon tell the President were responsible for putting them there? 

Mr. Kennedy, then acting mayor of the city, mainly, acting in connection with Governor 
Wells, under a sort of reactionary policy that then existed. 

74::."). Did you tell the President anything about the proscription to which Union men 
were being subjected ? 

I .lid. 

74:!ii. Did you tell him anything about the class of men who filled the offices in the city ? 

Yes, sir; I spoke of his policy, and stated the fact that instead of loyal men beino- put 
into theoffices, disloyal men appeared to have the preference — that loyal men appeared to be 
proscribed. 

7437. Did you express to the President any opinion as to how the trouble to which you 
have alluded as brewing would manifest itself? 

I told him at the time, and as I indicated in my correspondence with Mr. Kennedy previ- 
ously, that there would be bloodshed in the city; that it could not be avoided. I told the 
same thing to General Grant, and I think that interview was reported at the time. I said 
there would be a slaughter of men there ; that the thing could not be avoided unless pre- 
cautionary measures were taken. 

7435. Did you indicate to the President who would probably be the authors of that 
slaughter, from all you could then ascertain .' ^ 

I did. I told him that the members of these secret organizations were the people to he 
dreaded, in my judgment. 

7439. Were any "thugs " at that time on the police? 

None of the distinguished thugs. The city had then only recently come into its civil or- 
ganization. I heard some of them say they were going to be on the police, and manage the 
city ; but they had not been appointed at the time I allude to. 

7440. Could any well-known loyalist, who had been true to his allegiance during the war, 
at that time obtain office in Louisiana under the conciliatory government that had come in ? 

He could not easily do it. I have known one or two cases of men who went into the 
police there, but who said they had to keep their lips closed as to their having been in the 
United States army. 

7441. What kind of exhibitions were prevalent at that time in public places, such as their 
theatres, processions, and meetings, towards the flag of the country, or Union airs .' 

I noticed on theatres that the flag was not often in sight. Under this reactionary order the 

United States flag seldom appeared. 1 had that reported to me, and I thought I would go 

and satisfy myself in regard to the matter. On special occasions I would see the flag waving, 

but it did not appear as often as previously, under the auspices of the federals who were there. 

By Mr. Boyer: 

7442. When were you subpoenaed ? 
On the 21st. 

7443. Where were you when you were subpoenaed ? 
I was at Harlem, New York. 

7444. What business are you engaged in there now ? 
I am secretary of a National Freedmen's Association. 

7445. Had you written to any member of the committee that you would be a valuable 
witness ? 

Yes, sir. 

7446 To which one? 
To Mr. Eliot. 

7447. Did you state what you would be able to say ? 

I think I stated, in general terms, that I knew of matters in regard jo Louisiana that might 
be of importance to the committee. 
34 n o 



530 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

74 h J . By whom was Hu. Kennedy appointed mayor of New Orleans? 

I cannot say positively; I can only say what I understood at the time, that he had been 
appointed by General Hurlbut, who was in temporary command, with the sanction of Gen- 
eral Canby, and with the recommendation of Governor Wells. That was the general under- 
standing in the community, as 1 believe. 

7449. Your administration as superintendent of the Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana was 
not a very popular one, was it? 

It was popular with the loyal men there, and with the loyal men of the country, as I have 
reason to believe. It was unpopular with the mass of w hites in that community. 

7450. Were these men, whom you term loyal men, numerous? 

I believe them to have been numerous — the two kinds of loyal men I speak of. There 
were the .Johnson loyal men at that time, and the anti-Johnson loyal men. 

7451. Do you think those who were the Johnson loyal men were loyal ? 
I believe they were loyal men. 

7452. Counting the two descriptions of loyal men of the country, what proportion did they 
bear to the white population? 

That I cannot say exactly, because I do not know what the number of the white popula- 
tion was. I think there were two or three thousand loyal men in the city of New Orleans. 

7453. Was it not upon the recommendation of loyal men that you were removed ? 

Yes, sir ; they acting as the mouth-piece of disloyal men — that class of loyal men who are 
advocating the President's policy. 

7454. You were not in favor of a conciliatory policy, were you? 

I was in favor of mercy, but 1 was in favor of a measure of justice being exacted with 
the mercy. 

7455. You have stated that freedmen often came to your office and complained of the 
treatment they had received. Were not their complaints in some instances ill founded .' 

Yes, sir; and in some instances they were well founded. In a very large number of cases 
I ascertained that their complaints had foundation in fact. A few were in some cases by 
them a good deal exaggerated. 

7456. At that time which were the most numerous, the loyal men of that section, whom 
you denominate Johnson loyal men, or anti-Johnson loyal men? 

I think the anti-Johnson loyal men were the most numerous. The policy men, as they 
were called, were the men appointed to office by the President and the governor. I would 
say, in speaking ot the number of the loyal men, that in addition to the two or three thou- 
sand white loyal men, there were twenty or thirty thousand black loyal men in New Orleans. 

74;">7. Do you know who the loyal men were who recommended that you should be super- 
seded .' 

I learned that Governor Wells was the party who wrote the letter, and I learned that he 
was induced to do it by the planters. 

7458. Do you not know that other loyal men also united in that request ? 
I do not. 

7459. Did you ever inquire to ascertain ? 
I did. 

7460. Do you not think it the best policy on the part of the government to endeaA'or to 
win back the love and confidence of the people of Louisiana, rather than to excite in them 
a sense of injury and resentment .' 

I do not think the love and confidence we have exhibited towards them while they were 
enjoying them produced any feeling of love for our government. I think it has been 
abused. I think they would have respected us more had we punished them more severely 
than we have done, and would have behaved better. 

7461. Do you think it would have been hotter for the government to have kept the hundred 
million dollars' worth of property which you say had been taken from them? 

1 think it would. I think it the property taken from the disloyal men had been sold ulti- 
mately, and the plantations settled by loyal men, the government would have been benefited 
by it. Except the owners of the property themselves, the community generally, who were 
not connected with the ownership of the property, would have been benefited. 

74('rJ. How much of that property did you manage personally to secure.' 

I d.d secure one plantation in the State, which was the plantation of ex-Governor Moore. 

74ii:!. Did not others connected with the Freedmen's Bureau also manage to secure to them- 
selves a portion of the property.' 

I misunderstood you if you intended to ask me if I had personally secured any of that 
property. 1 had none of it. 1 thought you referred to seizing it as abandoned, and holding 
it lot tie government. I took none of it myself, and I never knew of any officer of the bu- 
reau who did. 

746 \. Were you never engaged in speculation in property there? 

No, sir; not to any extent whatever. 

7465. Did you not make any purchases? 

Mo, sir. 

Neither yourself nor others, so far as you know ? 

No, sir. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS W. CONWAY. 531 

74f>7. Till yon never, while you were in Louisiana, Ituy or soil any description of personal 
property or real estate for profit .' 

No, sir; and I know, of no officer in my bureau at that time who did. If I had known it, 
I would have dismissed him. 

7468. Was any part of the property which was temporarily held by the government sold 
for the benefit of the government .' 

Yes, sir. 

?4()':>. What character of property ? 

One plantation — the plantation of General Dick Taylor — was sold, under process of law, 
through iii" United states court and sale of the marshal. 

7 ITU. Dii you know by whom it was purchased I 

It was purchased by a man by the name of Christy. 

7471. Was he, or not, a loyal mau ? 

He was a loyal man. 

747'2. Yon know of no other plantation which was sold? 

I know of plantations which were sold, but not under government process ; not under pro- 
cess through the United States courts by confiscation, or under any act of Congress. I, per- 
haps, should mention that the house of Pierre Soule was sold by the marshal in New Orleans. 

7473. Was there not a good deal of other property in New Orleans sold in some w.ay? 

Not property held by the bureau. There was property outside of the jurisdiction of the 
bureau which was acted on under the United States courts and was sold. 

7 174. I refer to the property which Lad been in possession of the bureau. 

That, is th;' property I alluded to in my answer. 

7475. You have described a police officer as going through the streets, striking with his 
fists the negroes, and knocking them down. Do you mean to say that that was a common 
thing' in New Orleans during your administration there? 

The reports were common. The reports came daily. It was general with the police. I 
mean the occurrences were common with some of the poljce. 

7-!7(i. You do not mean to say that the policemen generally behaved in that manner? 

No, sir. The. reports were general. They came in iu large numbers every day as reports of 
violence inflicted by the police of the city. 

7 177. Were not the negroes themselves, in some instances, insolent and defiant? 

No, sir. My experience is that at the time they would not dart; to lie insolent or defiant. 
They were never so timid, and never so apt to avoid exciting the animosity of the people. 

7478. Did they not get drunk sometimes ? 

I suppose they did. I know of one or two cases of negroes being drunk there. They, 
however, did not follow the example of the whites of the city in the magnitude of their 
drunkenness. 

7479. Did not they, like the whites, get unruly and quarrelsome sometimes when they 
were drunk .' 

I do not think I have seen them as unruly when in that condition as I have seen white men. 

7480. I did not ask you as to the comparison, but as to the fact. 

I think not. I think whiskey, so far as my observation goes, has a different effect upon 
negroes from what it has upon whites. It usually has the effect of making them foolish, and 
too stupid to be capable of doing much mischief. 

7481. What, was done with the policeman Colonel Frisbie assisted you to arrest? 

We locked him up, and left him in the hands of General Fullerton. I understood that he 
was released subsequently. 

7482. How long afterwards? 

Some few days. I do not know the exact time. 

7483. Were there military guards stationed in the city at that time? 
They were at places held for government purposes. 

7484. Were there any military employed on police duty in the city at that time? 

No, sir. The city at that time was in the hands of the civil authorities. The military 
were only used in arresting soldiers who were either deserters or absent without leave, and 
for the purpose of any special exigency that might occur justifying their employment. 

74-'.">. You say that under General Fullerton's administration a reign of terror was insti- 
tuted. Describe more particularly what you mean by a reign of terror. 

I mean that when policemen were arresting these men who were caught without certificates 
of employment in their possession from a white man, other negroes in that vicinity and 
perhaps in their own company would run and scream, and every house occupied by a negro 
would be barred. The people were afraid to enter into the streets there for some time, and 
did not do it, as a. general thing, until the order was revoked. 

7486. How long did that order continue in force .' 

I think somewhere iu the neighborhood of forty-eight hours. 

74>7. The order was, as I understood you, to the effect that negroes appearing in the 
streets should have certificates? 

The order was to arrest any negro found without a certificate of a white man, of his em- 
ployment. 

74dS. Was that the whole of the order ? 



532 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

It was the part of the order which caused the reign of terror on the part of these people, 
and that reign of terror caused the withdrawal of the order. 

7489. Then it was a reign of terror to the negroes who had no employment, or no certifi- 
cate which testified that they had .' 

No, sir. It was not a reign of terror on the part of the negroes who had no employment 
alone; it was a reign of terror on the part of all the negroes, employed and unemployed. A 
great majority of them at that time were employed. 

749(1. What cause of terror was there for those who had certificates? 

None whatever, except to a man seeing his neighbor without a certificate arrested, and 
perhaps he was employed with him, and became alarmed for fear of persecution in one way 
or another, and not knowing what shape it might take. 

7401. Have you a copy of that order? 

I think I havg, somewhere amon'g my papers at home, in New York. I think there are 
copies of the older in General Howaid's office, here. 

7492. After you had been superseded, wheu you had your interview with the President, 
did he seem to have more confidence in your statements than in the other information in his 
possession; or did he seem to attach more importance to statements which he had received 
from Governor Wells and others ? 

He did not say. He said lie had heard these statements hefore. He did not pay much 
attention to it. He said that civil government had been inaugurated there, and lie saw no 
necessity lor his interfering. 

749:'.. He seemed then to think that your impressions upon these subjects were not well 
founded ! 

He did not indicate that he thought they were not well founded, but he indicated that he 
did not deem them of sufficient importance to act upon the subject. 

7494. When you went to General Grant, at his instance, did you make to General Grant 
substantially the same statement of facts that you did to the President? 

Yes, sir. 

7495. I think you stated that General Grant told you in reply that the orders which had 
already been given to the military authorities were, in his opinion, sufficient, under the cir- 
cumstances ? 

Yes, sir. 

7496. So that General Grant agreed with the President in supposing that no further steps 
were necessaiy in the matter at that time ' 

He did not indicate as to the necessity for any further steps. He said that the steps already 
taken were probably sufficient for any exigency that might arise. 

7497. You, and Governor Wells, and Mayor Kennedy, as I understand from your state- 
ment, differed with regard to the proper policy to be pursued .' 

Yes, sir. 

7498. When you were in charge of the bureau at New Orleans, who was the military com- 
mandant there? 

The military commander of the city was General T. W. Sherman ; the military commander 
of the department of Louisiana was General Canby ; and the military commander of the mili- 
tary division of the Gulf was General Sheridan; but I had been there through the adminis- 
trations of three or four different commanders previous to that time. 

749;). When you speak of your belief as respects secret organizations in New Orleans, 
have you any personal knowledge of any facts showing the existence of such organizations 
for dislo3*al purposes '. 

I have asked some men there who were entirely unacquainted with me, whether such was 
the fact that confide rate soldiers were organized for charitable purposes, and have been told 
they were. I was informed several times of these organizations. 

7500. Have you any other know ledge than that ! 

I have knowledge brought to me by parties who would suspect the character of such 
meetings, and who have gone near the windows and listened; and in one case one of my 
• detectives said that he went there, listened, and heard the proceedings. 

7501. Who is that detective .' 
Dewees. 

7502. Where is he? 
In New York city. 

7503. What is he- doing in New York city ? 

The last I heard of him he was trying to get into the custom-house. 

7504. Where was this meeting ot which he gave you information held 

At some place on Rampart street. I think from the description he gave me of the locality, 
that I know the building, which is on Rampart street near Congo square. 

7505. Was he inside of the building ! 
No, sir ; on the outside. 

750G. Did he hear connected conversation, or mere snatches of words? 

He heard snatches of sentences. He would hear the names of such men as Doctor Dostie 
and myself used with a "damn," and the remark made that they must be got rid of. I 
heard the same statements made by negroes, that seemed to be so authentic that I considered 
them of sufficient itnportar.ee to report them to the commanding general at the time. 



TESTIMONY OF THOMAS W. CONWAY. 533 

7. r >07. When your detective was standing outside the building was the door opcji? 
No, sir; the doors were closed. 

7508. Were the windows open .' 

I tliink not. I remember asking whether the windows wore open. 

7509. Then lo enable him to have heard what they said, the conversation must have been 
in a very loud voice I 

Loud enough for him to hear it. The buildings there are not very capable of preventing 
the transmission of sound. The walls are usually very thin. 

7510. How many detectives had you in your employ? 

I had one in the city of New Orleans ; he was a detective by •employment. All the pro- 
vost marshals in the State were detectives in a measure. It was their business to as- 
certain any serious indications of trouble or plots to murder negroes, &c, and transmit in- 
formation to headquarters. 

7511. Can 3011 state what were the exact words used by the detective in reporting this 
conversation? 

He said that lie overheard men in the room speaking; that lie heard the mimes of Benja- 
min F. Flanders, Michael Halm, A. P. Dostie, and myself used, with the prefix of " damn," 
and the remark that they must he got rid of. 

7512. Did he. ascertain who it was who used the words ? 
He did not. 

7513. Did he ascertain how many persons were there at the time? 
No, sir. 

?.">I4. Was it a public house? 

It was a place for the meetings of societies, or used for such purposes. 

7515. Was it a saloon ! 

It was not; it was a building or hall for the meetings of societies. 

7516. Was that the only occasion when words of that description were repeated to you ? 
No, sir; they were repeated half a dozen times, at least, by negroes. 

7517. Was that the only occasion when your detective brought you an account of such a 
thing? 

No, sir. 

7">18. Go on and state what other occasions there were. 

There were other statements brought to me by other men. I recollect a provost marshal, 
Captain Morse, saying that he had heard these statements, and that it was so reported and 
understood in the community where he was. 

75J9. About what time did this occur .' 

In September, 1865. 

7520. Did you ever ascertain what society it was that met there at the time you refer to ? 

I do not know the name of the society, except that it was known as one of the military 
charitable societies, one of the confederate military societies organized under the pretext of 
being for charitable purposes, and to assi.st one another in case of want or sickness, or of any 
other need or necessity. 

7521. Were you ever assailed violently when you were there? 
Yes, sir : two or three times. 

7522. How and when .' 

Just before I was relieved. As soon as it was reported that I was to be relieved I was 
going to my headquarters one night, when I was struck on the corner of Carondelet and 
Canal streets by a party who immediately ran away. I was knocked down suddenly. I 
afterwards took the precaution of going home with some of my headquarters guards with 
nn' until the time- 1 left the city. Twice previously, -when I was going from business, I was 
jostled on the street by one man pushing another against me, and heard the cry of " Kill the 
damned bureau." I reported the matter to the general in command, who told me that I 
should lie very careful, and not be out late at night, and to come immediately to him if any 
such occurrence was repeated, and that he would send a guard and arrest the whole party. 

7.V2'.!. If you had not been relieved, would you-have continued to remain at your post in 
New- Orleans ? 

I would. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

7;724. You have spoken of what you indicated to General Grant as being the substance of 
what you said to the President. I wish to know where tiiis interview between you and Gen- 
eral Grant occurred ? 

At his room in his headquarters. 

7525. Can you give us the time it occurred? 

It was in December. I car/not state the date. I spoke of the matter in a correspondence 
with one or two papers, and, if it were absolutely necessary, I would ascertain the date by 
referring to the files of those papers. 

7526. Have you given all General Grant's reply to you that you can remember? 
Yes, sir. 

7f> - 27. That was that he thought the orders he had issued would be sufficient to preserve 
the peace and to protect the Union people of Louisiana ! 



534 NEW ORLEANS EIOTS. 

He said instructions had already been given which he thought sufficient to protect the lives 
of Union people, without regard to color. 

7528. Did be state what instructions he alluded to? 
No, sir ; he did not. 

7529. Did he slate when the instructions he referred to had been given? 

He did not say when. He said instructions had Keen given to the commanders, and, I 
presume, referred to General Sheridan or General Cauby. 

7530. Did he allude to the matter so as to give you any knowledge of the date of these 
instructions — as to whether they were received or not ! 

No, sir ; he did not. 

7531. Did you tell him that you came to him upon the suggestion of the President? 

I did not tell him that I came to see him upon the suggestion of the President. The Presi- 
dent said, You may see General Grant, but 1 did not tell him that I came to him at the sug- 
gestion of the President. 

7532. Was anybody by during this conversation between you and General Grant? 

I think not. There was an officer in the room when I went in, but he went out while we 
were talking? 

7533. Did you say to him that there would be bloodshed unless something was done ? 
I did. 

7">:'>4. And you also told him why y*ou thought there would be bloodshed? 

I told him that trouble already existed, and that there was going to be more trouble: that 
I felt there would be, and I implored him to take such action as was necessary to preserve 
the lives of Union people. 

7535. Did you tell him what action was necessary? 

Yes, sir; I told him, as I told General Sheridan and General Canby, that nothing would 
prevent violence but the presence of a large military force. 

7536. Was there not a military force provided which could be used? 

There was, but it, had been greatly reduced, and they were reducing it constantly; more, 
I implored him not to reduce the force any further, in consequence of that state of things. 

7537. At what time in the day was that interview with General Grant? 
I think about one or two o'clock in the day. 

7538. Was it protracted or brief? 

It was brief; it occupied, probably, about fifteen minutes. 

7539. General Grant knew who you were and what your relations had beeu at New Or- 
leans ? 

Yes, sir. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, Wednesday, January 30, 1S67. 
WILLIAM G. MOORE sworn and examined. 
By Mr. BoYEIt : 

7540. Are you an officer of the army? 
I am. 

7541. What is your rank? 

I am paymaster with the rank of major. 

7542. Where are you at present employed ? 

I am on duty with the President of the United States. 

7543. Are you detailed for that purpose ! 
Yes. 

7544. Are you on duty at the Executive Mansion? 

Yes. 

7545. Were you there on duty in July last ? 
Lwas. 

7540. Had you anything to do with the correspondence which took place at that time in 
reference to the New Orleans riot.' 
I had. 

7547. What had you to do with it ? 

Iliad to answer by the direction and after dictation of the President, several despatches 
which weie received from persons in New Orleans on the subject of the riot; and sub- 
sequently I had to collect the despatches on thai subject which had been received by the 
President. 

7548. Did the despatches received by the President or sent by him pass through your hands l 
Most of them did. 

7549. Look at this despatch, dated July 28, 1866, from Brevet Major General A. Baird 
to Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, (see testimony of General Baird,) and state when 
you first saw it. 

I first savf that despatch subsequently, I think, to the 11th of August, 1866. On the 11th 
of August the President requested the Secretary of War to prepare copies of aii despatches 



TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM G. MOORE. 535 

and other papers received on the subject of the New Oilcans riot. About a week or ten days 
subsequent to that time, copies of papers on that subject were furnished by the Secretary of 
War to tlif President, and among those papers was this copy of a telegram from General 
Baird to the Secretary of War, dated July 28, 1866. That was the first time I saw that 
despatch. 

7550. If it had been at the Executive Mansion before that time, would it have naturally 
come under your view, or have passed through your hands 1 

I think it would have passed through my hands. 1 think I would have seen the despatch 
had il been in the President's hands prior to that time. 

7551. Was that despatch included in a number of others that were sent from the War 
Department to the President, in obedience to the instructions you mentioned ? 

Yes, sir. 

7552. Is this the correspondence which led to the transmission of those despatches from the 
War Department to the Executive Mansion .' 

It is. 

(The following are copies of the correspondence:) 

"Headquarters Armies of the United States, 

"Washington, D. C, August 10, 1866. 
" SIR : I have the honor to enclose to you mail copies of General Sheridan's despatches on 
the New Orleans riots, and to ask their publication in full. Already a garbled version of one 
of these despatches, and an incomplete copy of another, have appeared in the public prints. 
These publications put General Sheridan in the position of taking a partisan view ot the 
whole question, and, what is still worse, of being one day on one side of the question, and 
again on the other. His despatches, given in full, show that he takes no partisan view, but 
that he reports wdiat he conceives to be the facts, without regard to who is hit. 

"lam just in receipt of a despatch from General Sheridau, showing displeasure at his 
despatches getting into print in a mutilated and incomplete form. 

"I have the houor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"U. S. GRANT, General. 
"Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 

["Received at office United States military telegraph, War Department, Washington, D. C., 
August 9, 1866 — 5 p. m. ; in cipher. ] 

"New Orleans, La., August 9, 1866—1 p. m. 
" Brevet Major General J. A. Rawlins, Chief of Staff : 

"I see that my despatch to General Grant of August first is published with one paragraph 
suporessed. Can you tell who was guilty of this breach of military honor ? 

"P. H. SHERIDAN, Major General. 

" Official copy : GEO. K. LEET, 

"Assistant Adjutant General." 



"War Department, 

" Washington City, August 11, 1866. 
"Mr. President: I have the honor to submit herewith a letter from General Grant, ask- 
ing for the publication of General Shemdan's despatches, relating to the New Orleans riots. 
I do not feel authorized to act in the matter without your direction, and therefore submit 
General Grant's application and the accompanying papers for such instructions as you may 
be pleased to give. 

"I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



EDWIN M. STANTON. 



The President.' 



[Indorsements.] 

"Returned to the honorable the Secretary of War. 

"The President vvould suggest a careful examination of all tin' despatches sent from this 
office, the War Department, and the headquarters of the army, to General Sheridan, General 
Baird, and the civil authorities of Louisiana, and all despatches received iu reply, or on the 
subject of the riot, or the assembling of the convention of 1864, with a view of determining 
the propriety of at once publishing them in full in the order of their dates. 

" ANDREW JOHNSON. 

"August 11, 1866." 



53 G NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

"The within mentioned despatches, &c, were collected aud transmitted to the President 
between August 11 and August 25. 

"EDWIN M. STANTON, 

" Secretary of War." 

7553. In whose handwriting- is the indorsement signed "Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of 
War ? " 

That is in Mr. Stanton's own handwriting. 

7554. The body of the indorsement as well as the signature? 

Yes, sir. I presume that indorsement was placed there because there was no letter of trans- 
mission with the despatches, and therefore there was no date to show the receipt of the de- 
spatches. That indorsement of the Secretary supplied the omission. 

7555. Were you the bearer of those despatches when they were sent from the War Depart- 
ment to the Executive Mansion? 

No, sir. I think the Secretary of War brought them there himself. Shortly after he placed 
them on the President's desk they were put in my hanJs by the President. 
By the Chairman: 

7550. You say that most of the despatches received by the President passed through your 
hands ? 
Yes, sir. 

7557. Of course you do not know how many he received which did not pass through your 
hands ? 

Certainly not. 

7558. During the time that you have spoken of, say in the latter part of July, were the 
persons who visited the President ordinarily seen by you? 

I think they were generally. My room adjoins the President's, the door between the rooms 
being open, and I can hear the voices and can distinguish them if I am familiar with the per- 
sons who are present. 

7551.). Among the persons who visited the President in reference to the proposed holding of 
the convention at New Orleans, do you recollect Mr. Rosier, of New Orleans? 

No, sir. I do not know Mr. Rosier. 

7560. Do you recollect the fact of his being there ? 

I do not recollect Mr. Rosier, though I have heard his name. 

7561. Do you not recollect having been present during any interview between him and 
the President ? 

No, sir. 

7562. What gentlemen from New Orleans do you recollect having had interviews with the 
President, about the 25th of July, in connection with the convention at New Orleans ? 

I cannot recollect, except some names being mentioned. 

7564. Do you recollect that there were quite a number of gentlemen there in connection 
with it? 

I cannot say that I do. 

7565. Do you wish to be understood as saying that you do not? 

I do not know that there were a number of gentlemen there in connection with the subject 
of the New Orleans convention, prior to the riot. I do not recollect of having seen any gen- 
tlemen from New Orleans there in connection with that subject. 

7566. None at all? 
None at all. 

7567. You do not know that Mr. Rosier was there? 

No, sir; I cannot recall his presence there in connection with the convention. 

7568. Had von occasion to copy despatches for the President in reference to holding the 
convention before the time it was held? 

Yes, sir. 

756'.). Are those despatches contained in this volume ? 

Yes, sir; they are contained in the papers transmitted yesterday. There are two or three 
of them that bear date prior to the time of the assemblingof the convention, and some of them 
subsequent to that time. 

7571). Are all of the papers that you have any knowledge of comprised among the papers 
that were transmitted yesterday .' 

Yes, sir ; all of them. 

7571. Have you any reason to think there are others besides those? 

No, sir. I have reason to believe that that correspondence contains all the papers. I was 
very careful myself to see that all the. papers were there. The booksof the War Department 
show copies of all telegrams transmitted by the President to New Orleans, or, indeed, to any 
other point. 

7572. What is your judgment as to whether persons went to see the President in respect 
to the New Orleans convention before the 30th .Inly .' 

I cannot answer that question positively. There may have been without my knowing it. 
757;!. Wiflild you have been likely to know it .' 
No, sir ; I would not be likely to know it. 



TESTIMONY OF BREVET MA J. GEN. E. R. S. CANBY. 537 

Washington, D. C, Wednesday, January 30, 18G7. 
Brevet Major General E. R. S. CANBY sworn and examined. 
By Mr. Bover : 

7574. Were you in command of the city of New Orleans in 1864 and '65 ? 

I was iti command of the military division of West Mississippi from May, 1864, until that 
command was abolished, and subsequently I was in command of the department of the Gulf 
duringparl of 1865 and up to the 1st of May, 186'b\ 

7575. Where were your headquarters? 

During the greater part of the time in the city of New Orleans. 

7576. Were you in command of New Orleans at the time of the election of Mayor Monroe 
to the mayoralty of New Orleans city f 

I was in command or the department of the Gulf at the time. The immediate command 
of the city was in a subordinate officer, General T. W. Sherman. 

7577. By whose orders was the municipal election at that time held in the city of New 
Orleans ' ' 

It was held under an act or resolution of the legislature of the State. The military restric- 
tions on holding the election were removed by me. 

7578. When did that municipal election take place? 

I do not recollect the date, but it was about the middle of March, I think. 

7579. Before that time, had the military restrictions been such as to prevent a municipal 
election being- held in the city of New Orleans ? 

They had been. 

7580. You say these restrictions were removed by your order. Was that in accordance 
with any special instructions by you received from Washington, or was it in accordance with 
your general discretionary powers as commander of the department? 

It was from "my own judgment, believing that the election might safely be held and the 
control of the city lie turned over to the municipal authorities. 

7581. And not in accordance with any special instructions from Washington? 

No, sir; I reported my determination to the Secretary of War, calling attention to the fact 
that the legislature hail authorized the election to be held, and that I had determined to allow 
it to be held. That was the substance of the despatch. 

7582. Was that simply a report of your conclusion and determination, or did it also pray 
for instructions ? 

I do not think I asked any instructions. I may possibly have asked that if my views were 
not approved I might be instructed before the election. 

7583. Dili von receive any instructions from Washington in reference to the manner in 
which that election was' to be. held, or that any particular candidates should be favored by 
the military authorities ? 

No, sir. 

75H4. Did the military authorities leave to the people of New Orleans entire freedom in 
that election ? 

They were expressly forbidden by an order to interfere with the election, and I never heard 
and have no reason to believe that there was any interference. 

7585. Was that in accordance with the general order, or was there a special order directing 
the military authorities not to interfere in that election? 

It was a general order. The same order had been issued at all the elections held while I 
was in command of Louisiana, and it was based upon a law of Congress, passed some years 
ago, forbidding tiny interference with elections except to preserve peace at the polls. 

7586. Then there were no orders in reference to this particular election except the general 
order you speak of based upon the act of Congress yon refer to? 

I issued a general order preceding each election, and that order was based upon the law of 
Congress. The same order was repeated at the election in New Orleans. 

7587. You received no special orders from Washington on the subject? 
No, sir; none whatever. 

7588. Did you or anv officer under you at that time, to your knowledge, interfere in any 
way with the municipal election then held, or favor the views of any particular party, or 
endeavor to promote the success of any particular candidates? 

I never heard and have no reason to believe that any officer did so. 

7589. Did you or anybody under your instructions i 
No, sir. 

By the Chairman : 

7590. How long was it before the proposed election that you communicated to the War 
Department your action ? 

It was soon after the action of the legislature. I do not recollect the dates now, but I can 
get them. 

7591. So far as you are able to say, the election that was held when Mayor Monroe was 
chosen mayor was the free election of the people ? 



53 S NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

Yes, sir. 

7592. And lie was the mayor of their choice ? 

Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

7593. Were you familiar with the political antecedents of Mayor Monroe during the re- 
bellion ? 

Yes, sir; and, from investigations I made at the time, somewhat familiar with them prior 
to the rebellion. 

7594. He was a pretty thorough rebel, was he not? 
I do not think that can be questioned. 

7595. So far as you know, did Mayor Monroe ever furnish to the public or to the govern- 
ment any evidence of abandonment of his notions in reference to the rebellion and its jus- 
tice ? • 

He transmitted, through me, an appeal from my decision in that case to the President, 
and in it stated that he had taken the amnesty oath. I do not recollect whether there was 
any other evidence than his own assertion that he had returned, in good faith, to his alle- 
giance to the United States. 

7596. What decision do you allude to? 

Suspending him from the exercise of his functions of mayor of the city on the ground that 
he was exempt from amnesty and required a special pardon. 

7597. You decided that he should not be mayor because he had not been specially par- 
doned ? 

I decided that he should not exercise the functions of mayor. He was mayor elect, and 
it was necessary, under the charter, that the other civil officers should he sworn into office 
by the mayor, and, in older to prevent any embarrassment, I allowed linn to administer the 
oath to the other officers, and then I suspended his functions as mayor. 

7598. What law regulated the holding of that election for mayor, so far as 'related to the 
voters ? 

The qualifications of'voters, under the law of the State, had been adopted by the military 
commander who preceded me, General Banks, and the registration of voters, under that law, 
determined who were the proper voters. 

7599. That included all the white male citizens of the State over twenty-one years old? 

It was qualified by the rejection of those who had registered themselves as enemies to the 
United States.' 

7600. That registration of men, as enemies of the government, was a thing done under a 
military order of General Butler, was it not ? 

Yes, sir. 

7601. What class of persons were they who were thus registered under that order ? 
They were persons who refused to return to their allegiance under the Presidents proclama- 
tion in 1862, and they were directed to go out from under the flag. 

7602. Did Mayor Monroe elect to go out from under the flag ? 

Mayor Monroe was in prison, and was sent beyond Louisiana, to Fort Pickens, by Heneral 
Butler. He was subsequently released, on consultation between General Butler and General 
Banks, on the condition of his taking the oath. 

7603. Then, under the law, all the returned confederate soldiers, and everybody who had 
been engaged in the rebellion, being white male citizens over twenty-one years old, could 
vote, except those who were registered as enemies ? 

That was my understanding; that those who had taken the amnesty oath prescribed by 
the President could vote. 

7604. From what you discovered in the choice made by the electors in that election, do 
you still remain of opinion that it was sate to the truly loyal men in that city to permit the 
people of New Orleans to select their municipal officers 1 

1 regretted the nominations very much, hut still I did not apprehend anything, because we 
had then sufficient military force to control them, and, although the election was held under 
thr law of the State, the military supervisory control had not been relinquished. 

7605. Was that supervisory military control necessary, under all the circumstances, to the 
safety of those who were truly loyal to our government / 

I thought so then, and I think so still. 

7606. Do you recollect a despatch sent by the President suggesting or favoring an election 
of a mayor, and in which, among other things, he said that the voting should be conlined to 
those who were unquestionably loyal, or some words of that exact substance ! 

I heard in New Orleans that such a despatch had been received, but I think I never saw 
the despatch. It was not sent through my hands, and I think I never saw it. It may have 
been published in the New Orleans papers, and I know I heard of it at the time. 

7607. Is it your opinion, from all you know of the state of sentiment among those who 
are entitled to vote under the law of Louisiana as it now is, that, if uninfluenced by military 
control, they would never elect a man who had remained truly loyal to the government during 
the war? 

I think that their sympathies are so entirely with those who went into the military or civil 



TESTIMONY OF BREVET MAJ. GEN. E. R. S. CANBY. 539 

service of the rebellion thai they would not elect any one else so long as they can find one 
of that party available, and who would be serviceable to them. 

7608. Can you tell US sonic of the principal events in the life of Mayor Monroe as rebel; 
I mean his conduct and actions during the war .' 

His conduct during the war is a matter of history. His conduct after the occupation of 
New Orleans by the United .States forces led to his imprisonment, and subsequently to his 
transfer beyond the lines. 

7609. Did you ever hear from him, or learn in any authentic way, what he did in the way 
of resisting the taking of the city by the federal troops, he then being mayor? 

His resistance was confined to words. He had no power of making any physical resist- 
ance lie was accused at the time, and I think justly, of inciting riots. That was one of 
the charges on which I suspended him, and I did not think it safe to trust a man of his 
character with the mayoralty of the city. 

7610. How came he to be restored after you suspended him? 
He was pardoned. 

7<il 1. And that wrought his restoration? 

Yes, sir. 

7012. Did he go to Washington in person to get the pardon ? 

I cannot answer that ; my impression is that he did, but I am not certain. 

7613. Did he produce to you any order besides the exhibition of his pardon to get reinstated 
in the mayoralty .' 

The older was communicated to me from the War Department, advising me that he had 
been pardoned by the President. 

7614. Did it direct you to restore him to power? 
No, sir. 

76)5. It simply communicated the fact that he had been pardoned? 

That is all. Two or three days after that Mayor Monroe called and exhibited his pardon. 

7016. You have not exactly fixed the date of your ceasing to command at New Orleans; 
I wish you to fix that date. 

I left New Orleans on the 31st of May, 1866. Two or three days before that I turned over 
the command to General Baird. 

7617. Do you know the antecedents of Lieutenant Governor Voorbees during the rebellion ? 

I know, from reputation, that he was actively engaged in the rebellion ; I have but a slight 
personal acquaintance with him, and that commenced after his return to New Orleans. 

The witness subsequently furnished the committee with the general orders referred to, as 
follows : 

[General Orders No. 34.] 

Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

New Oilcans, La., September 1, 1865. 
Tinder the 21st section of the act of Congress "to amend the several acts heretofore passed 
to provide for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," approved 
March 3, 1865, and the pursuant proclamation of the President of the United States, dated 
March 11, 1865, the provost marshal general of this department will furnish the registers of 
voters of the State of Louisiana with the names of all deserters (residents of that State) and 
of all persons also residents of that State who, after having been duly enrolled, have left the 
jurisdiction in which they were enrolled, or have gone beyond the limits of the United States 
for the purpose vt' evading any draft duly ordered, and have refused or neglected to comply 
with the President's proclamation. 

The provost marshal general will also furnish the registers of voters with the names of all 
persons (residents of that State) who have been exempted from the draft on account of alien- 
age, or who have, under that plea, at any time since the occupation of the district of their 
residences by the United States forces, evaded the duties and obligations of citizenship. 
By order of Major General E. R. S. Canby: 

WICKHAM HOFFMAN, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 

[General Orders No. 59.] 

Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

New Orleans, La., October 21, 1865. 
I. The qualifications of electors at the approaching elections in this State are defined by the 
laws of the United States, approved March :!, 1813, July 17, 1862, and March 3, i860, in re- 
lation to aliens, and to deserters from the army, and absentees horn the draft, also by the ex- 
ceptions in the President's proclamation of May 29, 1865, (except incases coming under the 
14th exception, or where the disability is cured by a special pardon,) and by the laws of the 
State of Louisiana, as defined in the governor's proclamation of September 21, l8bo. 



540 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

IT. The aci of Congress approved February 25, 1865, prohibits officers of the army from 
interfering with elections "unless it shall be necessary to repel the armed enemies of the 
United States, or t<> keep the peace at the polls." 

No military interference will be allowed in this department, and no troops be permitted to 
appear at the polls, except upon the application of the proper civil authorities for assistance 
to preserve the peace. 

Commanding officers will keep their troops well in hand on the day of the elections, and 
hold them in constant readiness to respond to any call that may he made by the proper au- 
thority, or to repress disorders that threaten the "peace and security of the department." 
By order of Maj. Geo. E. R. S. Cauby : 

WICKHAM HOFFMAN, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 
Official : 

NATHANIEL BTJRBANK, 

Acting Assistant Adjutant General. 

[General Orders No. 22.] 

Headquarters Department of Louisiana, 

New Orleans, La., March in, 1866. 
The act of Congress approved February 25, 1865, prohibits officers of the army from inter- 
fering with elections "uuless it shall be uecessary to repel the armed enemies of the United 
States or to keep the peace at the polls." 

No military interference will be allowed in this city at the approaching election on Mon- 
day, the I2th instant, and no troops will be permitted to appear at the* polls, except upon the 
application of the proper civil authorities for assistance to preserve the peace. 

Commanding officers will keep their troops well in ham! on the day of the election, and 
hold them in constant readiness to respond to any call that may be made by the proper 
authority, or to repress disorders that threaten the peace and security of the city. 
By order of Maj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby : 

WICKHAM HOFFMAN, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 
Official : 

NATHANIEL BTJRBANK, 
Acting Assistant Adjutant General. 



Washington-, D. C, Wednesday, January 30, 1867. 

Hon. HENRY J. RAYMOND, a member of the House of Representatives from the State 
of New York, sworn and examined. 

By Mr. Boyer : 

Tfils. Were you present at a caucus held by the republican members of the thirty-ninth 
Congress in the month of July last.' 

1 was. 

Til! 1 .!. Do yon recollect the day of the month when that caucus was held ? 

Not with sufficient accuracy to state it. It was in the middle of the month — not far from 
the 12th or 13th. 

7620. Do you recollect that, on that occasion, Mr. Boutwell made a speech in which he 
referred to the constitutional convention about to be held in New Orleans .' 

I remember Mr. Boutwell making some remarks, in which he referred to a convention that 
would probably be held there; I do not know whether it was fixed or not at the time. 

7621. Do you know whether Mr. Boutwell's speech was afterwards reported in the New 
York Times? 

There was a brief notice or sketch of what he said published in the New York Times, but 
I think not a full report of it. 

7622. Look at this printed slip and state whether it is a correct report of the substance of 
Mr. Boutwell's speech, as made in the republican caucus on that occasion. 

[The newspaper slip handed to witness reads as follows: 

"Mr. Boutwell, of Massachusetts, said he thought it very desirable that Congress should 
continue in session for other reasons than those which had been suggested. He would intui- 
tion one A distinguished gentleman from the south was in town, from whom he had learned 
that the Louisiana convention would meet on the 30th for the revision of the State constitu- 
tion, and that amendments would be adopted disfranchising the rebel and enfranchising the, 
loyal inhabitants without distinction of color, [f Congress should be in session when this 
constitution should be adopted, it could, in accordance with the precedent established in the 
Rhode Island case, accept it, and thus give it validity as the constitution of the State. In 
the Rhode Island case the Supreme Court decided that it was for Congress to decide which 



TESTIMONY OF JAMES B. COOPER. 541 

was the constitutional government of any State in which donbta existed. If Congress si: mild 
not be in session, a long time must elapse before action could be taken ; the new governm 
of the State might fail to get a foothold, and the country would experience a very serious 
calamity."] 

1 believe that is the substance of what he said. 

7623. Docs it accord \\iih your recollection of what he said? 

So far as 1 have any distinct recollection, without any other aids than my memory, it does. 

The report was one which I furnished to the Times myself. If I was called aponuow, 
without reference to that paper, to report what he said, I would probably not be able to do 
it; but, on reading it over, I think it is a correct statement of what he said. 

7024. Is this the editorial, as published in the New York Times, accompanying- the report 
of the speech ? 

The report of the speech, I think, was published 'previously to that. The report was pub 
lished on the 15th of July; but the editorial seems to have been published on the 1st of 
August. 

The following is an extract from the editorial referred to: 

"Here we have conclusive evidence that the radicals in Congress were cognizant of the 
entire proceeding. They could not have beeu ignorant of the illegality of the convention, or 
of the revolutionary purpose it was designed to promote. As their part of the programme, 
they desired that Congress should remain in session, with the view of sustaining' the combi- 
nation of radicals and negroes in Louisiana, and consummating the revolution to be inaugu 
rated by this unlawful convention. The good sense of the majority in Congress frustrated 
this feature of the scheme, and the terrible scenes now reported have overturned other features ; 
but the connection between the radicals in Congress and the negro-suffrage revolutionists in 
New Orleans dries not admit of dispute. To them jointly belongs the responsibility of the 
loss of life that has occurred, and of the dread harvest of strife which cannot tail to follow 
the seed so broadly scattered on Monday last. The poor negro is a cat's-paw in their hands, 
to be sacrificed if need be, in furtherance of the effort to intrench themselves in power. 
What we see now in New Orleans would be seen elsewhere could they have their way." 

By the Chairman : 

7625. You were a member of the caucus yourself that evening? 
I was. 

7626. There was no action taken by the caucus in regard to the convention at New Or- 
leans ? 

Certainly not. 

7627. The extract shown you contains but a portion of what Mr. Boutwell said ; does it 
contain, within your recollection, all that he said with reference to the New Orleans conven- 
tion? 

I think it does. 

7628. Have you recently read the report which you sent to the Times of the whole of his 
speech ? 

I have not. 

7629. It was a private caucus of republican members ? 

It was at the time ; but it was afterwards made public by the vote of the caucus. 

7630. That is, the injunction of secrecy was afterwards removed ? 
Yes, sir. 

7631. But still it was a private caucus of the republicans — that is, there were no other per- 
sons present? 

It was. 



Washington, D. C, Wednesday, January 30, 1867. 
Dr. JAMES B. COOPER recalled and examined. 

By Mr. Shellabarger : 

7632. Are you acquainted with Mr. Mollere, the person who acted as assistant sergeant-at- 
arms at this committee while taking testimony in Louisiana? 

Yes, sir; I am personally acquainted with him, 

7633. Have you seen him since this committee left New Orleans ? 
Yes, sir, several times. 

7634. Do you know whether he has been subjected to any personal violence on account oi 
haviug acted as the officer of this committee in New Orleans ? 

Yes, sir. 

7635. State what you know about that. 

He was going home in a horse-car on Rampart street when some person in the car said, 
in French, " there is one of those damned stinking Yankees who assisted in getting up the 
evidence for the investigating- committee." John rebuked him, and the fellow attempted to 
strike him. With that he was going to return the blow, when two or three persons caught 



542 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

him by the shoulders while the man who first made the assault struck him in the face 'with 
his fist. John very soon shook them off, and gave the fellow something of a trouncing He 
then gave himself up, and was bound over in Judge Ahell's court for trial. All those in the 
car swore directly contrary to the facts of the case, that he was the attacking party first; and 
the New Orleans Times came out in a very scurrilous article, calling him foul names and 
charging him with having made an ungentlemanly attack upon a veiy respectable gentleman 
of the city. 

7636. liow do you get your knowledge of the facts you have just related? 

I get it from the proceedings in the police courts and from the evidence of John himself 
in telling me of it, and from what I saw in the New Orleans Times. 

7637. Do you know of any other acts of violence committed since the committee left New 
Orleans against Union men there on- account of their loyalty ? 

Yes, sir: one very had one. 

7638. What was that? 

It was the case of a Captain Pierson, who went down with General Butler, and was cap- 
tain of a cavalry company. He was finally transferred to a company of negroes when 
there was .'i negro regiment raised there. At the expiration of his term of regiment he was 
subsequently mustered out, and was employed in the store of Wallace & Co., who have a 
large wholesale planters' supply store in Canal street. He has been always subject to in- 
sults from clerks in the store, particularly from a person by the uame of Clark, who had 
been in the rebel service. 

(Mr. BOYER objected to witness giving testimony, except from his personal knowledge.) 

7iVW. ('online yourself to the acts of violence to which this person was subjected siiico 
We left the city .' 

Very soon after the committee left the city Mr. Pierson was attacked by this Clark and 
two other men in the store. They came in and made an attack upon him, and pounded him 
up in the face very severely indeed. I was called to him and dressed his wounds. He 
finally went hack, at the instance of Mr. Wallace, who said he would protect him. He was 
there about a week perhaps, when one of the clerks, who had been discharged, came into 
(lie store, (tiiis I got from Mr. Wallace himself,) and two of them held him while one of 
them pounded him with his fist in the face ; and this man then took a raw-hide and cut him 
very badly indeed, and for no other reason, as they asserted, than that he had been in com- 
mand of a negro company. Wallace was there and undertook to defend him, but they 
pulled out pisti Is and threatened his life. Pierson came to my office without a coat or hat, 
and finally was taken to a. room where I went to see him. There I met Mr. Wallace, and 
heard his own words in reference to the matter. 

7640. Do' you know of other cases of violence committed on Union men since the com- 
mittee left New Orleans? 

No, sir. 

7641. What was that man beaten for ? 

For no other reason, as they stated, than that he was aYlamned nigger captain. 

7642. Did you hear the testimony in the case? 

There, was no testimony, only the assertion of Mr. Wallace, who was present, and who is 
a partner in the firm, and of Mr. Pierson. There was no arrest made. Mr. Pierson has left 
New Orleans, as he could not stay there. 

7043. Did you ever hear the parties who beat him say anything about it? 

1 am not acquainted with them .' 

7644. These statements were not made in the hearing of the parties who heat him? 

No, sir; they were made at the room where he was taken alter the infliction of the injury. 

7ii4.">. Did Pierson make to you a statement immediately after receiving his wounds and 
at the time you dressed them ? 

Yes, sir. 

7646. And in respect to how he came by his wounds? 
Yes, sir. 

7647. And the account lie gave you of how he came by his wounds is the same as you 
have given here? 

Yes, sir. 

By Mr. BOYER: 

7648. Was Mr. Pierson in artiado mortis at that time? 
No, sir; I think not. 

7649. Were you present when either one of the persons of whom you have spoken received 
his injuries .' 

I was not. 

7650. You we're not present when Mr. Mollere was attacked? 
No, sir. 

7651. Nor when Mr. Pierson was attacked? 
No, sir. 

7652. And all that you have stated in reference to the manner in which they received their 
injuries you learned from other persons? 



TESTIMONY OF HENRY J. BLOW. 545 

Yes, sir : and from the court record in Mr. Mollere's case. 

7653. When did yon come to Washington I 

1 lefil New Oilcans a week ago last night, and arrived here on Saturday morning. 

7654. Ar whose request did yon come here7 
My own. I came on business of my own. 

7655. How was it ascertained that you could testify in reference to these matters ' 

I met Mr. .Shellabarger on Sunday evening last and stated the circumstances to him. I 
met him at church Sunday evening and happened to speak of the case. I had no idea of 
being called before the committee at all. 

7656. Did you inform him of it at church? 
Just as we came out of church together. 

7657. When were you subpoenaed? 
Yesterday morning. 

7658. Do you feel much interested in this investigation ? 
Not particularly so. 

7659. Did the communication of those matters in reference to which you have testified 
have anything to do with your coming to Washington? 

Not the least in the world. In fact I had no idea that I should see any of the committee 
here. It was a mere accident. 

7660. You say that you believe Mr. Mollere gave his opponent a good trouncing? 
That is what I heard. 

7661. So that it was not Mr. Mollere who go* the worst of it, but the other man. 

I should infer from' that that the gentleman who made the attack upon Mr. Mollere did 
get the worst of it. 

7662. Who is Mr. Pierson ? 

As I have stated, he was captain of a cavalry regiment when he first came to New Orleans 
with General Butler, and was finally transferred to a colored regiment. He has been in the 
city since he was mustered out, and 1 have been acquainted with him some time. 

700:!. You do not know anything personally of the original cause of the quarrel hetween 
Pierson ami (.'lark ? 

Nothing move than I have heard stated. 

7664. bid he give Clark a thrashing? 

No, sir. He was not.able, because there were two against him. 

70O.">. I understand you to say there were two of Clark's friends present at the time; do 
you mean two besides Clark? 

Yes ; two of the clerks in the store. 

7666. Then they were all clerks in the store, together? 

Yes ; one had been discharged that morning, for something. 

7007. Which one had been discharged ? 

That I do not know. 

766b, Did not the quarrel arise out of that discharge? 

He was attacked about a week before that. also. 

7609. So the quarrel had been of some standing? 

Yes. 

707U. Were some of those clerks discharged on the day this fracas took place? 

Yes; on the day of the last occurrence. 

7071. Ami it was one of them who attacked Pierson? 
Yes. sir. 

7072. By whom was he discharged? 
I do not know. 

707l>. Was it by the firm ? 

I presume so. 

7074. Who composed the firm ? 

Wallace & Co. 

707o. Have they been long residents of New Orleans 7 

I think they have. 

7n70. What business are they engapvd in ? 

Iu the wholesale general dry goods business, boots and shoes, and supplies. 



Washington, D. C«, February 2, 181 
HENRY J. BLOW examined. 

By the Chairman : 

Are you a member of the Select Committee on Reconstruction of the House of Represen- 
tatives? 

I am, sir. 

It has been put in evidence that a letter was written before the assembling of the conven- 
tion in New Oilcans in July last, by one or more members of the Reconstruction Committee, to 



546 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 



Mr. Flanders, in New Orleans, or some other person, expressing some opinion in regard to 
the action of Congress, or giving some advice, or making some suggestions, concerning the 

proposed convention, and saying what Congress might or might not do in a certain ease ; 
please state if you wrote such a letter, or any letter, or kuow of any such letter being written 
by your committee, or any member of it \ 

I wrote no such letter; have no knowledge of such a letter having been written, and, in 
Fact, know nothing in connection with the subject at all. I never heard anything in regard 
to it until I saw the statement in the public prints. 

Did yen ever give any advice or express any judgment in regard to what ought to be done 
concerning the convention? 

No, sir, I never did. 



"Washington, D. C, February 2, 1867. 
The following letters were laid before the committee, and ordered to be appended to the 
testimony : 

Rooms of Committee for Investigating into New Orleans Riots, 

Washington, D. C, January \'J, 1 8<>7. 
Dear Sir: I am directed by the committee to ascertain from yau whether or not any 
instructions were given from the War 1 )epartment to the military officers in command at New 
Orleans iu relation to or concerning the meeting of the convention in that city on the 30th of 
July last. Will you be pleased to give the committee the information desired, and commu- 
nicate to them such instructions if any such were issued? 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

T. D. ELIOT, 

Chairman of Committee. 
Hon. E. M. Stanton, 

Secretary of IFar. 

War Department, 

Washington City, January lit, 1S67. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, and to state in reply to its 
inquiries : 

1st. That on the forenoon of Sunday, the 29th of July last, I received at my residence in 
this city a telegram from General Baird, commanding at New Orleans, a copy of which is 
hereto attached. This telegram was the first information communicated to me that a conven- 
tion was to be held at New Orleans, or that there was any difference or controversy on the 
subject of a convention or assemblage to be held there. From the telegram of General Baird 
it appeared that the convention was to meet with the sanction of the governor of Louisiana, 
that its legality was questioned by persons who proposed to break it up by arresting the mem- 
bers, and that General Baird had warned the city authorities that lie would not permit this 
to be done without instructions from the President, and he applied to me tor instructions. 
There was no intimation in the telegram that force or violence was threatened by those op- 
posed to the convention, or that it was apprehended by General Baird. Upon consideration, 
it appeared to me that his warning to the city authorities was all that the case then required, 
for I saw no reason to instruct him to withdraw protection from a convention sanctioned by 
the governor, and in the event of any attempt at arrest, General Baud's interference would 
bring up the case with all the facts for such instructions as might be proper, and in the mean 
time, under bis general authority, he would take measures to mainta'in the peace within his 
command. On Tuesday, the 31st of July, the morning papers contained telegraphic des- 
patches in respect to the occurrences at New Orleans, and ou the same day 1 was iutotmed of 
the communication that had passed between the President and Governor Wells, Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhees, and Attorney General Herron, On the afternoon of Tuesday, a telegram, 
dated at nine o'clock Monday night, was received by n*e from General Baird, stating that a 
serious riot had occurred tbat day, that he hail been iu full consultation with the city authorities 
and had kept his troops well in hand for such an emergency, that the riot had occurred unex- 
pectedly, that before the troops could reach the scene of action a number of persons were killed 
and wounded, that he bad been compelled to declare martial law and had appointed a military 
governor of the city, and that all was quiet then. This telegram, a copy of which is hereto 
annexed, further stated that several prominent gentlemen connected with the convention were 
killed and wouuded. Another despatch was received from General Baird, addressed to the 
Adjutant General, and dated at New Orleans on Tuesday the 31st of July, at 4 p. m., a copy 
of which is hereto annexed. On the 1st of August he was instructed, by order of the Presi- 
dent, " not to interpose any obstacle in the way of the civil authorities, but render whatever 
aid might be required by them for the preservation of the public peace," a copy of which in- 
structions is hereto attached. 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 547 

2. On ThWsda; . I (eneral Grant sent I I ' 

ed From General Sheridan, dated al New Orleans, A i!- u- 1 I, 1.30 p. m., a copy of 

attached. This telegram was, on the same day, Angus! '.', submil ! : 

tot!'. t just as it-was received from General Grant, without ch i unission of 

word, figu i; and, in reply, instructions were given by General Granl which are 

b in to annexed. 

The foregoing statement contains all the instructions issued by the War Department 
lation tn the riot at New Orleans, of which ! have any knowledge. 
. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

EDWIX M. STANTON, 
lion. Thomas P. Eliot, 

Chairman of Special Committee, 8fc., Sfc, 8fc. 

New Orleans, La., July 28, 1866. 
To Hon. Edwin M. STANTON, Secret/try of War: 

A convention lias been called, with the sanction of Governor Wells, to meet here on Mon- 
day. The lieutenant governor and city authorities think it unlawful, and propose to break 
it up by arresting the delegates. 1 have-given no orders on the subject, but have warned 
parties that I could not countenance or permit such action without instructions to that effect 
from the President. 

Please instruct me at once by telegraph. 

A. BAIRD, Brevet Major General. 

New Orleans, La., July 30, I 
To Hon. Secretary of War : 

A serious riot ha^ occurred hereto-day. I have been in full c o ulta ion with the 
authorities, and have kept my troops well in hand for such an emergency. 

The riot commenced unexpectedly, and befon the ps could reach tb 
of persons were killed and wounded. 

I have felt compelled to declare martial law, and have appointed a mi ernor of 

the city. 

AH is quiet now. Several prominent gentlemen connected with the convention are killed 

OT Wounded. 

A. BAIRD, 

Brevet Major General, Commanding Department of Louisia 

New Orleans, La., July 31, 1866 — I p. m. 
To the Adjutant General U. S. A., Washington, D. C. 

Comparative quiet has been restoredin this city by the military, who still occupy the streets. 
There is, however, apprehensions of s ight disturbance in the lower faubourg of the 

In 'consequence of the limited force al mj command, I am compelled to make use of the 
city police, wdiose conduct in the riots of yesterday is most reprehensible. There is every rea- 
son to tVar the imminent peril to « hich the lives and property of Union men of this city will 
ected by restoration of if power to the present civil authorities of this city. 

A. BAIRD, Major General.. 

Office U. S. Military Telegraph, War Department, 

Washington, D. C, August I, J 
Maj. Gen. S. BAIRD, Commanding, SfC, New Orleans, La. : 

You will not into whatever 

aid mi ion ice. 

a is transmitted to you by order of the President. You will acknowl- 
edge its receipt. 

E. *). TOWNSEND, 
Assistant Adjutant General. 

New Orleans, August 1, 1866 — 1.30 p. m. 
To General U. S. GRANT, Washington, D. C. : 

You are doubtless aware of the serious riot which occurred in this city on the 30th ultimo. 
A political body styling- itself the convention of L864 mel on the 30th of July, as it is alleged, 
for the purpose of remodelling the present constitution of the State. The leaders were polit- 
ical agitators and revolutionary men, and the action of the convention was liable to produce 
breaches of the public peace. I had made up my mind to arrest the head men if the pro- 
ceedings of the convention were calculated to disturb the tranquillity of the department, but 
I had no cause for action until they committed the overt act. In the mean time official duty 
called me to Texas, and the mayor of the city during my absence suppressed the convention 
35 N o 



548 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

by the use of the police force ; and in so doing attacked the members of the convention and 
a party of two hundred negroes with tire •anus, clubs, and knives in a manner so unnecessary 
and atrocious as to compel me to say that it was murder. About forty whites and blacks 
were tl US killed, and about one hundred and sixty wounded. Everything is now quiet, but 
I deem it best to maintain a military supremacy in this city for a few days until the affair is 
fully investigated. 

I believe the sentiment of the general community is great regret at this unnecessary cru- 
elty, and that the police could have made any arrest they saw (it without sacrificing lives. 

P. H. SHERIDAN, Major General. 

Office U. S. Military Telegraph, War Department, 

Washington, D. C, August 3, 1866. 
Major General Shf.ridan, New Orleans, La. : 

Continue to enforce martial law so far as may be necessary to preserve the peace, and do 
not allow any of the civil authorities to act if you deem such action as dangerous to the 
public safety. Lose no time in investigating and reporting the cause that led to the riot, 
and the facts which occurred. 

U. S. GRANT, General. 



Extracts from the journal of the house of representatives of Louisiana at its late session. 

************* 

Pending which motion, Mr. McConnell moved to suspend the rules in order to take up the 
special order of the day, house bill No. 46, an act to take the sense of the people on the ex- 
pediency of calling a convention to form a constitution and to provide for the election of 
delegates, and tor the holding of the convention ; on which motion Messrs. McConnell and 
Tucker called for the yeas and nays, with the following result; 

Yeas — Messrs. Anderson, S., Austin, Alverson, Bailey, Blackman, Burton, Collins, Cou- 
villon, Daigle, Delamore, Deporter, DeLabarre, Decker, Drew, Duralde, Duffel, Eldridge, 
Fenner, Freret, Fishburn, Fulda, Gaisser, Green, Halsey, Head, Hatch, Henderson, Holt, 
Hudspeth^ Jonas, Kent, Kelly, Kile, Labranche, Leeds, McEnery, McConnell, McDonald, 
McClosky, Moreland, Nutt.Ormund, Peterson, Phillips, J., Regenberg, Richardson, Sambola, 
Seger, Simonds, Snider, Texada, Theriot, Thieneman, Tucker, Voorhies, Whittington, Wil- 
liamson, and Waddell — 58 yeas. 

Nays — Messrs. Anderson, J., Barry, Dugas, Eastin, Edwards, Gates, Gantt, Harrison, 
Lagrou, Laurent, LeBlanc, Martin, Meredith, McKelvy, Montgomery, Powell, Pujo, Ryan, 
Scanlan, Stille, Solomon, and Walker— 21 nays. 

And the rules were suspended and the bill taken up on its second reading. 

On motion of Mr. Kent, the fifth section of the bill was amended by inserting sifter the 
words "be it enacted," etc., the words, "provided a majority of the votes cast at said elec- 
tion be in favor of calling a convention." 

Mr. Scanlan moved to amend the fourth section by adding the following proviso: "That 
the basis of representation be the same as that now in the house of representatives." 

On winch motion the yeas and nays were called for by Messrs. Scanlan and McClosky, 
with the follow tug result : 

Yeas — Messrs. Addison, Bailey, Eager, Henderson, Lemaire, McClosky, Ormond, and 
Scanlan — 8 yeas. 

Nays— Messrs. Anderson, J., Anderson, Samuel ; Austin, Alverson, Barry, Bensel.Blackman, 
Brown, Buie, Bruton, Collins, Couvillon, Daigle, Delamore, Deporter, De Labarre, Decker, 
Drew, Duralde, Dugas, Eastin, Eldridge, Edwards, Fenner, Freret, Fishburn, Fulda, Gates, 
Gaisser, Gantt, Green, Gottschalk, II anion, Halsey, Harrison, Head, Hatch, Hudspeth, Jonas, 
Kent, Kelly, Kile, Labranche, Lagroue, Laurent, Leeds, LeBlanc, Martin, Meredith, Mc- 
Enery, McConnell, Mel >onald, Moreland, Montgomery, Nutt, Peterson, Phillips, James ; Phil- 
lips, Alt'. ; Powell, Pujo, Prudhomme, Regenberg.Richardsdn, Rogers, Kyan.Satnbold, Seger, 
Simonds. Snider, Smith, Stille, Solomon, Tete, Texada, Theriot, Thieneman, Tucker, Voor- 
hies, Walter, Whittington, Williamson, Waddell, and Weeks — 81 nays. 

And the amendment was lost. 

Mr. Eager moved an adjournment. Lost. 

On motion of Mr. Scanlan, the following words were stricken from the preamble: "And 
whereas grave doubts exist whether the people of Louisiana are not living under the consti 
tUtion of 1852 and the ordinances of the convention of 1861." 

Mr. Tucker moved to fill the blank in the fifth section with the words "first Monday in 
May." 

Mr. Gantt moved to fill the said blank with the words "first Monday in November." 

Mr. Tucker moved to till the blank in the fifth section with the words " second day uf July, 
1866." 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 549 

Pending which motions, Mr. McConnell moved the previous question, which was seconded 
by the unanimous vote of the house. 

The vole was taken first on the amendment of Mr. Gantt, on which theyeasand nays were 
called for by Messrs. Gantt and Eastin, with the following result : 

Yeas — Messrs. Anderson, J., Barry, Bruton, Hup-as, Eastin, Gates, Gantt, Lagroue, Lau- 
rent, Le Blanc, Meredith, Ormond, Powell, Pujp, Regenberg, Rogers, Ryan, Stille, Solo- 
mon, Tete, Walker, and WTiittington — 2~2. 

Nays — Messrs, Anderson, Samuel ; Austin, Alverson, Addison, Bailey, Bensel, Blackman, 
Bonnabel, Brown, Coll ins, Couvillon, Daigle, Delamore, Deporter, DeLabarre, Decker, Drew, 
Duralde, Eager, Eldridge, Edwards, Fenner, Freret, Fishburn, Fulda, Gaisser, Green, Han- 
Ion, Halsey, Harrison, Head, Hatch, Henderson, Holt, Hudspeth, Jonas, Kent, Kelly, Kile, 
Labranche, Leeds, Lemarie, McEnery, McConnell, McDonald, McCloskey, Moreland, Mont- 
gomery, Nutt, Peterson, Phillips, James ; Phillips, Alt'. ; Richardson, Sambola. Scanlan, Seger, 
Simonds, Snider, Smith, Texada, Theriot, Thieneman, Tucker, Williamson, Waddell, and 
Weeks — Go nays. 

Ami the amendment was lost 

The amendment of Mr. Tucker, to fill the blank in the first section with the words "first 
Monday in May," was adopted. And his amendment to fill the blank in the tilth section with 
the words "second day of July'' was likewise adopted. 

Mr. McConnell moved that the bill be ordered to be engrossed for its third reading; on 
which motion the yeas and nays were called for by Messrs. Hanlon and Stille, with the fol- 
lowing result : 

Yeas — Messrs. Anderson, Samuel; Austin, Alverson, Addison, Bensel, Blackman, Brown, 
Collins, Couvillon, Daigle, Delamore, Deporter, De Labarre, Decker, Drew, Duralde, Eager, 
Eldridge, Fenner, Freret, Fishburn, Fulda, Gaisser, Green, Halsey, Head, Hatch, Hender- 
son, Holt, Hudspeth, Jonas, Kent, Kelly, Kile, Labranche, Leeds, Lemarie, McEnery, Mc- 
Connell, McDonald, McCloskey, Moreland, Montgomery, Nutt, Ormond, Peterson, Phillips, 
James ; Phillips, Alt'. : Sambola, Scanlan, Sejer, Simonds. Snider, Smith, Texada, Theriot, 
Thieneman, Tucker, Voorhies, Williamson, Waddell, and Week — 62 yeas. 

Nays — Messrs. Anderson, J., Bailey, Barry,Bruton, Dugas, Eastin, Edwards, Cafes, Cantt, 
Hanlon, Harrison, Laurent, Le Blanc, Meredith, Powell, Pujo, Regenbery, Rogers, Ryan, 
Stille, Solomon, Tete, Walker, and Whittington — '^4 nays. 

And the bill was ordered to be engrossed, as follows : 

AN ACT to take the sense of the people on the expediency of calling a convention to form a 
constitution, and to provide for the election of delegates and for the holding of the conven- 
tion. 

Whereas the people of Louisiana have accepted in good faith the results of the war, among 
which they number the destruction of the institution of slavery, and the existence of what is 
known as the constitution of 1864, although that instrument was the creation of fraud and 
violence, and not in any sense the expression of the will of the people of the State ; and whereas 
President Johnson has announced to other States seeking their civil rights that his restora 
tiou policy requires the annulment of the ordinance of secession, the abolition of slavery, and 
the repudiation of the debt incurred for war purposes during the recent struggle, and the 
adoption of the constitutional amendment ; and whereas no one of these alleged prerequisites to 
restoration has been done by a majority of the people of Louisiana, or by any assembly or con- 
vention representing a majority thereof; and whereas it is of the highest importance to the 
interests of the people that these doubts should be solved at once, and that they shall have 
a fair opportunity in convention assembled to show their disposition to act in accordance with 
the restoration policy of President Johnson, as heretofore announced and to do all things 
consistent with the honor and dignity of the State, to be relieved from military rule and the 
Freedmen's Bureau and relieve their friends in the administration and in Congress from the 
embarrassments they may now labor under owing to the anomalous condition of the State; 
and whereas this legislature has no rightful authority or power to solve the difficulties afore- 
said, or to ratify or reject the constitution of 1864 ; and whereas subjects of the gravest interest 
to the State require immediate legislation, until a convention can be convened in accordance- 
with the wish of the people, as expressed in the late election, and it is righl and proper that 
this legislature, as a part of the existing government, should do all in their power to alleviate 
the immediate aud pressing necessities of the State by such acts of legislation as they are 
competent to make: Therefore 

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the State of Louisiana 
in general assembly convened, That on the first Monday of May, 1866, a poll shall be opened 
at each of the election precincts of this State now established by law, for the purpose of 
receiving the votes of the qualified voters of the State for or against the calling of a conven- 
tion to form a constitution for this State, and for the election of delegates to such convention. 

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, Sfc, That the governor shall issue his proclamation ordering 
the said polls to be opened in the time, manner, and form now prescribed bylaw for ordering 
a poll to be opened for the election of members to the general assembly. And the said polls 
shall be presided over by the same commissioners, to be appointed in the same manner ; and 



550 NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 

the voting shall be conducted, ami all proceedings shall be bad, in the same manner as is 
uuiv provided by law in cases of election to the general assembly. 

Sec. :'■. !'>< it further enacted, Sfc, Tbat the voting for or againsi the calling of a conven- 
tion, and tlir \ oting for delegates to such convention, shall be conducted s( parately, though 
held at the same time and place. There shall be two ballot boxes al each election prei i 
in one of which every qualified voter voting for or against a convention shall deposit his 
ballot, having written or printed thereon the word "convention," if he be in favor of such 
convention, and the words "no convention," if he be opposed to such convention ; and in 
the other ballot box the qualified voters of this State voting for delegates to such convention 
shall deposit their ballots, designating thereon the name or names of the persons voted for 
as delegates for the senatorial districts, from those voted for as delegates from the representa- 
tive district or parish, as the case may be. Returns shall be made by the returning officers 
of the several parishes to the secretary of state of all votes received for a convention and of 
all votes against a convention, and of all votes received for delegates to such convention, in 
the same manner, time, and form as fin' members of the general assembly. 

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, 8fc, That the delegates to such convention shall have the 
same, qualifications now required by law for members of the general assembly, and the num- 
ber of delegates to such convention for t\iv several representative districts, parishes, and 
senatorial districts of the State shall he the same as fixed for the members of the general 
assembly of this State, as prescribed in the act entitled "An act to apportion the representa- 
tives in the senate and house of representatives in the general assembly of the State of 
Louisiana, according to the second census made in 1858," &c, approved March 4, l-.V.!. 

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, Sfc, Provided a majority of the votes cast at said election 
be in favor of calling a convention, the said convention shall meet in New Orleans on the 
2d day of July, 1866, the election to be conducted and the returns made according to exist- 
ing laws. 

Sec. (!. Be it further enacted, 8fc, That this act shall be in force from and after its passage. 

Mr. Snider moved an adjournment. Lost. 

Mr. McOonnell moved that the vote by which the convention bill was ordered to bp en- 
grossed be reconsidered ; which motion to reconsider was laid on the table on motion of Mr. 
Tucker. 

On motion of Mr. McConnell the house adjourned. 



Friday, March 9, 1866. 

The president also laid before the senate the following telegram from the commissioners 
appointed by the legislature to wait on President Johnson: 

"Washington, March 9, 1866. 
" Hons. ALBERT Voorhies, president of the senate, and 

"J.B. Elam, speaker pro tern, of the house of representatives : 

"We have had a long ;i nd agreeable interview with the President to-day, which was 
evidently pleasing to him likewise. Our coming here was opportune, and may avert great 
embarrassment. We have .also had an interes ing interview with the Secretary of State, and 
are to have another interview with the President on Saturday, by appointment. 

"W. B. EGAN. 

"D. s. GAGE. 

"J. B. EUSTTS." 

Mr. Burthe, from the committee on the judiciary, to whom was rei ute cili entitled 

"An act to amend and re-enact an act to provide for the government of the city of Baton 
Rouge, and the administration of the affairs thereof," approved March 18, 1856, submitted a 
favorable report. 

And the same senator, from the same committee, to whom was refern d the house joint reso- 
lution to appoint a joint ( tnittee to \\ ait on the governor tor certain purposes, submitted the 

following report : 

Your committee, to whom was referred the joint resolution to appoint a joint committee to 
wait on the governor for certain purposes, beg leave to report that they have not been fur- 
nished with any documents to prove the existence of a secret political association of the police 
of New Orleans for the purpose of controlling and influencing the election of the city; but 
that, supposing the fact to he fully pmv en. \ our committee is unable to see bow the general 
assembly can co-operate with the governor in proper measures to suppress such associations, 
without assuming powers and ditties which belong exclusively to the executive. 
' Your committee therefore report adversely on the joint resolution, and pray to be discharged 
from the further consideration of the subject-matter. 

VICTOR BURTHE, 
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. 



NEW ORLEANS RIOTS. 551 

The order of the day was taken up, being house bill No. 46, an act to take the sense of 
the people on the expediency of calling a convention to form a constitution, and to provide 
for the election of delegates and for the holding of the convention. 

Pending the motion that the bill be read a third time and passed, the following telegraphic 
communication from the commissioners appointed by the general assembly was laid before 
the house by the speaker: 

"Washington, March 8, 1- 16. 
"Hons. AfejBERT VOORHIES, president of the senate, and 

J. B. Elam, speaker pro tern, of the house of representatives : 
"We have had a Long and agreeable interview with the President to-day, which was evi- 
dently pleasing to him likewise. Our coming here was opportune, and maj avert greal em- 
barrassment. We had an interesting interview with the .Secretary of State, and are to have 
another interview with the President on Sal unlay by appointment. 

"W. B. EGAN. 
"D. S. GAGE, 
'J. B. EUSTIS." 
The communication was ordered to to be spread npon the journal. 

Messrs. Tucker and McConnell presented telegraphic communications on the samesubject- 
matter, which, on motion of Mr. McConnell, were ordered to he spread upon the journal, as 
follows : 

"Washington, March 8, 1866. 
" Hon. Jas. McCONNELL, house of representatives : 

•'After an interview with the President and Secretary of State, we advise no action favor 
able to a convention. 

"D. S. GAGE. 
"J. B. EUSTIS." 

"Washington, March8, 1866. 
"Hon. A. L. Tucker, house of representatives ; 

"Alter interviews with the President ufrl Secretary Seward, we are thoroughly convinced 
that further agitation of the convention question will seriously embarrass the President's re- 
construction policy. 

"D. S. (JACK, 
"J. J!. EUSTIS." 
Mr. McConnell moved flint the hill be laid mi the table, subject to call. 
Mr. Bailey moved that the further consideration of the ''ill be postp >ned indefinitely. 
The motion to lay on the table prevailed. 



INDEX OF NAMES OF WITNESSES. 



Page. 

Abell, Edmund 266 

Adams, Thomas E.. 285 

Andem, James L 1 5 

Armstrong, Mary Aim 398 

Azaretto, D. C 356 

Baird, Absalom 440 

Balestier, William A 193 

Banks, Nathaniel P 513 

Barker, Jacob 227 

Belden, James K 466 

Benton, W. P 296 

Bingham, John A 509 

Blair, Francis P 345 

Blackburn, W Jasper 421 

Blow, Henry J 545 

Boquille, Ludgier 383 

Boutwell, George S 487 

Brady, M. B 312 

Breaux, O. F 232 

Brooks, Edward P 17 

Buckley, J. D 337 

Buckner, II. S 378 

Buggy, E. M 430 

Burke, John 492 

Canby, E. R. S 537 

Capla, L. J. P 119 

Campanel, Edmund 70 

Campbell, Ann E 335 

Caziarc, Louis V 464 

Clark, George :.. 353 

Collis, Emile 232 

Coolev, W. H 424 

Cooper, J. B 140,541 

Conkling, Roscoe 503 

Converter, Gustav 328 

Conway, Thomas W 525 

Crane, Susan Ann 173 

Crawford, T. S 366 

Cromwell, R. I 76 

Crounse, Lorenzo L 471 

Crozat, F. M 279 

Cutler, R. King 28 

Dallas, Charles 73 

Daunoy, R. F 135 

Dellande, J. Raoul 334 

Desalles, Jules 332 

Dick, Joseph F 299 

Dorsey. James 342 

Duffy, Lawrence 332 

Dunn, O.J 68 

Duplessis, C. B. H 135 

Durant, Thomas J 7 

Durell, E. H 260 

Earhart, Thomas J 128 

Evans, Henry F 196 

Fellows, J. Q. A .' 385 

Fellows, R. T 414 



Page. 

Fessenden, W. P 486 

Field, A. P../. 4(16 

Filleul, Edward :Y>[) 

Fish, W. R 11 

Fish, S. F 34 

Fisher, J. F 179 

Florence, Henry 295 

Fox, Moses 198 

Frisbie, H. N 411 

Fuller, H. W 432 

Gibbons, Charles W 124 

Glenn, S. F 2-9 

Greenwood, M 292 

Gregory, J. H 290 

Grimes, J. W 491 

Grinnell, J. B 500 

Griswold, E 192 

Hard, Philo 169 

Hart, Edward ' 43 

Harris, Thomas 201 

Harris, Ira 504 

Harris, E. II 190 

Hartsuff, Albert 176,181 

Ilawksworth, William 177 

Herron, A. S 243 

Hiestand, Ezra I 

Hire, William II 64 

Hise, Elijah 490 

Hood, Edmund 287 

Howell, R. K 46 

Howard, Jaccb M 486 

Howell, Mrs. Eliza 328 

Hughes, Charles H 102 

Illsley, J. H 264 

James, Charles 188 

Jenkins, E.J 395 

Johnson, Reverdy 487 

Jourdain, J. B 204 

Joyce, William 401 

Kellogg, William P 301,390 

Kennedy, Hugh 517 

Kelly, William D 501 

Kingston, S. M 322 

Lacey, George S 295 

Lapeyre, J. M 359 

Leaumont, Charles 254 

Le Clare, John 91 

Le Clare, Fortune 123 

Lewis, J. L 317 

Lousdale, H. T 435 

Lynch, B. L 238 

McBride, Clara 427 

Mithoff, William 370 

Miller, O. M 68 

Mollere, J. F 157 



554 



INDEX OF NAMES OF WITNESSES. 



Moore. William G ">:U 

Morell, A 338 

Montemat, J. P :■'.'•"> 

Motitieu, J L '.'•'> 

Morrill, .1. S 491 

Morris, Daniel 502 

Mutt, Thad l( us F 308 

Mower, Joseph A 320 

Munroe, John T 218 

Murrall, John 21] 

New J George W 163 

Neville, Julian 99 

O'Connell, J. 1) 77 

by, .1. II 316 

O'Neil, Michael 142 

Oubre, A 86" 

Paige, Nathaniel 504 

Panza, S. 11 247 

Parker, H.Thomas 249 

Penn, Alfred 368 

Pfeiffer, William 172 

Pitman, Albert 209 

Piquee, Joseph R 97 

Planchard, S. E 340 

Randall, William L 372 

Raymond, Henry J' 540 

Remoir, Anthony ]54 

Renaud, C 155 

Robinson, Boyd 105 

Rogers, Andrew .1 491 

Rofeelius, Christian 282 

Foxier. .1. Ad 221 

Rybach, James 33J 

Sauv6, Pierre 253 

Sauvmet, ('. S 44 

Self, Martin ' 337 

Shackleton, William 394 

Sheldon, L. F 280 

Shelby, Richard L 475 



Tajro. 

Ian, F. IT 347 

Sidney, John 400 

Smith, Charles I !7 

Snaer, C. S - 171 

Snethen, X. C 250 

Southworth.M D -in,! 

Staes, Eugenee 118 

Stevens, Thaddeus ' 489 

Stocker, W. C 420 

Sullivan. .Jeremiah 153 

S vmi'. .lames 291 

Sypher, J. 11 431 

Taylor, Miles 305 

Taylor, Maria N 393 

Terry, .1. Randall ::<il 

Theard, Paul E :<7 I 

Thomas, James 108 

Tilton, F. \V 380 

Tisdale, Eugene 259 

Todd, Samuel M 340 

Todd, R. W 326 

V hees, Albert 236 

Voorhees, Martin 289 

Vose, ILL 214 

Walbridge, L. L 511 

Wallace! David 417 

\Yj]iles, Rufus - 22 

Waul, A. Victor 186 

Warden, W. W 473 

Warmouth, II. C 40 

Washburne, E. B 490 

Waters, W. If 356 

Wells, .!. Madison 4:i< 

Williams, Bernard. 304 

Williams, ( teorge II 4~7 

Winfiee, Philip V>7 

With, tall, W. H. If 214 

Wrotnowski, T 327 

Wurtzberger, E. S 234 

Zaeharie, J. W 433 



INDEX. 



A. 

Abell, Judge E., testimony ' of 1st districi courl of New Orleans, and a 

member of conv< ;|mi of 1864, 3889 ; has always been a Union man, 3894 ; no more loyal 
State in the world than Louisiana, 3895; President's restoration policy would have good 
effect if put in operation ; military force cou d be withdrawn and order as perfect as in 
New "i « i k obtaim d, 3900 ; justice could be obtained in cum is, 3907, and in case of foreign 
war would side with the United States, 3903; extremists mentioned, 3905; Mr. Fland 
sentaway f< r Union sentiments, 3908; only know of one man in Louisiana (Mr. Flanders) 
wiio sympathized during the whole war with the North, 3910; the South "like a duti- 
ful child," 391 I ; all arc growing in repaid fur the United States, black and white, 3914- 
3921 ; voted adversely to oegro suffrage in convention, 3923; people believe the President's 
policy concedes only what is just to them ; colored people think they ought to have right 
of suffrage, 3930; delivered a charge to grand jury prior to sitting of convention, 3944; 
made it, hoping to prevent the riot, 3948; persons who committed murder on that day have 
not been prosecuted or punish d, 3958; grand jury complain that military prevented pros- 
ecutions agi inst rioters, 3963-3966 ; convention assembled in violation of law, 3967-3975; 
looked upon as a riot of the conventionists, : >D7 J ; why the grand jury was clanged as it 
was, 3974-3981; advertised purposes of convention, 3985; article 147 of the constitu 
tion, 3988; proclamation of Governor Wells — idem; charge to grand jury July 3, page 
27.1 ■ grand jury, July 23, page 275; cbarge to grand jury August 2, page 277 ; 

decided civil rights bill unconstitutional and Congress bogus — Field, 5962; see O Connell, 
906, that complaint against rioters was laid before Judge Abell. 
Adams, Thomas E., testimony of, 4045-4052 : statement of his action in riot as chief of po- 
lice ; deplores the action of some of his police; claims that they saved, however, many 
lives; could not identify the wrong-doers; men seized by for riot released by General 
Kautz, 4046 ; no order issued for arming men, 4049 and 4052 ; many aimed themselves, 
4051 ; exp in .saving others — Mutt, 1 :>.VJ ; orders to arm — Dorsey, 4947. 

Adams, Luuien, secret police, watches house of Judge Howell — Howell, 566 ; headed band 
of police — Cam-panel, 784, 816; is a thug — Muntieu, 1138, and ran away to escape con- 
viction — ulna, 1174 ; had twenty-live or thirty police under him — Fisher, 2739; Balestier 
asked by, if lie had killed anybody that day— Balestier, 2853, 2854 ; sergeant of police — 
Harris, 3,000; gave eider to police to move at bell-tap; said he was to sheet Yankees and 
negroes — idem, 3010-3030; orders of, to men, 3041, 3050; started just before bell Tang 
with his gang — Pitman, :il?l>; came down with 150 police at ringing of bell — Murral, 
3209; insults to Union soldiers — Waters, 5103; known to have committed murder on day 
of riot— Shelley, 6824 ; a noted thug— Burke, 6999. 
Allen, Governor, Lewis appointed by, to visit rebel hospitals — Lewis, 4525. 
Andem, James L., testimony of, 172-201 ; was secretary for General N. P. Banks, and in 
New Orleans in July last, and elected official reporter of convention; feeling in city prior 
to meeting of convention was very bitter; no call for negroes to come armed to convention, 
179; procession came into hall and riot described, 180; saw no effort made by authorities 
to quell riot, 188; saw numbers of crowd armed with sticks, 190; saw forty blacks 
wounded, I9J ; police could have prevented any disturbance had they chosen, 197. 
Armstrong, Mary Ann, testimony of, 5818-5854 ; principal of Robertson's girls' school, 5820; 
was dismissed, as she believes, for her Union sentiments, 5826; do not know- of a single 
secession teacher dismissed, 5831 ; there is now no more singing allowed, 5834 ; is a New 
Orleans lady, 5837; took every proper occasion to inculcate Union sentiments among her 
scholars; school board objected to her that she taught Union songs, &c, 5852. 
Arrest, members of the convention ready to submit to— Fish, 123; first arrest— idem, 137; 
' members expected — idem 123, 167, Brooks, 222; few members of the convention inclined 
to resist — idem, 249; ready to submit to— Cutler, 388,415; expected peaceable arrest — 
Fish, 433, 459; could have been made without violence — idem, 4(17, Warmouth, 486; of 
no one participating in the riot — idem, 505; would submit to — Hart, 520 ; description of 
circumstances of — Howell, 564; convention expected — idem, 573; expected an arrest — 
Hire, 713; no attempt to arrest citizens — idem, 724. 7:>(3; no need of force to — Campanel, 
788; convention would have surrendered — L'alh/s, 863; would have attempted it alone — 
O' Connell, 936; willing to submit to — Aubre, 1(137; ditto — Montieu, 1140, 1184; asked for 
by Mr. Horton — Hughes, 1306 ; Dostie said. " if they want to arrest us they may" — Capla, 
1703, Dauney, 1908, 1915; all might have been arrested peaceably — Renaud, 2335 ; con- 
vention would have submitted to — Jourdaih, 3103 ; expected it, and would have submit- 



556 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

tcil peaceably — Colts, 34H3; suggestion of — Voorhies, 3510; stops taken for — Hcrron, 
3595; indictment prepared for — Roselius, 4017; would have submitted to by one man — 
Duffy, 4755; fifteen police could have arrested them at any time — Sheridan, 4985; ex- 
pected and intended to submit to an arrest — Field, 5974; Judge Howell said the conven- 
tion would peaceably submit to — Caziarc, 6633; chief of police said he would arrest cer- 
tain police, but never did— Shelley, 6804. 
Atrocities: Saw black man shot, Governor Halm and Mr. Fish wounded — Durant, 81 ; men 
pushed from doorways and shot; Mr. Horton shot — Fish, 123, 138; dead and wounded on 
stairway and street — Andem, 184; saw three freedmen shot ; police beat others with clubs; 
revolvers tired into their heads and hearts ; eves punched with sticks ; men beat begging for 
mercy; wounded man despatched with sword-pane- Brooks, 208, 209; ten killed — idem, 2 15; 
wounded man killed in dead cart — idem, '244: saw men gashed, shot, etc. — (iaples, 294; 
firing on unarmed men in Mechanics' Institute — Culler, 358; Mr. HortoAshot; negro stabbed 
in fourth story of Mechanics' Institute — idem, 353; shooting of Mr. Horton while waving 
white handkerchief — FisA,434; Mr S. S, Fish, description of his own cas< — Fish, 434; indis- 
criminate killing — li'armouth, 477; men shot when wounded and lying down— idem, 478; 
and beating Mr. Fish, 479; pistols drawn on Judge Powell — Howell, 564; Rev. Mr. Hor- 
ton, while waving while handkerchief and saying "stop firing," was shot; negro on his 
knees praying to go out of hall, shot in the bowels; Dr. Hire struck on the head, shot 
in the fingers, and stabbed near the heart — Hire, 706; colored man killed — idem, 709; 
beaten on the head, arm and leg, and stabbed — Cam/panel, 783; negro trying to escape, 
fired upon and killed — Dallas, 839, 842; men shot merely passing by — idem, 849; robbed 
by police of $25 — Cromwell, 902; man badly wounded, kicked, and beaten — idem, 903; 
were tired at while lying on the floor ; Mr. Horton wounded while asking for peace; men 
shot while jumping from windows; negro shot while kneeling begging for mercy; police- 
man promised to pro'ect them till be got into the hall, and then shot indiscriminately — 
O'Connell, 915; negro shot while begging for mercy after pistol had once missed fire — 
Oubre, 1014; abuse and maltreatment by police — idem, 1015 — also, 1026; man killed after 
surrender — knocked down by blow from a tomahawk, knocked down three times, cries of 
"kill every d — d one of 'em" — LeClarc, 1076; black man caught and beaten by police — 
Montieu, 1 1 10; police shot a negro through the neck — Pique6, 1216; wounded in shoulder 
with a club — Piquee, 1223; and robbed, 1236; police fired into the crowd in front of Me- 
chanics' Institute; shot Dr. Horton while begging tor peace; negro awfully pounded — 
Hughes, 1306, 1307; three men shot in a yard, one killed — idem, 1340; seized by policeand 
teeth knocked out — Robinson, 1378; police wounded and firemen killed ; saw man killed with 
stones and sticks; was jumped upon when down: man shot in the neck — Thomas, 1457, I486; 
wounded piled in carts and carried away, rJblice sitting on them — Thomas, 1490, 1624, 
1628, 1640; men shot dropping from windows, 1676; and two or three killed as they came 
out of the hall — Staes, 1677 ; negroes prayed " for (bid's sake don't shoot us ;" they were 
shot and trampled upon, and their heads mashed; boy (Capla) Hi years old, eye shot out 
and four bullet wounds on head and three stabs — Capla, 17o:f, 1708; Martin Kohn dragged 
from wagon and heat — Leclerc, 17(>7; coachman robbed — idem, 177^; fired upon and com- 
panion shot — Gibbons, 1790 ; pistol fired in his face — Duplessis, 1899 ; two negroes pursued 
and beaten when down — Cooper, 1990 ; when a negro ran they followed till they killed him — 
O'Neil, 2061 ; five men found hid iu the upper part of Mechanics' Institute, two white and 
three colored ; white men saved, negroes shot by citizens — O'Neil, 2088; two negroes 
thrown from the roof — idem, 2090; negroes jumped upon when down — idem, 2101; saw 
five or six shot — Smith, 2172; saw colored man shot with four balls and jumped upon — 
Sullivan, 2278; saw thirty or thirty-three men shot — idem, 2284; knocked on the head 
and cut with a bowie-knifi — Remoir, 2293; negroes shot everywhere; one shot while try- 
ing to get in the car ; another killed near the market like a dog; twenty shot and three 
killed at the door of the Mechanics' Institute — Renaud, 2318-2327; indiscriminate firing 
into tin- people in the Mechanics' Institute — Mollere, 2o70 ; an old man, sixty or seventy 
years old, pursued in a distant part of the city and head shot oil — idem; negro struck on 
the face (when wounded; also below the eye; also another with a cotton hook; one, 
moaning from wound through the lungs — New, 2443, 2444 ; dead and wounded carried in 
carts, and police sitting on them — idem, 2455; also, 2474-76 — idem.; wounded laid on 
top of each other — Ham, 2548, 2566 ; six or more negroes shot while trying to escape; 
saw police jump on two men who were wounded and dash their brains out — Snaer, 2571; 
police officer, riding by, fired into a crowd — idem, 2573; some died from no wound, but 
were pounded to a jelly — Hartsuff, 2671 ; man heat, his kidneys protruding — Hawksworth, 
2685 ; negro beaten in a car — idem; man shot across the street — idem; man shot when down — 
Fisher, "2721; negro wounded dragged from his hiding place under a plank walk, and hrains 
dashed out with a club — Ward, 275 1; prostitute cut a wounded man across the face with 
a razor — Hard, 2754; saw a man shot while in custody of police; saw two dead men 
thrown into a wagon upon a wounded man — idem, 27(!8 ; shot a man and boy in a car — 
James, 2778; wagons and drays for wounded — Harris, 2S17; several killed jumping from 
.windows — Balestier, 2853; one man set upon by seven police — idem; kicked in the face 
when down— Evans, 2912; wounled men shot while sitting down — E vans, 2917, 2925; 
killing of Captain Loup— Fox, 2966, 2977 ; and beating of Halm and Henderson — idem, 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 557 

2074; killing of Dr. Dostie — Jourdain, 3064,3066; shot a man a mile from the Mechanics' 
Institute; chopped a man with a hatchet — idem, 3065; (see Shelley, 6799;) wounded piled 
in — Pitman, 3151 ; saw five hauled away dead — Murral, 32]4; wounded man kicked by 
police — Colis, 3432; negro knocked down with stones; shot after surrender — Benton, 
4218; saw men brought to the station piled in wagons and police on them — Montamat, 
4017; struck in the temple and shot, twice through the coat — Convertier, 4660; caught, 
shot at, and kicked by a citizen named Nelson— DfsaWes, 4735; had fourteen wounds 
with chilis and bullets — Duffy, 474-'; Selff shot in the hip, breast and back, and knocked 
down — Selff, 4825; assaulted, robbed, and insulted by the police — Planchard, 4868; sees 
three negroes shot and three or four wagon loads of wounded gathered up and thrown 
in like sacks of corn — Dorsey, 4907-8; "saw one negro killed before my lace" — Clark, 
5032; received severe Mow on the head — Azaretto, 5032; city physician did not aid 
the wounded in jail; said "if they joined the Yankees they must expect that" — Waters, 
5089; one policeman shot and another ripped open a negro — Terry, 5185; fifteen killed 
and a, great number wounded in the hall — Boquille, 5580; "1 was wounded in many 
places" — idem; negro brutally murdered, and Mr. Le Croix robbed and killed — idem, 
5580; city councils cheering- on the police to their bloody work — Jenkins, 5752; and 
5771-5793; policeman Moon advises that the wounded be dumped into the river — Evans, 
2912; attempt to shoot Colonel Frisbie in Alexandria — t'risliir, 6032; wounded, literally 
covered with bruises; man chopped in the head aud skull chipped out with a hatchet — 
Shelley, 6796-6799; (compare 3U68.) 
Azaratto, D. C, testimony of, 5006-5077 ; was severely hurt by a blow from a policemau, 
and is under $2,000 bonds, 5075. 

B. • 

Band, General A., testimony of, 6407-6620; assistant inspector general of the army and 
brevet major general, and was at New Orleans at the time of the riot, 6499; General Sheri- 
dan's policy in reference to political matters and the army — what .' Monroe's letter to Gene- 
ral Baird; General Baird's answer, the meeting of Friday night,. and the conference between 
Vborhies and Baird, also despatch to Mr. Stanton and an account of preparation for bringing 
up troops, pp. 442, 443; President Johnson's telegram to Lieutenant Governor Voorhies, p. 
443 ; no appearance of riot in streets during early part of the day ; it required two hours and 
forty minutes to bring- up troops, 6501 ; told lieutenant governor he would have the troops 
an hour before the convention met, but supposed it was to meet at p. m., 6503; conference 
with Voorhies near 12 ns:, 6505; also seeCaziarc, 6625; drove to Judge Howell's and found 
the convention assembled at 12, then sent another messenger to hasten forward the troops, 
6509,6510; all actual conflict had ceased when the troops reached the place of riot, 6510, 
6539,(5540; declared martial law, idem; Monroe's enrolment proclamation, 6510 ; General 
Kautz appointed military governor, 6514,6515; and Munroe's protest ; Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Voorhies's note of July 30, 6516, and his second; indorsement on writ of arrest by 
General Baird, 0519; telegram from Adjutant. General Townsend, 6520; antecedents at 
Voorhies, Monroe, aud Herron, 6521,6522; knew nothing of massing of police; thought 
Voorhies considered the President on his side, 6525,65261 as to time of correspondence 
and bringing up troops, 6529,6540, and 6581-6587 ^municipal power is in rebel hands iu 
New Orleans, 6541-6588,6589; as to the sentiment towards Union men, and how mani- 
fested, 0542-0540 ; power in the State is in the same, 0544 ; did the convention apply to Gen- 
eral Baiid for military protection .' and what was said, 0547-0561 ; supposed the object of 
the convention was to adopt anew constitution, 0568 ; the. meeting of Friday evening, 
6572 ; as to the feelings of Union men towards the convention, 6594—6596 ; judge of public 
sentiment by observation, at theatres, &c, 6600-6609; illustration of feeling towards the 
w?fe of a Union soldier, 6610-6617. Official report of General Baird, p. 455-404 ; warning 
given to him of an intended riot — Ward, 2763. 

Balestier, B. W., testimony of, 2851-2901 ; clerk at St. Charles theatre ; saw the riot; pistol 
given him by someone in the crowd, and cartridges by another ; saw Chief of Police 
Adams prevent a citizen from killing a man ; saw Messrs. Fish and Halm wounded; was 
asked by Lucien Ad&ms if he had killed any one ; had not tired at all ; saw 160 "specials " 
sworn in, 2853; gave away the pistol be had in the- crowd, 2855; cartridges given him by 
man with white beard; saw a dozen or more given away, 2856-2867; military took posses- 
sion about six o'clock, 2869; police armed with breech-loading pistols turned out in bodies 
at ringing of alarm bell, 2870-2875 ; majority of those tiring went police, 2880 ; saw also 
boys and citizens, also whole police force of New Orleans. 2882-2884 ; saw badges ; saw 
one engine out ; heard alarm strike 2d taps ; did not see firemen participate in the riot, 2887- 
2896 ; sure the hie bell struck 20 taps, 2900. 

Banks, N. P., testimony of, 7274-7318; representative, and gave no instructions or advice in 
reference to convention, 7276 ; do not remember to have written on the subject, 7278 ; be- 
lieved and still believes the convention could be properly called together, 7281 ; the con- 
stitution was not a complete frame of government, as it lacked recognition by Congress, 
7202-7204,7303; thinks a minority of the convention would have the right to assemble and 
take such steps as were necessary for filling vacancies, &C, 7301 ; constitution was pro- 



558 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

visional, ami before its completion the article touching its own amendmenl was inopera- 
tive, 7304,7314; submission of constitution to the pe&ple, 73Q5-7312; the constitution 
was framed in good faith, 7314-7318. See Howell, 628. 

Administration of, in Louisiana; present constitution of Louisiana made under — JTxples, 
324 ; election proclamation of — Howell, 631 ; State really had no constitution since seces- 
sion — Smith, 2229; lie was taking "snap judgment" on us in tin- convention of l^iil — 
Neville, 1267; raised company of colored troops under call of, when Dick Taylor was 
marching on New Oilcans — Gibbons, 1799 ; was attached to military stall' of — Hawksworth, 
2705; convention of 1864 was a military contrivance of Bauks — fiozier, 3306-3309; 
pressed hard by, to embark in election of 1864 — Barker, 3414; cash withdrawn by — 
idem, 342J : place taken possession of by — Sauve, 3719; caution to — Leaumount, 3751 ; 
advice to — Roselius, 4018; bank matters investigated by — Venn, 5325; opinion of con- 
vention of l~ : '»! — Theard, 5449 tt seq.; appointments by — Jenkins, 5769; Voorhies im- 
prisoned by — Belden, 6679 ; correspondent of New York Tribune with— Pai^e, 7160; 
qualifications of voters fixed by — Canby, 7598. 
Barker, Jacob, testimony of, 3367-3434; banker, and lias been elected member of Congress, 
3370; great body of the people of New Orleans may bo relied upon as true to the United 
States, -3371 ; body of people of Louisiana were against secession ; riotproduced hy inflam- 
matory meetings and interference of Banks and others, :?:;7I ; armed procession of negroes; 
admonished my colored men to keep to work ; people wanted any change which might be 
made in their constitution to be legitimately brought about, 3372; military withdrawn and 
Louisiana admitted to representation, everything would go on well, 3373-3377 ; being a 
Union man would not prevent being elected in New Orleans, '■':'■'>-'■'>, 3410; foreign war, 
people would join United States, 3385 ; people deplore riot; no steps have been taken to 
bring perpetrators to justice ; do not know what became of killed and wounded; do not 
know of money rais.'d for families of killed, 3393-3405; pressed by General Bauks to em- 
bark in the moveiiK nt of is i l, :; 1 1 1 ; took no part in reception of General Twiggs, :>4 - Jl ; 
never contributed to confederate cause, 3421 ; views on secession in Mobile Tribune — Lons- 
dale, 6481. 
Basco, oi Blasco, Oscar, seen to strike Captain Loup in the temple with a pistol when down ; 
also stabbed a man on both sides at once; also shot a colored man — Williams, 5234, 5238 ; 
saw Blasco leading on mob — Burke, 6993. 
Barnaries, policeman, shot a negro near Claiborne street — Jourdain, 3068; still in police 

force; said he was obeying orders — idem, 3069. 
Baton Rouge, threats in to hang all Union men — G'Connell, 942; Bates, of, declared would 
oppose United States on first opportunity — idem, 1004; Stafford, district attorney of, de- 
clared he " would cut the throat of every northern man "—idem, 1 < U »4 ; took amnesty oath 
at — Herron, 3608; secession denounced then' — Roselius, 4018; plantations near — Paige, 
7191. 
Beggs, James, kept a book to record men who took oath of allegiance under Butler, called 

" Son-of-a-bitch book " — Mollere, 2391. 
Belden, James K., testimony of, 6653-6743 ; judge, and wellacquainted with the State ; pur- 
pose of the convention was to meet, get a quorum, effect certain changes in constitution, 
and submit them to the people, 6660, 6670-6674, 6692, 6706; a degree of bitterness 
scarcely to he described exists amonc the rebels of Louisiana against the loyal population, 
66(34; and power is in rebel hancra, 6665; it would be unsafe to withdraw the military 
power, (it>(>7 ; a council backed by the military is the government needed, 6669 ; and none 
but the loyal left to vote, 6707; also 6719 et seq. ; reference to certain State officers and 
their political antecedents, 6676-6682 ; except on the occasion of the riot, knows of no one 
■who in New Orleans has suffered violence for Union sentiments, 670."); it was the intention 
of the convention to extend the ballot to the negro and take it away from therebel, C>7tH)- 
6714; aiso 6723-6743. 
Benton, W. P., General, testimony of, 4212-4246; brigadier general United States army, 
and collector of internal revenue for- New Orleans; saw the riot, with Major General Her- 
ron, 4218; saw Dr. Dostie put in a two-wheeled vehicle, bloody and apparently dead ; it 
was a most desperate and bloody riot; men were shot after surrender, 4218; deep and bit- 
ter feeling against convention, and made deeper by meeting of Friday e"\ ening, !220 ; pub- 
lic feeling is averse to those in Union army; prefer northern Union officers to southern 
loyalists ; thinks such men as General Hays can be trusted, 4228 ; favors a magnanimous 
policy, 4230; believes in universal amnesty and ., universal suffrage, 4233; if affairs are 
left as now in Louisiana, all loyal southern men will be excluded from office, 4234; suf- 
frage to the negro hound to come, 4235; loyal men no hope of office, 4238; majority pro- 
fess good faith, 4240 ; does not think the government should leave its friends unprotected, 
4243; the government cannot afford to be magnanimous at the expense of justice, 4246. 
Biloxi, conversation at, between Mr. Henderson and Mr. Roselius — Dick, 4217; fire com- 
pany on visit at, expressed anxiety to get back to New Orleans on Monday, to be at the 
convention — Sypher, 6364; also Fuller, 6375; "Hays's brigade will be there and clean 

out the d d Yankees." 

Bingham, John A., testimony of, 7235-7250 ; representative, and member of Reconstruction 
Committee, 7235 ; never wrote to or advised any one in reference to Louisiana convention, 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 559 

723fl ; do not remember to have 'written to Mr. Flanders, 7238; conv< 
Judge Warmouth, 7240 ; believes thai i( was the undoubti d right of the c ive ition, as a 
Ik idy of citizens, peaceably to assemble, and discuss, &c, 7245 ; legality of the assemblage 
further discussed, 7246-7250. See Tisdale, 3803. 
Blackburn, W.Jasper, testimony of, 6179-6238; editor of Homer [bad, 61 ; 

feeling of the people, hatred to the United States government, (il^'.i ; protection of United 
States .withdrawn, people would not I 1190; ha% had to flee to the woods, 6191 ; 

proscription in business is constant, 6193; case of Union man againsi t, the for- 

mer could not gel justice, 6195 ; single-hearted devotion to the I Ihion, v\ hat it consists in, 
6201 : and as to the policy of the President, 6203-6210 ; thinks in political rights the negro 
should be equal to the white -.nan, 6211 ; as to the Homer Iliad, 6213-6231 ; "the press in 
Claiborne parish is free toexpress its sentiments at the risk of starvation," 6235. 
Blair, General V 1'.. testimony of, 4953-4975; lias had a good deal of intercourse with the 
people of Louisiana, and believes they are very anxious for peace ; they give in their adhe- 
sion to United States in good faith, 4953-4954 ; if Louisiana had her representatives in 
Congress she could be relied upon for fidelity, 4955 ; insecurity in political relations pre- 
vents the restoration of business confidence, 4956; a liberal policy would have a good 

ct, 1957 : thinks nothing should be done to punish the j pie further; thinks the leaders 

might be punished under existing laws, 1961 ; have been in Louisiana four months during 
the year, and in New Orleans three times, 1965 et seq. 
Blockade, run by — Mott, 1386; bought goods of, after dismissed United States service — 

idem, 4387 ; charged with running — Zacharie, 6409. 
Blood splashed 'under soles of boots in hall — Culler, 359; on street and floor, half an inch of 
— O'Neil, 2092; on street in front of Mechanics' Institute — New, 2444 ; weltering in — 
Planchard, 4870. 
Blow, Henry T., testimony of, page 545; member of Reconstruction Committee, and never 
wrote any letter to anyone in reference to Louisiana convention, p. 545. See Tisdale, 
3803. 
Bone and Sinew, name of negro wounded by police — Hughes, 1306. 

Boquille Luigi, testimony of, 5569-5595 — teacher; saw the police load their pistols on Mon- 
rning and threaten Union men, 5574, 5589-5590 ; describes the scene in the hall, 
5578-5580; police fired on thewhite flag, 5581 ; the convention defended themselves with 
sticks, &c, 5582; had warned some friends not to attend, 5585 ; saw Governor Hahnhave 
a pistol, and a pistol in the hands of a young man, 5591. 
Brady, M. B., testimony of, 4413-4475; describes the meeting of Friday, 4415-442,1; 
crowd responded to the invitation to come to defend the meeting, 1425 ; saw and heard 
meeting from balcony of his house, 4427 ; Dostie said stn ets of New Orleans should run 
with blood, 4429; Dostie told them to come and come armed, 4432; co-operated with 
southern people in the war, 4434 ; regretted Lee's surrender, 4441; believes still in the 
right of secession, 4445-4450; majority of white people were in favor of secession, 4154; 
power now in hands of late secessionists, 4457 ; believe the people are now peaceable and 
good citizens, 4467; thinks the negroes sympathized with the United States as fast as the 
federal army advanced, 4469-4471 : do not think the Febels should be punished, 4474. 
Breaux, O. l\, conversation between two men at early morning detailed,, :;,_ i; citj police, 
wont going to join them, : 3 4 4 L ; told what had heard to General Baird, 344 I this 

talk while in my garden, men on sidewalk; this was on Friday ; learned to speak Eng- 
lish in the army, and understands it better than he speaks it, 3448-3460. 

Brooks, boarding-house keeper, pursued and threatened to si t men — Montieu, 1099-1126. 

Brooks, Edward P., testimony of; is a correspondent of the New York Times ; was in New 
Orleans July 30; heard convention talked of; good citizens hoped it would pass off 

quietly, but wo cla - did not; saw the sting of convention and police and citizens 

minde in fight ; saw uej ; saw wounded 

man killed with sword-cane, 208 ; di scribes taking of Colon. -1 W R. Fish, 209; saw ten 
; utrie.hr, 215 ; saw the police were armed, ; nothing said to the convention 
about surrender; confederate soldiers to break into gun stores, 217-224; proi — ion small, 
and men had in their hands cotton hooks, saws, <fcc, 232; procession nol armed with 
arms, S34; riot produced by opposition to principles of convention, 234-239 ; saw police 
gathered at City Hall, 241 ; wrote letter to New York Times about the riot and stated the facts 
in it, 242-249 ; members of convention did not desire breach of peace ; intended to meet, 
and adjourn, 250-256 ; police the attacking party, 207 ; thugs on police, 260 ; despatch of, 
to — Crounse, <i?5(>. 
Buckley, J. D., testimony of, 4815-4820; saw three negroes lying dead in the yard of his 

house, 4820; in reference to Buckley, see Boyd Robinson, 1378-1383. 
Buckner, H. S., testimony of, 5470-5513; was always opposed to secession, 5479; indi- 
vidual opinions may be freely expressed in community, no one is hindered in his business, 
and if the State were restored order would prevail, 5482-5486, and 55119-5512; the people 
desire to be restored as they were before the war, 5493 ; nine-tenths of the people are loyal 
and have been since they were whipped, 5504 ; bad selections were made for city officers, 
55057 
Buo-oy, E. M., testimony of, 6332-6353; teacher, rejected in public, because she had taught 



5 GO INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

black schools ; " the Yankees have left ns to the mercy of these men," 6335 ; taught sing- 
ing because it was required; always taught singing till the copperheads came in; sting 
Hail Columbia, &c., 6349. 

Bureau, Freedmen's, influence of, good — Waples, 449; cashier, of — Souvinet, 551'; great 
eyesore to planters — Dunn, 706; surgeon of — Harris, 2811 ; wounded cared for at expense 
of — idem, 2825 j one hundred and eight wounded at, and fifteen died — Harris, 2815; sur- 
geon-in-chief of — Griswolrf, 2814; should be abolished — Rozier, 3338; assistant commis- 
sioner of — Mower, 4538 ; protection of, should not he withdrawn — Sheridan, 4994 ; care of 
wounded of riot thrown upon — Field, 5967; reports of, as to justice in courts — Fellows, 
6094 ; thinks bill might be strong enough if Congress had appointing power, 6210 ; negroes 
not protected in Judge Cooley's district by, because the agtnts of, favor the planters — ■ 
Cooliy, 6269; but the general action of, has restraining influence — idem, 6272; his duty 
to convention under the laws organizing Freedmen's Bureau — What, 6558-6561 ; wounded 
of riot wen- placed under care of — Shelley, 6805: persons hiring negroes, freedmen, must 
give bonds for their labor to — Paige, 7186; assistant commissioner of, and how and why 
relieved — Conway,, 7401-7406. 

Burke, John, testimony of, 6986-7104; formerly chief of police in New Orleans, 6989; saw 
the mob and fully describes the scene in and around the hall, 6992; names of persons who 
were active in the riot given, 6993; also of police who had been in rtbel army, 6998-6999; 
was in New Orleans at Monroe's last election and refers to Colonel Tisdale's Union regi- 
ment, most of which voted for Monroe, 7003, 70 19-7(160; conciliatory policy of Governor 
Wells, how it was met, 7007; was threatened iu anonymous letters and left New Orleans, 
7009, also 7ii?6; secret organizations, 7011-701"); the rebels still wish success to their 
cause, 7018; if troops withdrawn, Union sentiment would speedily die out, 7025; as to 
the police, 7026-7041 ; was armed on day of riot and used his pistol, 7066-7075, also 7083 ; 
" thugs and assassins " on the police ; who are they ? 6998, 6999 ; and how he knows them, 
7084-7089; there were Union men at New Orleans who did not favor the convention, 
7090; little Union sentiment in New Orleans, 7096; who in convention were armed, 709'-'. 

Butler, General B. F., Union men in New Orleans volunteered on police force of — CPConnell, 
928; hated because entertained at tabh — Neville, 1245; recruited company for — Hughes, 
1348; organized police under — Robinson, 1387-1403; entertained at house — Capla, 1709; 
soon as arrival of, left rebel service — Gibbons, 1820; Monroe removed by — Earhart, 1841 : 
took oath at arrival of — Daunoy, 1919; detective for — Renaud, 2335; book of registered 
enemies kept by — Motlere, 2393; took oath of allegiance under — Vose, 3269; sequestered 
money iu Citizen's bank, Barker, 3421; plantation protected by — Sauv6 3719; came as 
captain with — Tisdale, 3799 ; goods seized by, on charge of sending them into rebel lines— 
Syme, 4145; was sent by, to Fort Pickens, idem; registered name under, as enemy of 
United States — Greenwood, 4190; chaplain in first regiment raised by — Kingston, 4582; 
one of first to take oath under — Morell, 4^49; insulted because interpreter to — Planchard, 
4*70; took oath of allegiance to — Buckner, 5512; was a police officer under — Shachleton, 
5732 ; was permitted by, to bring food to New Orleans for the poor at cost price — Lonsdale, 
6478; case of Daunoy — Fellows, 5664 ; assessors appointed by — Jenkins, 5769; registra- 
tion by — Canby, 7600. 

C. 

Campbell, Ann E., testimony of, 4788-4814 ; heard a woman say that the speech of Dr. 
Dostie on Friday night would be his last, 4791 ; wounded man said he received his injuries 
from the police. 4800; conversed with seventy or eighty colored men, and all but one said 
they were unarmed on 30th. 

Campanel, Edmund, testimony of, 778-829; saw the riot in the hall and describes it, 780- 
784; friends of convention unarmed, 785-788; violence of the day caused by hatred 
against colored race, 789 ; mass of voters in Louisiana are unfriendly to government of 
the United States, 791-791, also 820-826; procession and first firing', 796-801, also 805- 
810; saw nothing indicating that convention intended to use force, 802; know of no one 
shot or killed except friends of convention, 804 ; intention of convention was to reorganize 
and then amend constitution of 1864 ; "our line-" was tiled upon at the institute, 829. 

Canby, Major General 10. K. S., testimony of," 7574-7631 ; was in command of department 
of the Gulf at time of Monroe's last election, 7f>76; thinks the military left the election 
free to the people, and that Monroe is the. free and true choice of New Orleans for mayor, 
7584-7592, (see Kennedy, 7367;) orders of non-interference were issued, 7584 and 7617; 
as to the political antecedents of Mayor Monroe, 7593 and 7608, and his pardon, 7610; 
was suspended by, from functions of mayor, 7597 ; qualifications of voters in Louisiana 
what, 7598 and 7617 ; state of sentiment in Louisiana now, 7607 ; antecedents of Lieu- 
tenant Governor Voorhies, 7017. See Earhart, 1842. 

Carrie k. Richard, policeman, arming of on day of riot "means work" — O'Coiunll, 925, 926. 

Cartridges, three boxes of brought to riot by firemen, and police used them — Renaud, 2339- 
2344, and 2358; man in crowd handed — Balcstier, 2853, 2856,2859,2865; distributed 
from several places — O'lXtil, 2094. 

Caylat, Charles, policeman saved life of — Fanza, 3641 and 3653. 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 561 

Capla, L. J. P., testimony tit', 1698-1763; saw the shooting in hall; men shot who bi e 

forinercy; men trodden under lout; heard theory at united States Bag, "I> a that 

dirty nig-," 1703-1705; son, sixteen years of age, lias his eye shot out and tour bullet 
wounds in his head, and since stabs, 1708 ; threats of hanging, 1711-1714; heard women 
cry out, "Kiililm.se dirty Yankees, " 1718; police are of the wor'sl of people^ 1721, also 
1763; people of Louisiana are hostile to the United States ; not an inch of Louisiana 
loyal to the United States. 1727-1751; school-books of city teacb. rebellion, 1 7-27 and 
1752-1759; some who called out "Hang them" belong to decent class and some to low 
class, 1762. 

Caziarc, Louis V., testimony of, '6621-6652; lieutenant 11th infantry, was aide-de-camp to 
General Laird ; interview between General Baird and Lieutenant Governor Voorhies took 
place between 1 I and 1J, and thai General Baird thought the convention wOuld assemble 
at6p. m., 6623-6627, (see Baird, 6505 and 6506;) Judge Howell said to arrest would be 
peaceably submitted to, 6633; reported bis interview with Judge Howell to General Baird 
within eight minutes, i 639. 

Cenas, son of Dr., killed — Fish, 154; Cutler, 391 ; Warmouth, 489; Howell, 571; O' Connell, 
937; Abell, 3969; Mower, 4543. 

Charges to grand jury. (See Grand Jury ; also pp. 275-'277. See also Field, 5977.) ■ 

Cbase, Chief Justice, bill for organizing Louisiana under provisional government sent to 
him — Fellows, 5631. 

Church, colored peoples, burned down — Milhojf, 5375; fired into by man, and man 
acquitted — Earhart, LS69. 

Citizens, many of, acting with police — Hard, 2552, Fisher, 2721 ; and boys, eighteen or 
twenty years old — idem, 274:2; mostly firemen who were in riot — Word, 2755, 2757 ; Mr. 
Adams, chief of police, prevented citizen from killing negro — Balestier, 2853; three cheers 
for police — Evans, 2916; policeman Thayer supplied by, with ammunition — idem,2917 and 
2957, and 2934 ; in mob less numerous than police — idem, 2942; low class of, in riot — 
Jourdain, 3120; behaved very badly, did grossest acts of brutality — Adams, 1045; forty 
or fifty citizens could have stopped riot — Glenn, 4110 ; none killed — Mowt r, 4542 ; desired 
to murder convention — Delandes, 4?^.i; threatened to drive- military out — Sheridan, 4981 ; 
citizen firemen came armed at tap of bell — Joyce, 5885. 

Councilmen cheering on the police — Jenkins, 5752, r>?71 to 5793; General Grant's order for 
protection of citizens — Baird, 6500 and 6562; saw many of, armed and acting with 
police — O'Neil, 2128; arms sold to — Ward, 2758. 

Civil rights bill, trial under for tiring- into colored church ; no test oath known by witness 
to have been administered to jury — Earhart, 1860-1866; juro'rs could not have taken it — 
idem, le67; defendant acquitted — idem, 1828; should be repealed — Rozier, 3338; would 
not be enforced in every instance — Durell, 3837; failure to administer justice under — 
Dallas, 872; to prosecute under, makes men odious — Field, 5958; Judge Abell went 
out of bis way to decide unconstitutionality of, 5962; action of United States under, has a 
restraining influence — Cooley, 6272. 

Clark, George, testimony of, 5029-5065; is an insurance broker; was in the city July 30; 
went to Mechanics' Institute on business; found the mob tiring from the building; saw a 
rush into the ball of boys with clubs and brickbats; saw a negro killed and saved the 
life of Mr. Daunoy ; saw the police do their duty in saving lives, 5032-5033; was a mem- 
ber of secession convention, but a Union man voting for secession, 5049; voted for a reso- 
lution indorsing- Governor Moore and General Twiggs, 5042 et seq. ; voted for secession 
when he could no longer stand out against the majority, 505-*; colonel in rebel army. 

Clark, once acting mayor, surrendered to — Daunoy, 1905; thinks saved my life — Mollere, 
23b5; Henry acting with rioters — Burke, 6993. 

Class, irresponsible, who do the shooting; rule to greater extent in south than north — 
Sheldon, 4015. 

dough, whiskey distributed by, to police on Monday, July 30, before tolling of signal bell — 
Dorset), 41*17. 

Colies, Emile, testimony of, 3423-3434; from parish of Ascension; was a member of con- 
vention, 3425; was driven out, shot in the leg, and lost it by amputation, '.\\:\-> ; members 
of convention expected an arrest and were unarmed, 3433; was laid up by wound forty- 
seven days, 34:!4, 

Courts of justice in Louisiana, can justice be obtained in, where political feeling is an element 
in the case: 

No chance for justice between rebels and Union men — Fish, 453; rioters not punished in, 
463, Dallas, 869-872; no redress in— O' Connell, 945, 1008, New, 2491; not open to 
justice — Hiarl.lnirii, 6195; see Judge Cooley entire, 6239 et seq. 
Opposing views: Full justice — Hazier, 3319; courts yield impartial justice — Durell, 

3835, 'Fheard, 54 Hi, 5421, 5466, fellows, 6065. 
As to courts in New Orleans: No justice in for Union men — O' Connell. 945-947 : Neville, 
1244 et seq.; evidence to prosecute rioters cannot be procured — Herron, 3630; courts 
open and good justice administered in — Fellows, 5611 and 6068; people do not desire. 
conviction of rioters — Shelley, 6d24; see as to case under civil rights bill — Earhart, 
1854. 



562 INDEX TO .TESTIMONY. 

Conl ' F, 7140-7151 ; repi esentati etion 

Committee; neither advised aor wrote to any one in/eference to Louisiana convention, 71 13. 
See Howell, 628. 

vs-, members of, shown call for convention — Howell, 611 ; members seen, names of — 
Boutwell, Stevens, Shellabarger, Morris, Kelley, Paine, Conkling, I Idem, 628; 
lio])!' for protection of, to save from harm — OConnell, 950; loyal men enough to make 
government acceptable to — Neville, 1288, 1289; confederate, passed an acl putting mi- 
litia in army — Daunoy, 191B; acti invention to be submitted to- Sm tli, 2225, 2229; 
indorse what is done by — Mvltere. 2416; afraid oi radical party of new, 2542; peti- 
tioned for provisional government — Leaumount, 3757; nominated for- — Abell, 3894; raised 
a confederate company — Fellowes, 5639; error made by, in excluding all men alike 
from admission — Shelden, 4016; member of, in 1861 — Taylor, 4322; S led to rep- 
resentation in, as soon as Lee sin rendered — Brady, 4463-4467; let our political matters be 
fixed by — Planckard, 1889; should call State convention — Souihworth, 5930; Judge Abell 
decided Congress a bogus body — Field, 5962; do not know anything was done in refer- 
ence to convention by — Field, 5993; no remedy known to witness but congressional ac- 
tion — Frisbie, 6033; should refuse to r< gnize the existing State _ it — Wells, 

6494; hopes of southern loyalists and northern men settled in the south almost entirely 
upon — Paige, 7224-7228; constitution of Louisiana in 1864 not a co ne of gov- 

ernment because ir lacked recognition by — Banks, 7292. 

Cooley, -Indue W. II., testimony of, 6239 1284; judge of 7th judicial district, 6239 ; in cases 
between black Union men and white citizens, the former are nowhere before the juries, 
6247; there is much ill feeling again' I Union men; obliged to call foi military aid, at 
Point Coupe, and circumstances stated, 6248-6252; if military were withdrawn would 
not dare remain to try a ease of a white man for killing- a freedman, 6254 ; reference to .six 
murders in two parishes of his district, 6262; this feeling against freedmen exists in nine 
case- our of ten, 6268; negroes are less kind y treated than when slaves, K270; the Freed- 
men's Bureau and civil rights bill are restraints, 6272-6274; as to grand juries and trials 
for offences against' Union men, 6277-6280 ; Rapides parish is in a state of anarchy, 6281 . 
red population, about equal in numbers to white in Louisiana — Filleul, 1711; 81st col- 
ored regiment brought into New Or'eans to sustain martial law — Sheridan, 1983; colored 
men sustain me in business — Terry, 5214; seen* d generally armed with pistols and sticks 
on <\:-y of riot — Tilton, 5545; had no thought of riot, and went peaceably and quietly — 
Boquille, 5587 ; were loyal and in favor of loyal men — Field, 5987 ; officers of troops from, 
how considered and how treated by people of Rapides — Frisbie, 6035-6059 ; justice ad- 
ministered to, in courts, and how — Fellows, 6091 ; collection of, about the hall, did not 
trouble me, because they came peaceably to receive bestowal of political tights — Wells, 
6491 ; should be entirely enfranchised — idem, 6494 ; as to arrangements among, for fight- 
ing. See Prearrangement. 

Commencement of riot — Fish, 123; first shot was fired into procession of negroes by An- 
thony Elmore — James, 2775 ; as to identity and description of Elmoi'e, (see Juurdain, 3063 ;) 
first shot saw fired by negro — Snethen, 3704, 3705-3712; first shot in vicinity of Me- 
chanics' Institute was fired by a negro — Sauve, 3713, 3716 : ! that previous to that 
one had been fired at Canal street — idem, 37.14 ; have heard by negroes shot first tired — Ills- 
ley, 3884; charged upon the convention and negroes by — Mutt, 4358-59; saw the first 
shot, and it was fired by a white man ii I i the negro pro session — Wrotnowski, 4649; com- 
menced by negroes who were armed with clubs and pistols — Tilton, 5530; first thing seen 
was a negro knock while man into the guttei — trfii/t ; first fire upon procession — Boquille, 
557c ; how the whole began— Sirf/ie#, 5861 x 5862. 

Constitution, how to fram — Hiestand, 66; as amended, to b« submitted to the peoph — Wapli s, 
•■ present, framed in .May, 1884 — idem, :'.' ; ; now in force, that of I8J4 — idem, 324-; 
ele ■ rs urn :r, white males of tweutj ... id* m, 327; not I il i.i 

... -Cutler, 418; plan to amend to b< b i iven- 

udments to be submitted to people — IIou , 604 former a 
tution of Louisiana never made in accordance with the terms of — idem, 6< 
question as to amendment of, sent from New Orleans to reconstruction committee — idem, 
U2;i ; mode of amendment to, given — it/em, 650; electors ui it, inimical to United 

States — Hire, 7:;i ; intended to take steps to amend— Cawpane/, 812 ; Judge Abell denies 
validity of — O' Connell, 945 ; power given in, to call — Neville, I-J7H; was to amend the 
constitution — Smith, 2223; power to propose to amendments to, 3984; legal mode of 
amendment to — .Hull, 3987 : ad\ ised as to course to pursue for amending— Rosetius, 4017 ; 
the object of convention was to amend — Filleul, 4699; how to form a — Souihworth, 5932; 
the secession party ignored the constitution of 1864 — Field, 5992, 5994; legislature 
did not recognize, though assembled under it — Wells, 6493; the convention, its object to 
frame new constitution — Baird, 6568; how to amend — Shelley, 6872; character oi', what it 
lacked, how framed, and how to be amended — Banks, 7284-7318 ; Louisiana house of 
representatives, motion to amend constitution, p. 548. 

Convention, meeting of — D ur ant, 11 ; reassembling of — idem, 79 ; about thirty members — 
idem, lo:'>; Fish, 123; member of, in 1864 — Fish, 118; how reconvoked — idem, 121; 
object of, to get quorum — idem, 131, 169; official reporter of — Andem, 178; members 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 5G3 

of, and people in hall unarmed — Andem, 107: object of Meeting- — Brooks, 
of meeting — Brooks, 208; design of— idem,' 238, 254; contemplated action of, to initi- 
ate suffrage amendment — Waples, 289; not certain was legally authorized — Wapl 
311 ; member of — Culler, 354 ; citizens of New Orleans opposed to reassembling of — 
Cutler, 3G9 ; design to establish negro suffrage — idem, 380; Davis and Stauffer, meml 
of— Fish, 433; was opposed to, of 1864 — Warmouth, 502; member of, 1864 — Hart, 513; 
president pro tern, of, and issued proclamation for convening — Howell, 560-562; inti c 

vlnn writs of elections were returned — idem, 580 ; ami intention well known — idem, 
' ami 603; legal right of, to reassemble— idem, 603; president ]>n> /mi., how elected — 
idem, 01."); members of, not armed — Hire, 7J6; wished question of legality of, lefl to 
courts — pallas, 892: Judge Abell in 1864 fought in, against emancipation — O'Connell, 
945; objeel of, to bring State, into harmony with Congress — Ouhre, 1032; general talk i 
disperse, by force — Montieu, 1099-; members of, did not fight — Piquet, 1225; no p 
cutibns against the attackers of— Neville, 1251; opposed to meeting of— idem, 1267, 
1268-1272; intended to disfranchise rebels — i</ew?., 1279 ; procession going to — Gibbons, 
1798; assistant secretary of — Winjree, 1827; many members of, named — ie/crre, 1852; object 
of, to get a quorum — Smith, 217!; assembling of, immediate cause of riot — JVew?, 2525; 
genii::! condemnation .of — Hard, 2560 ; members of, taken like robbers — Fisher, 2720: 
whole thing a sham— l?o ount' of origin of convention of 1864 — 3306 

call of, excited public mind ; thought it. would introduce tost oaths — idem, :',:!Iii-:!:;i I 
not know that only intended to meet- and adjourn for a quorum— idem, 3360 : b lii v ■ d had 
performed its functions — Barker, 3371 ; proposed meeting of, brought before grand jury, 

think i: was an "unlawful assemblage," — idem, and off | on meeting ; 

inri i arrest of — Herron, 3595; think for subverting State government — Parkir, 

3G00; negroes called to guard— Sauve, 3723; as to legality of— Leaumount, :'.?:?(!; " 
give negro right to vote," — Tisdale, 3802, 3806; fear of negro suffrage exeiti I 
against members of— Durell, 3833; as president of, did not sanction its reassembling — 
iden , 3846, "■■ '~ ; : members of, mingled with organized body of negroes and caused riot — 
lllsley, 3884 ; convocation of, was in violation of 147th article constitute — Al 
was a member of, in 1864, and voted against negro suffrage — idem, 3923; riot was cai 
by— Abet 971; reconvocation of— idem, 3986; hour of meeting of, believed 

General Baird to be G p.m., — Voorhies, 4120£; members of should be present wh( 
meeting legal or illegal — Greenwood, -1157; convention was armed and tired upon the peo- 
ple— Mott, 4398; had the right to change constituti ion ad d in 
1864 — Filleul, 4701; twenty-five members of, present — Morrell, 4840 ; intended to give 
free suffrage — idem, 4855; called to see how many members, but was com] etent to enact 
negro suffrage — Waters, 5129 ; go armed to sustain — Theard, 5442; was not a legal I 

150; shots fired from windows of convention hall upon the police— Tilton, 
[, a fraud upon rights of the people— Fell ' '; slaughter of, 

retribution for nol ! ing rebels in 1864 — Jenkins, 5752, 5801 ; object of, to get a 

quorum— Field, 5070, 5982-5987; as to calling — Wells, 010:.!; why opposed to legislative 
calling of — Wells, 6496; General Sheridan's policy in reference to assembling of— Ba 
6500 ; wished to stand entirely neutral as to the convention — Baird, 0555 ; purpose of, to 
get a quorum and then effect changes in the constitution, submitting them to the people — 
Belden, 6660 et seq. ; it was intention of, to give ballot to negro and take it away from 
the rebel, 670G-G714 ; legality of convention, how it was proposed to test it, 6848 ; right of 
people to meet in ; how far it extends — V, Stevens, 6972; some Union 

men at New Orleans did not favor the meeting of — Burke, 7090; people of city were deter- 
mined by fair means or force to break up convention — Paige, 7171, 7205-7210; and some 
members of convention were determined to hold convention, whether bloodshed resulted or 
not — Paige, 7213 ; legality of considered — Bingham, 7242-7250; fully discussed and 
defended ; also, the legality of meeting of — Bonks, 7277 et seq. 
Conway, T. W., testimony of— 7400-7539 ; clergyman who was in 1865 assistant commis- 
sioner of Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana; ; at that time there were two pro- 
fessed Union men in New Orleans, and describes them — 7405; was succeeded in office 
General Fuilerton — 7406: describes the aspect and tone of r the President beo-an 
to pardon them — 7408, 7418; what General Sheridan said, 74 JO; action of policeman 
toward negro men, women and children in October, 1865,7411; and general character, 
7475-74^4 ; believes if in 1865 military had been withdrawn, Union men and blacks would 
have been driven out of the State, 7413-7414 ; believes in case of foreign war the people 
who have been in rebel army would join the foe, 7415 ; what Judge Downs and Raphael 
Semines said in relation to foreign war, 7417; amount of property restored to rebels not 
less than one hundred millions, 7419-74-20, 7401-7475; how General Fuilerton was 
regarded in Louisiana ; welcomed by rebel papers ; a reign of .terror among the negroes 
established, 7427 ; and definition of that reign given, 7484-7491 ; gives account of inter- 
view with the President and General Grant, 7428 ; told the President trouble was brewing, 
and his name coupled in popular assemblies with Jeff. Davis's, 7428 ; also, 7429-7438 ; 
exhibitions of popular feeling, 7440-7441 ; application for more troops to General Grant, 
7494-7496, 7524-7539 ; secret organizations, evidences of, 7429 ; and more fully, 7499- 
7520 ; was assailed and knocked clown in the street, 7521-7523. 
36 N. o. 



5G4 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

Cook, policeman, who shot Mfn Selff, Self, 4827. 

Cooper, J. 1!., testimony of, 1990-2024; saw four men pursue two negroes and kill them. 
1990 ; thinks riot preconcerted, 1991-2000 ; thinks then- is a desire to renew the rebel! 
2001 ; shall continue iu New Orleans if protection is afforded 2009; has heard senti- 
ments of hostility expressed against "Yankees," 2022; see also testimony of, 7632-7876; 
knows that since this committee was in New Orleans, Mollere, its messenger when there, 
has been subjected to violence mi account of his services, 7632-7661, 7650-7652; also 
case of Captain Pierson, cruelly beaten because he was "a damned nigger captaiu," 7639- 
7647, 7662-7676. 

Co-operationist, one who favored appeal to Congress for redress of grievances, and if not 
obtained, to go out in a body from Union — Witheratt, 3240; (see Btudy, 4434;) claimed 
that majority was opposed to secession — idem, 4455 ; was at first a — Lewis, 4515; in favor 
of staving things off — Bwkner, 5496. 

Court-martial, dismissed service by, on charge of destroying United States property — Mott, 
4368, 4385. 

Couvertier, Gustav, testimony of, 4656-4668 ; jeweller ; saw many acts of violence on the 
day of the riot ; saw police shooting people in the hall, and was shot by them and nearly 
killed, 4660; saw fire-arms taken from the box of an engine and used, 4661. 

Covode, Hon. John, learned in summer of 1865 that nearly all officers of city, rebels — Hies- 
tand, 55. 

Crane, Mrs. Susan Ann, testimony of, 2617-2658; warning given as to her husband, 2619: 
young lady sent word to Mr. Crane to leave city, 2620 ; saw police watching her house at 
night and were disguised, 2622; saw police in yard of house late at night, 2639-2654 ; 
husband was president of Union executive committee, 2630. 

Crawford, Judge T. S., testimony of, 5262-5286 i judge of 12th district court of Louisiana ; 
lives in Caldwell, north Louisiana, and thinks there is a majority of Union men there, 5268 ' 
thinks they would out vote largel}' any man'who should express hostility to the govern- 
ment, 5269 ; Union men, who do not make themselves obnoxious, are safe, 5273 : thinks 
if Louisiana is restored, the majority would be law-abiding; there is a disposition to ex- 
clude Union men from office; no distinction is made in the courts in his district on account 
of politics, 5280 : believes a majority of present legislature are rebels, 5283; states his ex- 
perience as to administration of justice iu his courts, 5286. 

Creven, or Crevaux, special officer, fired upon procession — Benaud, 2310; James, 2777; see, 
also, Leclarc, 1076. 

Cromwell, E. L, testimony of, 805-908 ; saw police shoot into the ball and Mr. Horton 
wounded, 900 ; was robbed by a policeman, 902; saw a man badly treated after he 
wounded; was struck on the head by pistol, 903-906. 

Crounse, L. L., testimony of, 6744-6756; correspondent of New York Times ; gives state- 
ment referring to certain despatches iu reference to riot, obtained at "White House, 6766; 
copies of the despatches, 6754, p. 472; despatch from Brooks, 6756. 

Crozat, F. M., testimony of, 3889-4001 : did not attend the convention, because warned by 
a brother mason not to attend ; got the warning the day before, 3989 ; informant was a 
policeman, 3991 ; heard the alarm bells ring, 3996 ; saw the police pass by iu a body, 
about fifty, in a squad, 3999 ; is recorder of births and deaths. 

Cutler, R. King, testimony of, 350-423; was a member of convention of 1864, 355 ; describes 
convention, 357, 358; floor of hall covered with blood, and blood splashed under my boots 
as I went down stairs, 359; saw Mr. Horton shot, 360; Mr. Jackson shot. 364 : feeling 
of citizens of New Orleans bitter toward convention, 369; am convinced that it was ar- 
ranged to suppress convention, 374 ; police were of men from Hays's and Gibson's brigade, 
377 ; did not expect to act in convention till tilled by election called for September 3, 1866, 
386-418; police would have had no difficulty in keeping the peace as far as convention 
was concerned, 390; cause of massacre was rebel hate, 393; spokeat meeting of Friday, 
July 27, and it was perfectly orderly, 395-399; lives and property of Union men not 
in Louisiana, 4d4; condition of public sentiment at timeof Lee's surrender and now, 405- 
406; not sale to commit government to rebels, 408-4 1 1 ; societies, sentiments, and opinions 
in New Orleans, 412: badges as indicating plot, 41:!; convention gave out that they would 
submit to arrest, and the object of its meeting was well known, 417-420 ; left Louisiana 
because of my Union sentiments, 423 ; once in favor of secession — Lewis, 4498 ; called 
the armed out in a company — Burke, 7098. 

D. 

Dallas, Charles, testimony of, 830-894 : editor of New Orleans Tribune; was at convention, 
saw police force come up and one man killed, 838-839; saw cart-loads of killed and 
wounded taken away, 840 ; saw only police firing, 843 ; saw men shot at who were simply 
passing, 348; thinks there is bitter feeling in Louisiana against Union men, 854, also 
864-866, 875; must leave if not protected by United States, ,s >7 ; rebels still hostile, 858 
859; there was no organization to defend convention, 861-863 ; thinks fear of negro suf 
frage makes rebels more bitter, 868; Union men do not get justice in Louisiana courts, 
869-874 ; people show their contempt of United States by hissing national airs, 881 : posi- 
tion of Is'ew Orleans Tribune defined, 886-894. 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 565 

De Jourdain, Baptiste, orders given to police to arm for the day — Rertaud, 3236. 

Davis, Jeff., cheers for, heard on day of riot — Le Clare, 1076, 1077, 1084 ; see also Hawks- 
worth, 2697 ; Jourdain, 3067; Boquille, 5580 ; Shelley, 6816; and at same time for Andy 
Johnson — idem ; also for Jeff., Brooks, 243, Stucs, 1676-1678; "wish Jeff. Davis was Presi- 
dent of United States," — Cutler, 412. 

Delandes, Raouh testimony of, 4771-1787; twenty years of age; received two bullets in the 
riot; saw police besiege Mechanics' Institute, and fire upon, without provocation; was 
shot twice by police and while in their hands, 4776; heard the fire alarm and saw firemen 
assemble, 4783; no preparation was made to defend themselves by colored people; police 
and citizens seemed anxious to kill, 4786. 

Desalles, .Jules, testimony of, 4729-4743; jumped out the window of Mechanics' Institute 
day ol' the riot, 4735; was shot at by a citizen named Nelson who goes to the cock-pit 
every Sunday, 47:57 ; police were busy the night before convention getting ready for it; 
saw Dr. Dostie and Mr. Horton trying to surrender, but could not, 4738; negroes did not 
go to fight ; knew of but two who were armed, 4740. 

Dick, Joseph F., testimony of, 4246-4277; deputy clerk of court; conversation with Mr. 
Henderson at Biloxi ; said convention would meet at any rate; military authorities would 
sustain it ; President dare not attempt to prevent it, 4246; would have been no disturbance 
if convention had met only for consultation, 4248 ; thinks there is no disposition on part 
of people to rebel again, 4251 : in case of war with foreign power most people would side 
with United States, 4254 ; freedom to express political sentiments, 4257 ; Mas in the rebel 
service, 4265 ; does not think loyal men in Louisiana should be restrained from voting or 
holding office, 4269. 

Despatch of General Sheridan, August 1 ; omission in, and how and where it occurred. See 
Crounse, 6754, at bottom ; Warden, 6765, 6770 et scq. ; Sheridan, 5027. See under tele- 
gram. 

Dorsey, .Janus, testimony of, 4897-4952; was on the police and was ordered to appear on 
Monday armed, 4898, also 4944-4952; calls it a massacre; "hurry up, Dostie is dead 
and in hell," 4904 ; saw three negroes shot ; saw three or four furniture wagons of w< traded, 
4907-4908; the order was read by Lieutenant Sheehan; majority of police of his district 
were in rebel army, 4916 ; whiskey was given out to police, 4917 ; was once in federal 
army ; was appointed on the police by Monroe, 49.'i3. 

Dryden, Thomas, policeman who heat Governor Halm — Fox, 2976£. 

Dostie, Dr. A. P., spoke at Friday evening meetingv-Hiestand, 10; wounded — Fish, 127; 
disposition to resist — Brooks, 249; saw him on day of his deafk — Waples, 294 ; police re- 
quested by, not to fire — Cutler, 358; left off his pistol on day of convention — Fish, 442; 
quotation from speech of — idem, 452, also Hire, 7 IS; was killed — Howell, 567; called 
out to convention to sit down — Hire, 704, 706; Philips predicted the hanging of — O'Con- 
nell, 918; "it is foul murder" — Oubre, 1014; did not anticipate a riot — Hughes, 1306; 
said, " we have here the emblem of the United States and they will not fire on that" — 
Capla, 1704; threat to hang — Gibbons, 1789, 1811; opinion of, as to the franchise — Smith, 
2241 ; be patient, the military will come — Molloere, 2370; "he lay like a corpse with a 
smile mi his face"- — idem, '2:'>84 ; "saw a cart brought down and something thrown into 
it ; was told it was Dr. Dostie " — Hawksworih, 2685, 2692 ; how wounded and where died. 
(See No. 131, p. 185.^) Police promised to kill him — Harris, 3033 ; in hands of police and how 
used — Jourdain, 3066-l!067, 3105 ; great prejudice against — Barker, 3375 ; was he not killed 
for his opinions 1 — Parker, 3683 ; plans of — Tisdale, 3802, 3817 ; do not think was a victim 
— lllsley, 3880; his appearance, covered with blood — Benton, 421$, 4"J20 ; speech of, and 
sentiments expressed — Brady, 4418; saw him when brought to station-house — Montemat, 
4614; "the last speech he would ever make 1 ' — Campbell, 4791; "dead and in he'd" — 
Dorsoj, 4904; heard speech of, was inflammatory — Sheridan, 5014 ; warned — Terry, 5196; 
counselled by, to remain quiet — Randall, 5392; speech excited public mind— T/teard, 
5447; extracts from speech of — Tilton, 5519-5524 ; saw shooting of, and describes it — 
Sirlin!i. 5865; Sypher, 6363 ; speech of, as heard by Tribune reporter and correspondent — 
Shelley, 6791, 679:!, 6809, 6837 et scq., and 6917 ; denounced in secret associations in 
1865 — Conway, 751 1. 

Doyal, Henry R., noted guerilla, pardoned by the President; proceedings of, in regard to 
planters in Louisiana — Paige, 7188, 7 196. 

Duffy, Lawrence, testimony of, 4744-4770; sixteen years of age; saw a negro shot at but 
not hurt and then saw the firing of police into ball; Mr. Horton fired upon while asking 
peace ; saw the American flag tired upon; was beaten as went out, with clubs : one police- 
man helped him to the lower door, when he was fallen upon and fourteen wounds inflicted, 
4748 ; men in the hall showed no disposition to fight, but begged for mercy, 4754; threats 
that convention shouldn't meet, 4758; was at Mechanics' Institute that day, as he was at 
work there ; did not expect any difficulty, 4766-1770. 

Duplessis, C. B. H, testimony of, 1894-1900 ; was taken out of hall of Mechanics' Insti- 
tute by Captain Philips, 1898; down stairs was fired upon, and after that was senseless, 
1899. " 

Dunoy, R. F., testimony of, 1901-1989; escaped from window of Mechanics' Institute, 1405; 
first firing, 1907 ; police did not try to make peaceable arrests or they could have done so, 



566 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

1908-1917; was iu rebel army, 1918, also 1940-1944; rebels hostile to United States, 
1920-1922; rioters of July cannot be prosecuted in New Orleans, 1924-1927; thugs de- 
scribed, 1928-1936, also 1978-1989; joined the radical party because called by rebels a 
traitor, 1946; advocates negro suffrage and disfranchisement of rebels, 1950-1953, also 
1966-1967 ; thinks rebel soldiers might become loyal citizens, 1958 ; knows some members 
of convention were at one time on other side, 1961-1964 ; men are hated who take oath of 
allegiance, 19(38-1975; life saved by Mr. Clark — Clark, 5032; was a rebel volunteer— Fel- 
lowes, 5644. 

Dunn, O. J., testimony of, 756-777; colored people feel no security here ; whites think the 
President with them, 761-762 ; is a member of Union committee; Freedman's Bureau great 
eyesore to planters, 763-766; bureau agents not just sometimes to negro; planters fail to 
pay their labor, 767-768 ; heard two speeches of Friday evening before riot and all was or- 
derly ; knew of no design to defend convention by force ; would have known if such had 
been the design, 771-770 ; colored people of Louisiana pay tax on eighteen million dol- 
lars, 777. 

Durant, Thomas J., testimony of, 68-113; resided in New Orleans twenty-six years, 72; re- 
called convention to disfranchise rebels and enfranchise blacks, 77; Durell, president of 1864 
convention, refused to reconvoke it in 1866 ; Judge Howell did reconvoke it as president pro 
tern.; was not at convention; did not think president of convention had authority to re- 
convoke it; in office all day :50th July; saw police passing with revolvers ; saw them shoot 
negroes on street, 79; tiring, rushing, and shooting savagely by mob; ( 'lahn 

bleeding and clothes torn; Mr. 8. S. Fish also bloody and wounded; learned my life was 
in danger and left New Orleans, 81 ; city substantially under control of rebel officers, 87 ; 
policemen I saw were all armed, 90 ; general feeling of New Orleans officials towards 
United States arrogant, 02 ; been decided change in this direction since Lee's surrender; 
no cause of apprehension of violence on part of colored people, 100; intention of conven- 
tion was to submit to arrest; was not myself friend to meeting of convention ; doubted its 
h galifrj ; no knowledge of arms in the negro procession nor of threats to attack it, 101- 
1()G ; knew of no communication in reference to police with Washington, 109 ; heard that 
Lieutenant Governor Voorhies was an active friend of rebellion; also Attorney General 
Herron, 110-111 ; unsafe to sneak openly for United States government in New Orleans ; 
think a territorial government supported by military force would be best for Louisiana, 
112-113. 

Durell, E. II., testimony of, 3827-3855'; judge of United States district court; people are in 
this State of mixed extinction, went gradually into secession, but can now be relied upon 
as faithful to United States, ' - ', ' 530 ; do not think would wish to overthrow government, 
3832;. think the riot was not like a rebellion, 3833 ; justice is impartially administered in 
art in New Orleans, 3835 ; people of Louisiana could be relied on for loy- 
alty, 3837, and m would strengthen it; ■ . pre ident of convention of 1864; did 
not call that of ause thought it would create a riot, 3842; conversation of, with 
General Sheridan, 3846; telegram to Mr. Fessenden et al., 3848; received i ; had 
doubts about legality of recall and wanted to strengthen views, 385:2 ; do not think it good 
policy, for traitors and murderers, to forget the past, 3855. 



Earhart, is known to have killed Captain Loup— Fox, 296S and 2977. 

Earhart, Thomas J., testimony of, 1854-1893 ; test oath not administered by Judge Durell to 
;-,ir\ in case under civil rights bill, 1860-1866; knows some of the jury could not have 
'taken the oath, 1867 ; man was tried for tiring into colored people's church and acquitted, 

rod 1869; was never present at first empanelling of jury, and oath may hai 
administered then, 1876; is doubtful whether or not Union men would have justice in 
courts, 1830; feeling against Union men is vindictive, 1831; thinks leaning of judges 
against Union men, 1836; Union men cannol be elected ; rebels are in offio i police, 

1837, 1836, also 1871-1 879; Mayor Monroe's standing, 18:59-1842; thinks Union en con!. I 
not live in New Orleans if troops withdrawn, 1845; thinks in case of foreign 
would side with enemy, 1848, 1849, also 1880-1882; thinks without some strong power 
outside the people of Louisiana to control them Union people cannot remain, 1852, 1853, 
also 1892-1893; policy of President source of trouble, 1855, also 1887-1891 ; loyalty, word 
defined, 1858-1866; thinks majority in New Oilcans profess to be loyal, 1869; thinks there 
may be as great proscription for political opinion in loyal communities as in New Or- 
leans, 1883. 

Elmore, Anthony, fired first shot— James, 2775 ; also as to identity— Jourdain, 3063. 

Evans, Henry F., testimony of, 2902-2957 ; special detective, 2905; saw police beat negro 
on railway track ; saw load of wounded on dray, and policeman said, " throw them in the 
river," 2912 ; saw- man named Thayer shoot two or three colored men; saw citizens sup- 
ply police with ammunition ; "we'll go am! tear down the Institute," 2917 ; police shot at 
every one, 2919; draymen let the heads of the dead fall on his dray, 2925; police came to 
hall in two directions 'so as to surround it, ',",»:'>! : police got ammunition from citizens, 2934 ; 
many boys among them, 2943; there was a crowd of police officers at Institute, 2953. 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. f)67 

Endorsements, of General Baird on writ of arrest against the convention, bottom of page 

447 ; second on same, page 44S ; of President on telegrams, in reference to New Orleans 

riots — Moore, 7552. 
Engine, fire, saw one brought on ground and fire-arms distributed from it — Couvertier, 4660; 

loaded with five-arms and brickbats — Boquille, 5580; No. 5 at Biloxi, and returned hence 

to be at convention — Sijjjlicr, 0354, and Fuller, (537 4. 



Fellowes, J. Q. A., testimony of, 559B-5675; a lawyer and always a Union man ; thinks no 
injurious distinctions are made in the courts, and that Union men may succeed in business 
and society in New Orleans, 5603; many profess obedience in good faith, but does not 
know that enough loyalty exists to maintain good order in case of restoration, 5011 and 
5(515; liberal policy best, but would exclude leaders, 5614; three-fourths of the whites 
were in the rebellion, the blacks generally in favor of Union, 5(5-20 ; would give the fran- 
chise to every free-born male citizen of twenty-one years, 562] ; was anxious to have the 
government at "Washington assume charge of affairs in Louisiana, and still thinks they 
ought to have a provisional governor, 5628-5632 ; constitution of 1864 was a fraud ; names 
radicals who were secessionists, 5634-5644 ; Judge Howell's commission as judge in the 
"confederacy," 5645; Mr. Henderson had been insane, 5647; Mr. Fish member of the 
Southern Association, 5649; Mr. J. Randall Terry and "the black flag," 5655 ; also 
Hahn, Dunoy, and others accounted for, 5659-5667 ; favors still provisional governor, 
provided it cau be placed in good capable hands, 5668-5673, but would not re-establish 
slavery, 5(574. 

Fellows, R. T., testimony of, 6060-6101 ; judge, and avers that justice is meted out in the 
courts of the whole State, 6068 ; freedmen obtain impartial justice, 6074 and 6091-6094 ; free 
interchange of opinion on public topics, 6076 : cannot explain why no one of the rioters of 
Jul}- has been brought to trial, 6077-6086 ; they would be justly dealt by if brought up 
for trial, 6087; was, paymaster in the rebel army two and a half years, and in 1863 took 
amnesty oath, 

Fessenden, Hon. W. P., testimony of, 6924-6926 ; senator from Maine and member of Re- 
construction Committee ; never advised any one in reference to Louisiana convention, 
6925. (SeeTisdale, 3803.) 

Field, A. P., testimony of, 5946-6009 ; lawyer ; was not present at the riot ; was insulted on 
the streets, 5954; martial law was needed, 5956; prejudice against Union men is general 
in the community, 5988 ; Union men couldn't live if military were withdrawn, 5963 ; mur- 
derers of July 30 could not be prosecuted in New Orleans, 59(54 ; the care of the wounded of 
the riot was thrown upon the Ffeedmen's Bureau, 5967; police were of the rebel army, 
59(59 : purpose of convention was to meet and await the elections in the State, 5970 ; no 
call for any violence on 30th July, 5974 : convention intended to submit to arrest, 5974 : 
no law making the assemblage illegal, 5976 ; the question as to the legality of the conven- 
tion could have been tested peaceably in many way 5977-5981; I 
hension that the convention would make radical change-, 5982-5987; a large majority or 
those entitled to vote in Louisiana are opposed to loyal men haying any office, • 
there was no objection to the convention that many of its members were once identified 
with the rebellion, 5992; in reference to constitution of J864, 5992, 5993 ;. who are the 
Union men, 5995-6000; what is the standard of loyalty in Louisiana, 6003-6009. 

Filleul, E., testimony of, 4674-4715 ; attorney at law ; was not for secession, but accpiiesced 
in the feelings of the people, 4683 ; thinks a military government should be established in 
Louisiana to preserve the peace, 4685; is now a Union man; experience has taught the 
folly of opposing the United States governm J: advised with the convention that 

if an attempt were made to arrest them they should submit peaceably, 4696 ; believes that 
the method of amending the constitution was legitimate, 4700; resolution for reconvoca- 
tion was adopted by convention, 4701 ; the public sentiment was not entirely ag : 
them, 4705; imperative that colored people should have franchise, 4709. 

Fish, S. S., testimony of, 424-470; describes occurrences in the hall -.saw white hand- 
kerchief waved by Mr. Horton : saw Mr. Jackson wounded, 433; "escribes his own 
experience, and how and by whom wounded, 434 ; his treatment at lock-up and neglect 
of surgeon to dress his wounds, 435-436; preconcerted signal to firemen, 438; knows 
there was no armed aid intended for convention. ! ! - .' ; was present at meeting of 27th 
July and knows of its orderly speeches and character, 443-452, 465 ; Union men can- 
not get justice in the courts of Louisiana, 453-458 ; knows convention would submit to 
legal trial, 459-464; assembly would have submitted to arrest, and police might have 
peaceably arrested all, 467-470 ; city physician refused to aid the wounded — Waters, 5088. 

Fish, W. R., testimony of, 114-171 ; been member of legislature, clerk of probate court; and 
member of convention of 1864, 114-121; convention reconvoked by Judge Howell ; did 
not intend to act till whole State should be represented ; Executive at Washington was 
appealed to to prevent reassembling of convention ; Mr. Rozier was sent to Washington to 
argue illegality of the assemblage and secure executive interference ; other persons sent 
for same purpose ; account of meeting of convention given and wounding of Rev. Mr. 



568 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

Horton, 121-124; description of trip to the lock-up — " Kill him ; kill the d—d Yankee, ' 
125 ; counselled by General Baird and T. E. Adams not to appear on street, 127 ; did not 
remain at home that night ; did not expect to do anything at convention except to see 
whether Ave could get a quorum ; no bargain about friends coming: to support convention ; 
members not armed, and saw no efforts made by police to keep the peace ; think number 
killed and wounded between three hundred and four hundred, 128-154; police force 
almost exclusively of rebel army, 162; impossible for Union man to be elected to office in 
the State, 164 ; the people might have known, had they chosen, that the convention had 
no design to act until all the parishes were represented, 168-17 1 ; was member of Southern 
Rights Association — Fellowes, 5649; saved life of — Adams, 4047. 

Fisher, J. F., testimony of, 2717-2746; tailor, 2720; arid describes the beginning of riot, 
2721 ; all policemen saw armed, 2722 ; negro taken out of his house and shot, 2721 ; saw 
Lucieirj Adams al head of police, 2727 ; saw firemen from different districts turnout at 
ringing of the bell; don't know what they did; saw no police get arms, 2728-2738; 
heard shooting all day, but saw no badges, 2742. 

Flag, American, fired upon — Camjpanel, 829 ; not hoisted when legislature met in 1865 — 
Dallas, 859, 832; at bead of procession — O'CoMiell, 915; black man tried to put flag 
out the window — Le Clarc,.W76; procession headed by — Hughes, 1306; "D — n that 
dirty rag" — Capla, 1705; headed the procession — Gibbons, 1789; saw men with drums 
and Hag — Remoir, 2300; procession earned — Rctiaud, 23J0; had flag flying when shot 
at — Leans, 2919; procession carried — Jourdain, 3063; Symc, 4134; respect the men who 
were always true to — Lewis, 4531 ; saw man fire upon American flag put out hall win- 
do^- — Duffy, 4748 ; Cutler stood with flag in hand when hall was attacked — Morrcll, 48 10 | 
loyalty in New Orleans to hurrah for rebel and Union flag alike — Sheridan, 5017; black 
flag carried by J. Randall Terry in review of 18(52 — Fellowes, 5655; less frequently seen 
after pardoning began— Conway, 7441 ; fight over the flag — Glenn, 4108. 

Flanders, B. F., only Union man in Louisiana who always sympathized with North — Abcll, 
3909 ; was driven out of New Orleans by W. R. Fish and others— idem, 3905 ; was sent 
away on account of his Union sentiments— idem, 3908, 3941 ; not written to in reference 
to convention — Bingham, 7237. 

Florence, Henry, testimony of, 4194-4200; director of New Orleans and Jackson railroad, 
4197 ; saw the riot on July 30, and describes what he saw of it, 4199. 

Foreign war, in case of, how would the late rebels act 1 would join the enemy — Waples, 331 ; 
nine-tenths would join enemy — Warmouth, 500-508; inimical to United States — Howell, 
590,602; hostile to government— f/ Council, 998; would join enemy incase oi'—Oubre, 
1049 tt say.; Montieu, 114.7, 1185; Earhart, 1848; Smith, 2189; Waters, 5107 ; "would 
stick to their American feeling"— Zacharie, 6393; would join the enemy — Shelley, 6818, 
6871—74; also Conway, 7415-7417. 

Opposing views: People of Louisiana, in foreign Avar, would join the United States-r- 
l r ose, 3201 et seq. and 3272 ; Barker, 3385 ; would generally stand by the United States — 
Parker, 3668, 3676; lllsley, 3869, 3876; Abell, 3902; would not go away east or 
north to fight in case of war — Sheldon, 4014 ; would side with the United States in case 
of war — Dick, 4251. 

Fox, Moses, testimony of, 2958-2995; carpenter; saw the riot; saw Captain Loup mur- 
dered; "We have fought for four years these G — dd — d Yankees and s — s of b — sin 
the field, and now we will fight them in the city," 2966; Loup killed by Earhart, 2968; 
saw Mr. Henderson fall and beaten while down ; saw Governor Halm fired upon and fall, 
2974; Thomas Dryden and Sergeant Le Clerc beat Mr. Hahn, 2976£; describes bis 
escape, 2977; saw armed firemen; negroes had sticks, but no fire-arms in their hands, 
2978-2982; warned Messrs. Fish, Cutler and others of threats heard, that "to-morrow 
will be the bloodiest day," &c, 9983 ; police taken off their beats to be ready for conven- 
tion, 2984-2987 : heard' this from several, 2988. 

Fox, Barney, policeman ; fired five shots at negroes running from him — Sullivan, 2278. 

Frisbie, N. H., testimony of, 6010-6059; is a planter in Rapides, and was in Union army, 
6032 ; feeling against Union man there is very hostile, 6018; it is the prevailing sentiment, 
6022; Union men cannot live there without protection of the United States, 6024, 6032 ; 
has left In cause his plantation is beset and invaded, and he harassed, 6027; took a quar- 
ter of a million of dollars there; have brought away what I could, and sold out the 
balance — idem ; attempts made to shoot him at Alexandria, 6029; formerly commanded 
negro regiment, and when mustered out of service took the whole regiment to work his 
plantations, 6031 ; gives details of his treatment, 6032; does not think negro enfranchise- 
ment would remedy the evils, because planter would control it, 6033-6034; thinks if he 
had changed and gone against the principles for which he fought he might five there, 6040; 
how he was treated, and how he became unpopular, 6040-6059. 

Fry, baggage agent, kills a man while in a cart wounded — Brooks, 244. 

Fullerton, General, as commissioner of Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana, how he was wel- 
comed by rebels — Conway, 7427, 7484-7491. See also Rozicr, 333*9. 

Fuller, General II. W., testimony of, 6374-6383 ; as to same point Sypher, 6374-6373, which 
see. 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 569 

G. 

Gas-light Company, porter of, and saw order to police to turn out armed — Thomas, 1497, 
L651. 

Gibbons, Charles W., testimony of, 1786-1824; on evening 1 before riot overheard two | 
say they were going to hang Hahn and Dostie, and gave Dostie warning, 1789 ; also 
1807-1812; saw procession on Canal street; was fired at by policeman; describes his 
1790; also 1801-1804 ; first shot lived by a man wearing blueribbon, 1?'.'."); was in United 
Sin.'; service, 1799; also in rebel service, 1806, 1813^-1822. 

Gilmartin, carpenter : had pistol in hand in the crowd — Burke, 6996-6997. 

Glenn, S. F., testimony of, 4106-4110; reporter to the supreme court; sat with Judge "War- 
mouth and Mr. Shaw at table; never heard them express an expectation of an attnck or 
riot, 41(1^ ; the procession was a crowd of sixty or seventy persons; Judge Howell sought 
to quiet the crowd when his attention was called to it in front of Mechanics' Instituti 
poral's guard of soldiers could have prevented riot, 4108; forty or fifty citizens might have 
done it, 4110. 

Globe, Congressional, farewell speech of Miles Taylor in 1861 found in— Taylor, 43r>f>. 

Grand jury, charges of Judge Abell to, charge in reference to meeting of convention of July 
3, 1366, p. 275 ; charge of July 23, p. 275 ; charge of August 2, p. 277 ; see in reference to 
object of— Abell, 3944-3954; also see 3962-3966, 3972-3932 ; true bill found by, against 
conventionists — Roselius, 4017 ; no indictment found by, against rioters, because of no tes- 
timony — Theanl, 5472; see also Field, 5977-5981 ; refusal of, to find true bill — see Cooleu, 
6252, 6261,6277, 6283. 

Gregg, General, in rebel service ; Lewis on staff of, under militia law — Lewis, 4522. 

Green, Major, in Mechanics' Institute with Mr. Florence on day of riot — Florence, 4199. 

Gregory, J. II., testimony of, -1122-4128; heard Henderson threaten to'have none but loyal 
men to rule city ; saw signs among colored men toward Mechanics' Institute — Gregory, 
4127. 

Greenwood, Moses, testimony of, 4153-4193; commission merchant; heard speech of Mr. 
Waples on night of July 14, in regard to calling the convention ; said he had assurances 
from Washington that Congress would sanction action of convention ; freedmeu must have 
franchise, 4157; heard this on balcony from Mr. Waples across the street; do not know 
whether Mr. Waples was member of convention, 4166; saw Mr. Halm brought out of Me- 
chanics' Institute surrounded by rabble and conveyed away in charge of police, 4167; sure 
he heard Mr. Waples say the governor had issued orders for parish elections, 4169; saw 
only Mr. Waples, though others were present, 4174: saw chief of police have charge of 
Mr. Hahn, 4179 ; registered his name under protest as an enemy of the United States, 4190 ; 
remained in New Orleans and aided widows and orphans, 4193; did not take the oath of 
allegiance, 4189. 

Grimes, J. W., United States senator, testimony of, 6982,6933; member of Reconstruction 
Committee ; never advised anyone in reference to Louisiana convention, 6983. See Tis- 
dale, 3303. 

Grinnell, Josiah B., testimony of,7105-71 16; representative; never advised as to the holding 
of Louisiana convention, but may have written a letter about it to a personal friend — Dr. 
Harris — at New Orleans, 7109; conversed with Judge Howell, but gave no encouragement 
save that of sympathy .with loyal people, 7113. See, in this connection, Howell, 628. 

Griswold, Dr. E., testimony of, 2844-'50; surgeon-jn-chief of Freedmen's Bureau, and re- 
mained at General Baird's headquarters during the riot, 2845; information as to wounded 
same as Dr. Harris's; application for receiving wounded not needed, 2846-2849. 

Guerin, Arthur, thug, ran away to escape conviction — Montieu, 1 174. 

Gullman, No. 86, Dauphin street, seen to fire first shot at Captain Loup — Williams, 5231. 

H. 

Hahn, Michael, governor, principal speaker at meeting of 27th July — Andem, 180; life of, 
saved by chief of police — O'iVei/, 2076; a hundred followed, crying "kill him" — New, 
2451; crowd tried to kill him in carriage — Pfeiffer, 2599; driven to City Hall — Bafesteir, 
2853; knocked down with brickbats — For, 2971; police said they would shoot— .Harris, 
3033; saved by police — Vose, 3244; appointed by, judge — Illsley, 3858; life saved by — 
Adams, 4047 ; Greenwood, 4! 67-4 184; was an original secessionist — Lewis, 4498; Wrot- 
nowski secretary under — Wrotnowski, 4645; saved by Adams — Clark, 5033; crouched 
down behind a desk to escape the shots — Randall, 5392; had a pistol — Boquille, ">578- 
5591 ; made speech once in favor of rebellion — Fellotces, 5637 ; how and where wounded, 
No. 129, p. 185. 

Hard, Philo, testimony of, 2543-2567 ; saw dead and wounded piled in carts, 2543; beard 
people say " killing served them right," 2549, 2560-2567 ; " in with the military to-day," 
2553 ; is custom-house officer, 2557. 

Harris, Ira, testimony of, 7152-7153; United States senator; member of Reconstruction Com- 
mittee, and never wrote any letter to any one about the Louisiana convention, 7153. See 
Tisdale, 3803. 



570 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

Harris, Thomas, testimony of, 2995-3059 ; porter at police station, and hoard the order to 
j. ..lice to be armed for Monday, 3997-3005 ; men rested at home Sunday to prepare for 
Monday, 3007; all police armed, 3013; men staid at station till beU-tap; and then moved 
off with Lucien Adams at double-quick, 3017; loaded their pistols at station ; said they 

"were going to shoot all the d d Yankees," 3029, 3030, 3034; named for shooting 

Hahn, Henderson, Dostie, Cook, Terry, 3033; police said they were obliged to kill— that 
was their orders ; names Lawler and others who spoke of killing, 3039-3046 ; Adams got 
orders from mayor, and witness saw it himself, 3051 ; offers bribes to Williams to leave 
New Orleans and not come before congressional committee — Williams, 5229. 

Harris, Dr. E. H., testimony of, 2811-2843; surgeon at froodmen's hospital, 2811 ; one 
hundred and eight colored received there, wounded on day of riot and next day, 2812; of 
these, fifteen died, 2815 ; wounded were brought in cabs, carts, and drays, 2817 ; "piled 
in promiscuously," 2818; Mrs. Horton only found her husband one day after riot, 2822; 
wounded cared for at United States expense, 2825 ; does not know by whose orders 
wounded were brought there, 2827; wounded had not been dressed when.brought to hos- 
pital, 2828 ; Dr. Horton's skull fractured and wound mortal, 2832 ; made no full statement 
ti>, 2836; Mr. Henderson, how wounded, 2839; do not know whether or not city authori- 
ties applied for leave to bring wounded to hospital, 2843. 

Hart, Edmund, testimony of, 510-527; was present for short time at convention, 515; con- 
vention not armed ; no armed force needed to arrest the members or keep it in order, 519- 
52:5 ; feeling against the United States by most of rebels, -525. 

Hart, Dr., his care of Mr. Fish — Fish, 435 ; did not dress his wounds — idem. 

Hartsuff, Dr. Albert, testimony of assistant surgeon, U. S. A, 2659-2676; was ordered to 
and did obtain list of killed and wounded, 2662; identities printed statement, 2666; 
tabular list given; of police one died, none killed, 2,668; of wounded, mostly by clubs, 
knives, and pistols, 2670-2671 ; would not be practicable now to make a list, 2749; letter 
of Captain Caziarc and reply, 2750; full list of killed and wounded, and coroner's report, 
idem. 

Hawksworth, William, testimony of, 2677-2716; civil engineer under General Banks, 
2680 ; acts of violence at riot described, 2685; saw a man named Lebaire shoot a negro, 
deliberately firing upon him from a house, 2686; feeling bitter against the North, 2694; 
heard shouts for Jeff. Davis, 2697; saw firemen and police massing before convention, 
2699-2701 ; heard threats at St. Charles Hotel, 2702 ; does not belong to any party, 
2708 ; has heard gentlemen give opinions unfriendly to the United States, and could if he 
chose give names, 27 J 3-2710. 

Hays's brigade, when raised — Hiestand, 47; Fish, 147; "is Hays's brigade all up" — Andem, 
180; Brooks, 227; filled with persons of New Orleans, and still retains its organization — 
Waples, 304, Cutler, 377, many of in police force — Warmouth, 504; "God' d — n you, 
you are fighting Hays's brigade" — O'Connell, 915, 967; sheriff charged with murder of 
Union men — O' Council, 946; knows members of, now in secret organizations in New Or- 
leaus — idem, 973-983; notice of, to extend condolence, &c. — O' Comic!!, 1006; knows 
nothing of character of— Earhart, 1851 ; do not know it to be disloyal — idem, 1886 ; gen 
of, now good Union man — Wurtzberger, 3491, Sheldon, 4013, Benton, 4228 ■: Sheriff Hays 
swore in five hundred deputies on July 30 — Todd, 4G24.' 

Henderson, John, killed by wound in the side — Harris, 2838 ; spoke at meeting of 27th July— 
New, 2525 ; beaten by police, Dryden and Leclerc, after he had fallen — Fox, 2974 ; going 
to shoot- Harris, 3033 ; was he shot on account of his opinions ? — Parker, 3685 ; Tisdale, 
as to Reconstruction Committee, 3803, 3817; was he killed for his opinion 1—Illsley, 3882; 
said everything had been arranged for revolution — Gregory, 4127; said convention would 
meet and no power on earth could prevent it — Dick, 4246; spoke at the meeting of 27th 
of July — Brady, 4 128 ; speech at the Mechanics' Institute — Tilton, 5521 ; was at one time 
in the asylum tor the insane — Fellowes, 5647 ; died at the marine hospital— Field, 5967 ; 
not killed for opinions — Lonsdale, 6485; how wounded and where died— No. lis, p. 185. 

Herron, A. S., testimony of, 2594-3636; states at length his ideas of the legality of the so- 
called convention, and interviews with Voorhies, General Baird, &c, 3595; thought there 
was a statute (1803 J which embraced the convention as an "unlawful assemblage", 3595- 
3598; embodied in act of, 1855, 3599; was in convention when Louisiana seceded, 3603; 
seconded resolution of thanks to Governor Moore for seizing United Stales forts, 3604- 
3607; was in the battle of Bull Bun ; became a Union man when he took the amnesty 
oath, 3608; was colonel of cavalry in the rebel army, 3611 ; President's despatch gave 
authority to call on the military to execute processes of State if needed, 3620 ; never called 
on him for aid in prosecuting for any of the murders committed, 3626; did not think 
there was any need for such prosecution, 3627; had no preference one way or the other 
as to the prosecutions, 3629; has no evidence against anyone in New Orleans that did 
authorize an indictment, 3630; no names were given to the grand jury of rioters, nor 
were the names called for, 3634 ; duty would call me to act against such as well as against 
the convention, 3036; was elected attorney general in 1865, 3600. 

Herron, F. J., Major General, saw the riot from the balcony in company with General Ben- 
ton— Benton, 4218. 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 571 

Hiestand, Ezra, testimony of, L-67 ; have been a member of the legislature of Louisiana; 
was not at the convention of July 30 ; spoke at the meeting July 27; the speeches there 
were temperate, 8, 23; heard the meeting denounced in advance; they determined to 
kill members; saw on Monday people wearing" badges of bine ribbon and revolvers; 
heard unusual alarm of fire-bell at noon, 11 ; alarm same as Lad been given at tbe ap- 
proach of t!ic United States forces to the city in 1862 ; then saw body of police move with 
hat bands reversed to conceal number, 13,37; was warned not to go to the Mechanics' 
Institute ; life threatened; insulted in the street car by a man; beard after riot that "now 
leaders were out of the way the balance must follow," 14 ; thinks massacre would have 
continued but for the troops, 15; had heard of eight hundred extra police sworn in evening 
previous, 21 ; some intemperate language at the meeting, 30 ; my house fired in five 
places, 39 ;' no threats of violence by the convention, 40-42; think police and constabu- 
lary force were from rebel army, 45-47 ; received threatening letter, 47 ; Union men not 
put on the police, 53-56; antecedents of Governor Wells, 57-60 ; present condition of 
government of Louisiana, 61-67 ; was originally a secessionist — Lewis, 4493. 

Hire, "William H., testimony of, 697-739; noticed a crowd of armed confederates ou the 
street corner July 30 ; they were citizens ; know it was a white man who fired the first 
shot, 699-703, also 722; first volley fired upon cpnvention by the police and citizens 
while the. convention was seated, 704-705 ; slaughter in the hall described; Mr. Horten 
cried " we surrender" and was shot, 706 ; saw r a young lad shoot a colored man, 709; 
did not anticipate an attack upon the convention, 712 ; thinks at least two or three hun- 
dred negroes shot, but not one of the other side, 714-716; no incendiary speaking at the 
meeting Friday night, 717-720; thinks the murders were principally by the police-724 ; 
thinks all the police that day were rebel soldiers and thugs, 724-728; no one of the 
police has been or could be convicted for that day's work, 729; feeling of the people in- 
imical to the United States, 731-732; convention did not design armed defence; in- 
tended to act after the elections, 733-735 ; chief of police could have alone arrested the 
convention ; thinks the character of the police and of Monroe was known at Washington. 

llise. Elijah, testimonyof, 6975-6976 ; representative and on Reconstruction Committee; never 
advised with any one in reference to the Louisiana convention, 6976. See Tisdale, 
3803. 

Homer Iliad, newspaper, most outspoken paper out of New Orleans in Lousiana — Blackburn, 
6219. See Neicspapers. 

Howard, Jacob M., testimony of, 6921-6923; United States senator ; member of the Recon- 
struction Committee, but never advised respecting the convention, 6922. CSee Tisdale, 
3603. 

Horton, Rev. Mr., prayer by; wounded in hall— Fish, 123 ; brought to lock-up wounded — 
Fish, 127, 133; bound up his wound — Cromwell, 908; "for God sake, don't murder 
us" — O'Connell, 915; Dr. Hire dressed wound of — idem; saw him shot — Aubre, 1021; 
shot while asking peace — Hughes, 1306: wanted to surrender — Daunoy, 1908; shooting 
of, while waving his handkerchief — Mallere, 2370; had fractured skull — New, 2414-2477; 
advised crowd to go quietly home — S ' at freedmen's hospital and died 

there — Harris, 2830 ; skull fractured — idem, 2832; does not know that shot on account of 
opinions — Parker, 3683; murdered for his opinion — Illsley, 3830^ ; tried to surrender and 
couldn't — Desallcs, 4738, Dvffey, 4748; city physician refused to aid — Waters, 5088 ; how 
w r ounded and killed — No. 119, page 185. 

Howell, Mrs. R. K., testimony of, 4669-1673; wife of Judge Howell; states that General 
Baird called at residence at 12 m., inquiring for Judge Howell ; stated that he was at con- 
vention, 4672. 

Howell, Rufus K., testimony of, 557-696 ; associate justice of supreme court of State, 559; 
called the convention of 1866; copy of call, 562; describes the scene in the hall, how he 
escaped, and how arrested, 563-564 ; was released from arrest by mayor and Lieutenant 
Governor Voorhies; kept in his house two weeks : watched by Lucien Adams,. 566; thinks 
as many as one hundred negroes were killed, and one — Cenas — of citizens' party, 568-572; 
convention not expecting attack; knew there was excited feeling, 574-578; no quorum 
present; no intention to transact business without a quorum, and this publicly known, 
580-583 ; thinks the attack was planned beforehand, 584-588 ; thinks the feeling against 
United States and southern loyalist more intense than during the war, 590, also 651-663 ; 
civil officers in State generally disloyal,' 593; President's policy has developed hatred, 
594, also 694-696; local control must be taken from rebel hands, 596-598; thinks a pro- 
visional government should be set up in Louisiana, 599 ; thinks a majority of rebels would 
side with foreigner in case of war ; gives opinion as to legality of calling convention of 
1866, 603; was intended to submit proposed changes in constitution to people, 604; con- 
stitution of Louisiana has always been amended by people directly, and not in way pre- 
scribed by constitution itself, 605, 606, 664-670; Judge Howell's statement, 610; consulted 
members of Congress as to calling convention, 611-629, also 684; order 35 of General 
Banks calling election of 1864, 631; convention called in 1 866, how ? 633-646; provision 
for amending constitution given, 650 ; telegrams from President to Louisiana legislature ; 
to whom sent, 670-674 ; calling of the convention of 1866, by whom agitated, 675-683 ; 
thinks the President's views favor secession, 687-689 ; thinks some secessionists may be 



572 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

trusted as good citizens, 691 ; said lie would try to get crowd to disperse — Snethen, 3691, 
Glenn. 4110i was a judge under confederate reign — Fellows, 5643. 

Hood, Edmund, testimony of, 4053-4105; member of convention of 1864 ; was at Mechanics' 
Institute on July 30, 4057; was shouted at by police. "Shoot the d— d old scoundrel,' 
4060; was dragged down stairs by police, but one policeman saved his life, 4064 ; under 
$1,000 bond-;, 4068,' had heard police were going to kill, 4H69; police were armed, 4(173; 
saw no one of convention armed, 4075 ; lives of Union men not safe in New Orleans ; if 
military were withdrawn would kill every Union man, 4080 ; was in United States army 
during war, 4091 ; object of convention was to amend constitution, 4098. 

Hughes, Charles H., testimony of, 1303-1357; was' in the hall and describes the slaughter, 
1306-1307 ; was warned by rebel lady not to go to the hall, 1308 ; police were armed with 
revolvers, 1312, also 1339-1341; saw crowds of people, badges, reversed hat-bands, &c, 
1316-1321 ; no arrangement made by colored people to fight, 1324, also 1327-1332 ; thinks 
one hundred shots tired into hall windows from outside, 1346 ; was in federal service under 
General Butler, 1348; was a federal recruiting officer in New Orleans, 1355. 

Hyat, Benjamin, policeman, asking for cartridges ; his were "played out" — O'Ncil, 2092. 

Hyde & Guthridge's, arms said to have been distributed at, on day of riot — Waters, 5094. 



Illsley, J. H., testimony of, 3856-3889 ; judge of supreme court of Louisiana and Union man, 
3856; thinks there are many refractory spirits, but generally the people will act in good 
faith to United States, 3860, 3886; would produce good effect to admit Louisiana to Union, 
3861, 3888, 3863 ; and military could be withdrawn and property and life would be, safe and 
justice, obtained in the courts, 3864-3868 ; would side with United States in foreign war, 
3869 ; free speech is tolerated, 3870, 3880 ; do not think disloyalty the cause of the riot, 3870; 
caunot explain why several hundred people w.ere killed and wounded in New Orleans and 

. no one prosecuted, 3877 ; cannot say what Dr. Dostie and Mr. Henderson, who were 
killed, had done, except express their opinions, 3882; have heard riot charged upon the 
negroes, 3884. 

Incendiary speeches, not any at meeting of 27th — Hicstand, 30 ; Waples, 285 ; speeches of 
Hahn, Field, and others, not — Fish, 446; "friends, go home peaceably" — Fish, 452; 
heard Dostie make, and others; conversation was such — Tisdale, 3801 ; have heard riot 
excited by — Illsley, 3883 ; violent speeches — Syme, 4137; streets of New Orleans must 
run with blood — Brady, 4429, also same, 4415-4430; caused riot of Monday — Theard, 
5434 ; very exciting, calling upon people to come armed — Tilton, 5518-5528 ; not made at 
meeting of July 27th by Dr. Dostie — Shelley, 6792-6794 ; read also 6791 et srq. 

J. 

James, Charles, testimony of, 2771-2810; saw Anthony Elmore fire the shot which was firs 
of the riot, 2775-2776, and 2787 ; shot was fired at the procession, 2777 ; heard conver- 
sation that " they would fix the convention" — idem; murderous fire opened on the colored 
men, 2778 ; saw Billy Tier, a policeman, shoot a boy and an old man in a street, car, 
2778 and 2796; police "would murder witness because a Yankee officer," 2779; saw 
policemen before his house, 2780-2784 ; asked General Baird for military protection, 

2785; "d d if we don't put the fellows at convention to their long homes," 2791- 

2794 ; was a spy and detective in Union army ; have never been assailed by police, 2802- 
2810. 

Jackson, Rev. Mr., shot through the body — Cutler, 358, and whilo in the hall— idem ; how 
brought to lock-up — Fish, 434. 

Jenkins, E. J., testimony of, 5750-5817 ; city assessor; am a Union man; saw police bring- 
ing wounded men to the City Hall on July 30 ; saw several members of city council cheer- 
ing on policemen in their bloody work, 5752 ; think the councilmen were cheering them 
on to continue the massacre, and not in the work of taking care of the wounded, 5754 ; 
thinks the slaughter of that day a just retribution on the convention for not having dis- 
franchised the rebels in 18(34, 5752; Union men are deprived of all public employment, 
even by the government of the United States, in New Orleans, and employment is given to 
rebels, 5758 ; rebels are worse now than when they lay down their arms, 5761 ; General 
AVeitzel appointed a board of assessors who were Union men, who are now displaced by 
rebels, 5702; it would cause, a great annoyance to Union men to have troops of United 
States withdrawn, 5763; names the members of council whom he saw encouraging the 
police in the massacre, and what, they said and did, &c, 5771-5793; as to the conven- 
tion receiving just retribution, 5801-5803 ; was a collector of the .port of New Orleans 
under Mr. Hatch, 5807. 

Jefferson Mounted Guards, member of— Roselius, 40334;. 

Johnson, Reverdy, testimony of, 6931-6932 ; United States senator from Maryland and 
member of Reconstruction Committee ; never advised anyone in reference to Louisiana 
contention, 6932; see Tisdale, 3803. 

Johnson, Bob ; noted thug — Hicstand, 48 ; killing of— JT'armouth, 504 ; Fish, 452. 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 573 

Johnson, Dr., wounded and under stops in an alley-way — Cromicdl, 902. 

Jour dain, J. ]'>.. testimony of, 3060; saw first shot, and fired by one Elmore; was in police, 
3063 ; police came out at ringing of bell ; " would set fire to building ;" " we'll kill them 
all;" every man that came out was shot, 3064; saw Dr. Dostie brought out, dragged, and 
beaten, 3066 and 3105; saw white handkerchief badge ; b«ard cheers tor Jeff. Davis, 
-i'!',? and 31 15 ; saw police shooting people over a mile from Mechanics' Institute, 3068; 
saw a colored man chopped in the back with a hatchet, 3068 : saw the dead carried away 
in carts ; saw persons shot when lying wounded ; were two hundred killed am! wounded, 
3070-3076 ; never can know how many, 3077 ; police had been in the rebel army; thugs 
also, and murderers, 3080-3085 ; the bell tap was a general call or alarm, and called out 
police and firemen, 3087-3093; gathering of firemen described, 3094-3099; did not see 
any arms with them, 31(10; police surrounded Mechanics' Institute; no need of blood- 
sled. 3103;. would not live here twenty four hours after United States forces are gone, 
3108; rebels hate United States ; are well organized ; in fire companies, 3110-3113; mob 
was of low class and of thugs, 3119-3127 ; police are organized as thugs ; "will laugh 
and smile and put a knife in your back," 3130 ; resigned in Union army because of order 
about colored officers from Washington, 3135 ; am a property owner, 3139. 

Journal, extracts from, of Louisiana house of representatives in reference to holding a con- 
stitutional convention — page 548. 

Judges, names of; districts courts are, Abell, Thomas, Fellows, Leaumount, Theard, Du- 
plantier. Of supreme court are, Hymau, Illsley, Howell, Taliafero, and Souvair — Theard, 
5430, 5433. 

Joyce, William, testimony of, 5870-5897 ; policeman ; heard threats, and a policeman say, 
"we have the convention at last," 5876^; saw the pistols of the police as they went, 
5878 ; heard the alarm bell and saw armed firemen running, 5b85; the remark about con- 
vention made in good humor, 5890. 



Kautz, General, his connection with the riot or military after riot — Matt, 4359; appointed 
military governor — Bairrf, 6514. 

Kellogg, W. P., testimony of, 4278-4319; collector of port of New Orleans: thinks the 
responsible men and property-holders favor peace and trancpiillity, 4283 ; thinks Louisiana 
if admitted to the Union would remain quiet ; trouble arises from the unfortunate way the 
radical view has been urged, 4286, also 4301-4305 ; thinks political opinions can be ex- 
pressed in a temperate way without danger, 4290; have no clerk which has ever been in 
rebel service, 4299 ; election now held the rebels would have a majority and exclude loyal 
men from office, 4305-'6 ; many intelligent colored men in New Orleans, 4308; thinks 
treason has been made odious by abolishing slavery and adopting test oath, 4310, 4312; 
would prefer universal amnesty and universal suffrage, 4313; favors proposed new ratio 
of representation, 4315; prefers a liberal policy, 4319; see also 5675-5084, recalled. 

Kelley, William D., representative, testimony of, 7117-7128 ; saw and conversed with Judge 
Howell, but gave him no advice or instruction relative to Louisiana convention, 71 19 ; does 
not recollect having written a letter to anybody about the convention, 7121 ; probably did 
express the opinion that if any of the southern districts should adopt a republican consti- 
tution, Congress would waive in regard to it technical considerations, 7127. See in this 
connection — Hoicell, 628. 

Kennedy, Hu., testimony of, 7319-7399; appointed mayor of New Orleans in March, 1865, 
by Governor Wells, 7319; had correspondence with President Johnson in reference to 
Monroe, before yielding office to latter, 7320; telegrams to and from President, 7321: 
General Canby's note to Governor Wells, 7324; letter of Governor Wells to President 
Johnson in relation to General Canby and Mayor Kennedy, 7325, (page 519 ;) second letter 
against General Canby, (page 520;) by-laws of Southern Cross Association, 7325, (page 
5'20 el seq. ;) how Governor Wells's letters came in possession of mayor, 7332; representa- 
tions of mayor to the President ; what were they? 7344-7349; secret organizations, when 
in operation, 7350-73-"."), also — idem, 7388-7389; ail voters in the last Monroe election 
must take the amnesty oath before registry, 7356-73(52 : thinks the people of New Orleans 
would have elected any one who was agreeable to the President, 7365 and 7396 ; the mili- 
tary favored Monroe's election, 7367 ; thinks General Canby desired Monroe's election, 
7368 ; as to Monroe's candidacy and character and President's knowledge of it, 7375-7381 ; 
Daunoy, his antecedents, 7890. 

Killed and wounded, full list of — Hartsuff, 2750 ; twenty-seven dead bodies taken from work- 
house — Ward, 2766 ; one hundred and eight wounded at Freedmen's Bureau, and fifteen died 
— Harris, 2815; carried away in carts and drays about two hundred — Jourdain, 3071 ; no 
explanation of number killed. and wounded, and no prosecutions — Illsley, 3877; gathered 
and thrown in wagons like sacks of corn — Dorsey, 4910; would reach three hundred in 
all— Shelley, 6806. 

Kingston, S. M., testimony of, 4569-4603; minister of the gospel; general expression is 
that the "southern traitors must go to the wall," 4573 ; mean by " southern traitor" one 
who was loyal to United States ; they determined to break down the convention ; thinks 



574 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

the President intended well, but he has made a mistake ; the rebels still say to all Union 
men, "stand off," 4575; power is in rebel hands and has made them defiant, 4576; if 
military were withdrawn Union men of the south would suffer terribly, 4577; was chap- 
lain of tenth Louisiana volunteers in United States service, 4582; is getting along badly 
and has no sympathy, while the rebels have plenty of sympathy, 4589 ; does not know of 
any relumed United States volunteers who are getting along well, 4599 ; is himseli, though 
once affluent, now living on United States rations, 4600. 
Kohn, Martin, schoolmaster, dragged, when wounded, from a buggy and struck on the head 
— Leclerc, 1767. 

L. 

Lacy, George, testimony of, 4201-4211 ; lawyer, and in New T Orleans since 1854, 4204; was 
for a time attached to rebel army as lieutenant colonel, 4205; thinks the people are true 
to United States ; Union sentiments no bar to his success as a lawyer or in society, 4210. 

Lapeyre, J. M., testimony of, 5140-5170 ; banker, and always a Union man, though con- 
tributing to the outfit of confederate companies, 5159-5169 ; citizens here may be depended 
upon for obedience to United States; no hindrance to success in business that a man is for 
the Union and no check to free expression of opinion, 5145-5150; opinions of Mr. Poselius 
and resolutions of indorsement of Jeff. Davis, &c, 5156-5170. 

La Perouse and Jackson streets — black man heard near corner of, that plot was made to 
disperse convention-:— Durant, 79 ; see Breux's account of this, pages 2:52, 233. 

Lazarus, rebel soldier, shot Captain Loup after he had fallen — William?,, 5235. 

Leaumount, Judge Charles, testimony of, 3727-3798 ; judge of fifth district ; was consulted 
about a coup d'etat by Dr. Dostie, 3729; waited news from Washington, &c, 3730; think 
people may be relied upon for fidelity to Uniou and that courts are unbiased, 3731-3736 ; 
think immediate admission of Louisiana would conduce to public good ; could discuss pub- 
licly any question ; radical can discuss negro suffrage in safety here, 3737-3742 ; favors a 
liberal policy ; Union man can succeed here, 3746; thinks the public mind must be brought 
up to granting suffrage to negro by education ; could be done in six months, 3749-3755 ; 
signed a petition to Congress for provisional government and asked for universal suffrage, 
but changed his mind, 3756-3761 ; thinks rebels have become loyal since the war, 3764- 
3772; thinks treason should be punished, 3777; all white men with rare exceptions en- 
gaged in the rebellion, 3782 ; thinks it safe to let the rebels make the laws, 3784 ; past dis- 
sensions should be forgotten, 3785 ; thinks it better to pardon all criminals in jails than 
to punish them, 3795 ; thinks it would be well to pardon and bestow small offices upon 
them, 3795; the participants in convention of July are staunch Union men, 3797. 

Lebaire shoots a negro across Kocheblanc street with a fowling-piece — Haicksworth, 2688. 

Le Clark, policeman, saved life of — Mollere, 2385-2400 ; beat Michael Hahn — Fox, 2916$. 

Le Clerc, John, testimony of, 1070-1091; describes the slaughter in the hall : heard cheers 
for Jeff. Davis in crowd, 1076-1078; people in front of Institute cheered for Jeff. Davis 
" three or four times in succession," 1079-1089. 

Le Clerc, Portina, testimony of, 1764-17^5 ; saw Manuel Koha! taken wounded from a buggy 
and beaten by a fireman, 1767 ; saw police take money out of coachman's (negro) pocket, 
1778-1779. 

Lecroix, surrendered in the hall and was immediately shot at by the police — Dcsallcs, 4738; 
was killed and robbed of a large sum of money — Boquillc, 5580. 

Legislature of Louisiana, movement of, for new constitution, p. 548 ct seq. See telegram. 

Legislation, what, required for Louisiana— //icstajx/, 65; territorial government required — 
Waples, 332, and suffrage conferred upon all loyalists; loyal men should be protected — 
Cutler, 406; bill making a temporary military government required — Warmovth, 199; pro- 
visional government needed — Howell, 599, and explained in 684, last part of; United 
States should give strong government to quell all rebel attacks — O'Connell, 949; if not 
protected by, must leave — Oubrc, 1065, Martieu, 1146; loyalists must leave if government 
does not aid by — Neville, 1256, and to same, 1296; Union men could not live in Louisiana 
if troops withdrawn — Earhart, 1844; government for, should be organized by United 
States — idem, 1852; military force needed — New, 2,500. 

Legislation — other views ; restoration policy would have good effect — J'ose, 3251 : should 
adopt President's policy — Rozier, 3315; ll'urtzberger, 3480, 3482; statutes of, in reference 
to riot, date 1803 and 1855, 3598-3599; admission of, to Union would have good effect — 
Parker, 3672, Leaumount, 3737, Durell, 3838, lllsley, 3861, 3888, Abell, 3898, 3927, 
Sheldon, 4011; liberal course best — idem, 4016; restoration best course — Roselius, 4022 ; 
generous policy best — Benton, 4230 Dick, 4255 Kellogg, 4286, 4302, 4305,4319; resto- 
ration would have the best effects — Taylor, 4329, Leicis, 4491; should have a military 
government — t'illeul, 4686; should be admitted at once to representation ; a liberal policy 
should be adopted and nothing further done by way of punishment — Blair 4955 et seq.; 
if restored to Union think a majority of would be loyal — Crawford, 5274, also 5276 ; if 
the past were forgiven and Louisiana restored it would strengthen the loyalty of the people — 
Penn, 5299 ; if Louisiana were restored justice would be properly administered and good 
order maintained — Theard, 5422, Buckner, 5486; liberal policy best, but would exclude 
leaders from office — Fcllowes, 5613 ; a provisional governor, if one could be found who un- 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 575 s 

derstands affairs here, is what is wanting — Fellowes, 5630, 5668-5675 ; thinks the States in 
rebellion should he remanded to the territorial condition at onc< — Wells, 6494; a council 
backed by the military and the ballot in loyal hands, white or black, is what is wanted — 
Belden, 6669, 6707, and 6719 et seq. 

Lessees of plantations in Louisiana, how oppressed and annoyed — Paige, 7183-7196. 

Letters, Caziarc to Lee, and answer — Hartsujf, 2750; of Lieutenant Governor Voorhies to 
General Baird, :ir>l 1 ; carried by Martin Voorhies to General Baird between i< o and half- 
past ten — Voorhies, 1! 1 1 ; another carried by same between twelve and one o'clock —idem, 
4116; Monroe to Baird, July 25, p. 441 ; answer, Monroe's second letter, Jul 146; 

Voorhies to Baird, two notes, p. 447; General Canby to Governor Wells — Kennedy, 7324; 
of Governor Wells to President Johnson, pp. 519, 520; of General ({rant to Mr. Stanton — 
Moore, 7552; Mr. Stanton to President — idem; of committee to Mr. Stanton, and answer, 
p. 546. 

List of killed and wounded in full — Hartsujf, 2750 et scq. 

Lewis, J. L., testimony of, 4484-4537; deputy sheriff, and was in the rebel army, 4487; no 
disposition now to renew the war; thinks Louisiana would begreatlj I itera- 

tion, 4401; troops might be safely taken away, 4493; does not associate with Union men 
now, and will not, 4493, 4494 ; since surrender of army no been oppressed, 1497; 

men are safe in expressing' their opinions, 4499; names those who ionists, 

but are now radicals, 1500 ; thinks the State has not be ' fairly in being kept out 

of the Union so long, 4507-451 1 ; thinks South right in 1861, and believes on surrender 
they are entitled to all political rights, 4516 ; worst enemies of South are those who are now- 
complaining about safety, 4528; slaves wire not favor of rebels, fre i bla k , 1535. 

Louisiana, present political condition and sentiments of; power is in C she] hands — Hiestand, 
61-64 ; life and property of Union nun not sat'e in — Durant, 1 12, 113; no Union man can 
be elected in — Fish, 164; no statute of, providing- for suppression of illegal meetings — 
Waples, 298; manifestations of opposition to United States — idem, 320; no one 1< V 
hold office in — idem, 329; think in case of foreign war rebels would join enemy — idem, 331 : 
negro population of, prepared and fit to vote — idem, 336; lives and property of Union men 
not safe in — Culler, 403; majority in, do not desire permanence of United Slates govern- 
ment — idem, 412; no chance for justice between rebel and Union man — Fish, 453; prose- 
cutions against rioters could not be carried on in courts of — idem, 463; civil code* of, re- 
in 1824 — idem, 465 ; nine-tenths of late rebels would join enemy in case of foreign 
war — Warmouth, 500-508 ; "just as much rebel to-day as ever" — So 550; "cross 

looks and curses for Union men" — idem, 551 ; inimical to United States — Howell, 590; 
officers of, nearly all rebels — idem, 593; Union men in, must leavi if I — idem, 

597; enmity of, is toward United States; in foreign war would join enemy — idem 
feeling- of people of, more hostile than before war — idem, 051: colored peopli 
on eighteen millions — Dunn, 777; people of, not friendly to United States — Campanel, 
791, 793-820'; people of, hate United States because they favor 
idem, 822; people of, need protection from United States — Dallas, 856-858,864-875; 
justice, administration in courts of— idem, 869-872; no safety to life in, except by 
military — O' Council, 941; courts in, no redress — idem, 945, 990-997; people of, hostile 
to United States because defeated in rebellion— idem, 998-1003, 1004, Stafford's de- 
clarations; no rebel prosecuted successfully by Union men — idem, 1008; people of, 
more rebellious than during the war — Oubre, 1039; men of Union sentiments in, put 
aside — idem, 1043; people would fight against United States in foreign war — idem, 
3049, 1061£; cheers for Jeff. Davis — LeClerc, 1076, 1077, 1084; people of, hostile and 
would join enemy in case of war — Montieu, 1145, 1185; feeling against Union i i 
general — Neville, 1245-12 hi; nearly all people of, went into secession — idem, 1280; no 
northern man can live here if troops taken away — Capla, 1712; even women had 
weapons to kill negroes with; no more in favor than during war — idem, 1717, 1724, 
17-.'';; also, 1728-1743; would join enemy in war — Earkart, 1848; rebels still unfriendly 
to United States— Daunoy, 1920-1927, 1967; would renew rebellion— Cooper, 2001, 2007- 
2021 ; no real loyalty outside negro population— Smith, 2184; there is hostility to the gov- 
ernment of the United States, and in foreign war would join enemy— idem, 2185-2190; 
and as to loyalty, 2249-2257 ; majority of white people of, favor policy of President — 
Mollere, 2423; lawyers "plead their causes in language of treason" — idem, 2127; man 
cannot get justice before courts if Union man— JVeio, 2491 ; mass not favorable to govern- 
ment of United States— idem, 2498; not safe to give an opinion adverse to — Haiokswarth, 
2695; cheers for Jeff. Davis— idem, 2697; no chance for Union man — Fox, 2990; "hur- 
rahed for Jeff" — Jpurdain, 3067 ; our people must leave— Jourdain, 3107. 
Louisiana— other views of its political status; thinks a majority of whites in are loyal — 
Witherall, 3 - 243; people now well disposed to United States — Vose, 3250, 3259; in foreign 
war would join United States — idem, 3261, 3272-3481; people can be fully trusted — 
Rozier, 3312, 3335; courts fair and just — idem, 3319; majority of people of, opposed to 
secession — Barker, 3371 ; believe everything would be safe if represented in Congress — 
Barker, 3373-3377 ; in foreign war would join the United States — Barker, 3385 ; no hin- 
drance to Union men in community — Wurtzbcrgcr, 3476-3479; people disloyal — Lynch, 
3516, 3518, also 3554-3560; "should fear for my life if I said I was Union man"— Panza, 



576 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

3657; riot not caused by disloyal sentiment — Parker, 3667 ; people generally would stand 
by government — idem, 3668 ; foreign war would side with United States, 3676 ; people faith- 
ful to United States — Leaumount, 3731-3736; how to bring about universal suffrage in, 
3749-:'?").",; people in community of, can be relied upon for loyalty — Durell, 3830; courts 
dispense impartial justice — idem, 3835; believes people of, wouldact toward United States 
in good faith; give justice in courts and aid government in foreign war — Illsley, 3860, 
3867, 3869, 3876 et seq. ; no more loyal people in the world than those of Louisiana — Abell, 
389"), 3897; would be with Union in case of war — idem, 3902; include' with people of, 
negroes who are intelligent — idem, 3919; man can live peaceably in State and speak bis 
mind on political topics — Sheldon, 4009 ; in foreign war would not go east or north to 
fight — idem, 4(114 ; people in Louisiana as loyal as in Massachusetts or Connecticut ; more 
loyal than in New York — Roselius, 4019, 4021; no disposition in, to rebel again; would 
aid United States in case of war — Dick, 4251-4254 ; people in, who are responsible, favor 
peace and good government — Kellogg, 4283; though rebel element predominates, thinks 
no disposition to rebel again — Taylor, 4326; and justice meted in courts, 4328; control 
of, should be in loyal hands — idem, 4343; majority of, united in rebellion, but are now in 
favor of Union — Brady, 1445-4458 ; no real love for the Union — Ogle-by, 4483; people have 
surrendered in good faith— Lcicis, 4489-4506-4515 : not safe to withdraw the military — 
Mower, 4552 ; general expression is that "the southern traitors must go to the wall" — 
Kingston, 1573-4592; no safety if military withdrawn — Planchard, 4873; people of, very 
anxious for peace, and are acting in good faith — Blair, 4953; Union people not safe from 
annoyance if military .withdrawn — Sheridan, 1996; would draw swords for the enemy — 
Waters, 5 1 07 ; thinks Union men who are quiet may be safe — Crawford, 5273 ; feelings now 
are more bitter .than ever — Mittlwff, 5343-5345 ; justice is administered in all the courts — 
Theard, 5415-5421-5466; is not sure that loyalty enough exists in, to-keep good order in 
case of restoration — Fellowes, 5609; cheering for Jeff Davis — Boquille, 5580; men who 
favor the Union are deprived of all public office even by the United States government 
here — Jenkins, 5758; rebels, more now than' at the end of the war — idem, 5761 ; present 
government should be superseded by Congress, and the voluntarily disloyal excluded from 
the ballot — South-worth, 5927-5940 ; bow does Union sentiment affect a lawyer's success 
at the bar— Field, 5996-5999 ; public sentiment and feeling in the parish of Rapides — 
Frisbie, 6018 to the end ; does not know of a single plantation on the Red river success- 
fully worked — idem, 6038; justice is well administered in the courts of, and freedmen as 
well as others are protected in their rights — Felloics, 6065-6086 et secj. ; thinks the people 
are loyal, may be depeuded upon, give free chance to expression of opinion, and are loyal 
to the Union — Wallace, entire ; man with Union sentiments can succeed, but the secession 
minority controls public sentiment — Stocker, 6172; predominant feeling is hatred to the 
Union — Blackburn, 6189 ; courts not open to justice in political cases — idem, 6195 ; in 7th 
judicial district of Louisiana there is a bitter feeling against Union men ; troops brought 
' lip to protect the court — Cooley, 6247-6243; sentiment in respect to freedmen — idem.,6267 
et sc<j. ; as to justice in courts see Cooley, 6277 ctseq.; property, person, and press are free 
and safe — Zacharie, 6390 ; in case of war they would stick to their American feeling — 
idem, 6393; motives of leaders in ; safety to life and property, &c. — Wells, 6491,6495; 
State in the hands of rebels — Baird, 6544 and 6588 to 6596; how this conviction is 
reached, 6600-6620 ; rebels are very bitter — Belden, 6664 ; cheering among people for 
Jell. Davis— Shelley, 6816 ; people in, have grown Insolent since Johnson's policy was in- 
augurated ; loyal men in danger if troops withdrawn; rebels would aid enemy in case of 
foreign war — Shelley, 6818-6871-6874; rebel feeling still remains, and no safety if troops 
withdrawn — Burke, 7025 ; sentiment of people of, favorable till pardoning of rebels com- 
menced, but since then annoyance and oppression are great — Paige, 7165 and 7202- 
7204; this movement was doubtless concerted — idem, 7109; suits for damages brought in 
courts against lessees Of plantations in Louisiana — idem, 7169 ; in case of foreign war 
rebels would join the enemy — Conway, 7415-7417. 

Lonsdale, HI. T., testimony of, 6428-6487; broker, who thinks the people's loyal ty may be 
relied upon, 6432; that being a Union man is no harm or inconvenience with the public, 
G433 ; no need of the military, 6437 ; have been a secessionist, 6438 ; the people of Louis- 
iana lane been loyal ever since surrender, 6441, 6445; at least in New Orleans, 6447; 
Mr. Lincoln's proclamation made him a secessionist, 6449 ; was assessed by General But- 
ler to aid the poor, 6470, 6478; is not of the same opinion as Jacob Barker in reference to 
a slave confederacy, 6481 ; Henderson, Dostie, and Horton were not killed for expressing 
their opinions, but in a riot excited by an attempt to overthrow the government, 6485-6487. 

Loup, Captain, seized and killed — Sullivan, 2278 ; known by, Fox, and, killing of him de- 
scribed— Fez, 2966; G nil man fired the first shot — Williams, 5231 ; then Oscar Basco (or 
Blasco) struck Loup twice in the temple — idem, 5234. See whole testimony of Williams; 
also Boquille, 5580. 

Loyal citizen, what is ho? one who never sympathized with enemy of/ nor took part volun- 
tarily in rebellion against, United States — Earlmrt, 185S, ]S(i5, 1889; were to submit 
amendments of constitution to — Smith, 2231 ; unkind feeling toward — New, 2533; hated 
in the city — Jourdain, 3110 ; few loyal except negroes — Rozier, 3327 ; rebels have become, 
since war — Leaumount, 3763-3775 ; negroes, as far as they knew anything, have been 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 577 

loyal through the war — Abcll, 3939, 3943; representation should lie limited to — Sheldon, 
4012; "none but loyal to rule" - Gregory ; 4127 ; definition of "loyal'" — I), nton, 4237- 
4238, also 1243; excluded from office — Kellogg, "4307 ; were colored people loyal throt 
the war? — Taylor, 4341, Brady, 4408, 1171 ; loyal not successful in business — Kingston, 
99; former rebels, many now loyal — Filleul, 4093; New Orleans standard who 

hurrah for the rebel and American flag alike — Sheridan, • r are loyal men i 

those who favor negro suffrage — Terry, 5202 ; nine-tenths of people are loyal — Buckner, 
5489; blacks were generally loyal throughout the w&r-r-Fellowes, 5620; loyal soldiers of 
Louisiana have been compromised by way the war has been settled Southworth, 5907, 
5D1D ; what constitutes loyal support of an administration — Field, 6002-6009; "1 
negro better than a reconstructed rebel" — Blackburn, 6212. 
Lynch, B. L., testimony of, 3512-3594 ; feelings of the people disloyal, 3510; manifests 
itself in police and in the schools, 3517 ; rebels say they are conquered but love the can - 
3518; offices are held byrebels ; young men driven from their places on account of Union 
sentiments; poor chance for Union man before courts, 3519-3523 ; teachers dismissed and 
names given, 3525; is a lawyer, and at one time attorney general of .Slate, 3512; cannot 
give names of those who tittered disloyal sentiments, but hear them in the highways, 
3554: have heard persons in the ears; could give names of 300 if I could remember 
them, 3558 ; does not know of personal knowledge that any teacher has been dis- 
missed from place on account of Union sentiments, 3561 ; knows secession teachers in the 
schools; does not think Mr. Rozier a good Union man now, 3578-3580; be has never attended 
meetings for restoration of Union, 3583-3584 ; I was in favor of convention of July 30. 

M. 

Massacre, facts about — Durant, 76; did not expect a general — O'Connell, 953; could easily 
have been prevented by police — Daunoy, 1937 ; it was a massacre and no attempt made 
to stop it — Sheridan, 4985; not exceeded by that of Fort Pillow — Sheridan, 5020 ; of Captain 
Loup — Boqnille, 5580; encouraged in by members of city council — Jenkins, 5771. 

Mendelsohn, Simon, threats of, to hang Union men — O'Connell, 943. 

Mewkes, Mrs., "a man murdered before her door and in her sight, and what she said — Sulli- 
van, 2278. 

Meetings, character of, 27th July, orderly — Hiestand, 23 ; largely attended — idem, 8 : reported 
by — Andem, 179 ; object of, to instruct public mind — Waples, 284 ; described — Cutler, 395 ; 
entirely peaceable — Fish, 446; not.au "unlawful assemblage" — idem, 4(55; orderly — Sou- 
vinet, 534 ; favorable to quiet — Howell, 575 ; speeches at, not calculated to excite violence — 
Hire, 720; orderly — idem, 773; "go home quietly, orderly," &c. — Gibbons, 1789; Dr, 
Dostie spoke at, in favor of enfranchisement of negro and disfranchisement of rebels at — 
Smith, 2211; no disturbance at — New, 2526; cause of riot — Rozier, 3353 ; pursuant to, 
crowd came to convention — Snethen, 369l ; of Mr. Waples and others on night of July 14 — 
Greenwood, 4157, 4172, 4174 ; full description of, and statement of what was said — Brady, 
4415-4430; speeches at, were calculated to excite public mind — Sheridan, 5005, 5014; 
excited the whole community and caused the riot— Theard, 5420; meeting was large, 
excited; speeches incendiary, (see Tilton, 5515-5528;) character of, again — Baird, p. 442. 
also 6572, p. 452; heard all the speeches at, and found them not incendiary — Shelley, 6791, 
also 6807-6812, and 0835-6846; (see, also, contra Tisdale, 3801, 3802.) 

Military, need of, to suppress riot — Hiestand] 15 ; expectation of interference of — Brooks, 
229; released by — Cutler, 358 ; arrival of on ground — Warmouth, 480; man killed within 
one hundred and fifty yards of — idem: does not know whether would have prevented 
riot — Dallas, 880 ; hoped would arrive ; General Baird said sharply "he knew his busi- 
ness " — O'Connell, 915, 916 ; no safety for Unionists if withdrawn— idem, 941 ; Dostie ex- 
pected aid from — Hughes, 1306; all bung but for coming of — Capla, 1711; "too, many 
troops to permit the hanging of Hahn and Dostie" — Gibbons, 1789; "before could be 
brought up could exterminate the niggers" — idem; withdrawn, there would be no safety — 
Daunoy, 1928 ; thousand lives lost but for soldiers — Cooper, 2000 ; could have quelled 
riot — O'Ncil, 2138 ; could have put an end to it — Mollere, 2403 ; " in with the military 
to-day" — Hard, 2553; twenty soldiers could have stopped it — Ward, 2765; "shooting 
went on till military came up" — Evans, 2916 ; ought to be withdrawn — Rozier, 3316, 3320, 
and 3338; believed that troops would arrest convention — Barker, 3371; asked General 
Baird to send — Voorhies, 3511; expected to aid civil power — Herron, 3595, also 3618, 
3620; if removed, would be security, and justice could be obtained — Parker, 3674-3675; 

. might have stopped it — Snethen, 3099 ; could be safely withdrawn — lllsley, 3804, Abcll, 
3900; believed would interfere to prevent a process — Roselius, 4017; corporal's guard 
could have quelled — Glenn, 4108; was expected to arrive every minute — Voorhies, 4111, 
4116; military to aid convention — Dick, 4240; if withdrawn, would be safe for Union 
men, though we despise them — Lnris, 4 193 ; president of board — Moiccr, 4544 ; was 
needed to quell riot, and is still needed to protect life and property, 4549, 4552; if with- 
drawn, the south would suffer immensely — Kingston, 4577 ;. important that military 
should remain — Rybach, 4722 : Planchard, 4-74 ; only to be used in case of breach of 
peace — Sheridan, 4987 ; if police had done their duty there was no need of military inter- 



578 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

ference, idem, 4090; would be dangerous to withdraw — Waters, 5110 \ streets will run 
with blood if withdrawn — Terry, 5191; people would not be safe if military were with- 
drawn — Mithoff, 5346; expected the military to come and save us — Randall, 5392; if 
military removed, a great annoyance would result — Jenkins, 5763; but for, the massacre 
would have been general — Southworth, 5905; if withdrawn, Union men could not live in 
New Orleans — Field, 5963: if withdrawn, Union people of Rapides must leave — Frisbie, 
6024; military called in at Point Coupee to protect the court, 6250-6-253; would not dare 
to try case of white against a black man if military withdrawn — idem, 6253 ; thinks the 
military ought to be withdrawn — Zacharie, 6395; all classes of men would be protected if 
military were withdrawn — Lousdale, 0137; warning of interference in case of need — 
Baird, p. 443; regarded as a reserve"; did not anticipate riot, but determined on course 
to pursue in case of need — idem, p. 443; not responsible for delay of 'bringing up — Baird, 
6539; it would be unsafe to withdraw — Belden, 6667 ; military are absolutely needed for 
p sop e of Union sentiments — Shelley, 6818; favored Monroe's election and also 
General Canby— Kennedy, 7367-7368-7397; effects of withdrawing in 1865 — Cartway, 
7413-7414; application for more to General Grant — Conway, 7494-7496 e* seg. ; left elec- 
tion in 1865 in New Orleans entirely free — Canby, 7584-7592. See Kennedy, 7367. 

Miller, A. M., testimony of, 740-7551 men employed in printing establishment went out at 
sound of bell, 747 ; saw nothing of riot, and men did not engage in it, 750-755. 

Mithoff, William, testimony of, 5336-5380; was prevented from going to convention by 
warning from his little boy, who had heard at school that the negroes and Union men were 
to be killed, 5341 ; rebel army had entered into secret organization, 5312 ; rebels are more 
bitter now than ever; if military were withdrawn would not feel safe an hour, 5346; 
Union men cannot get justice in the State, 5350; the pardon of General Humphreys by 
President Johnson encouraged the rebels and made case of Union men much harder, 5352, 
5367 ; negro church burned down, 5375. 

Mollere, J. F., testimony of, 2360-24,; United States detective, 2364; describes in full the 
slaughter in the hall; saw an old negro man, peaceable, shot in the head and killed, 
2370; saw others besides police firing, and thinks j -ix hundred or seven hundred shots' 
fired into and at Mechanics' Institute, 2374-2:575 ; about three hundred killed and 
wounded, 2376 and 2378; saw Dr. Dostie at hospital and describes him, 2384 ; saw only 
one pistol with negroes, 2386; feeling of certain classes to Union very bitter, 2390; 
offices held here now by "stay-at-home" rebels; names given and characters described of 
State and municipal officers; " son-of-a-bitch book," '2391 ; police filled by enemies of 
United States, 2392 ; letters showing that a man must show rebel service, 2397 ; file of 
' [j rs could have stopped riot, 24Q3; favors negro suffrage, 2113; majority of white 
:' Louisiana favor the President's policy, 2423; police massed at Treme station, 
2429. See for attack upon Mollere since committee was in New Orleans — Cooper, 7(532. 

Morrill, Justin S., testimony of, 6977-6981; representative and member of Reconstruction 
Committee; never advised anyone in reference to Louisiana convention; nor wrote to 
Mr. Flanders, 6978, 6979— (See Tisdale, 3803.) 

Montamat, J. P., testimony of, 4604-4618 ; attorney at law ; was member of convention 
but did not attend because be heard there would be trouble, 4608; saw wagons bring 
wounded to station-house lying on their hacks and police on them, 4617. 

Montieu, Joseph L., testimony of, 1092-! L90; heard threats against convention, and describes 
what be saw at ball, 1099, also 1104-1106, 1150-1160; heard signal by bell, same as 
when Farragut came, 1110; saw three fire companies out — blue ribbons as badges, cres- 
cents, and cross-cannons, &c, 1111-1116; saw arms distributed to police, 1120-1 125, also 
1 128-1 133 ; saw no act of violence by negroes, 1127 ; police were rebels and thugs, 1134- 
1138, also 116(5-1179; convention would have submitted to arrest, ! 139, also 1182-1184; 
no armed body to defend it, 1140-1142; feeling of voters hostile to United .States ; in case 
of foreign war would side with enemy, 1145, also 1185-1189; Union men must leave if 
not 'protected, 1144-1147: saw people attacked who were some distance from Mechanics' 
Institute, 1149; police wore hat-bands that day wrong side out, 1116, also 1161-1 165. 

Moon, Frank, policeman ; orders drayman to throw wounded in the river — Evans, 2912. 

Moore, William G., testimony of, 7540-7573; private secretary of the President; refers to 
the despatches to and from New Orleans, in reference to riot, 7547-7552; copies of des- 
patches and indorsements, 7552, page 535 and to the end. 

Monroe, John T., mayor of New Orleans ; active enemy of the United States government 
when city taken by Farragut; police selected by him on account of connection with rebel 
army, 85l same true of ail officers of city government with few exceptions — Durant, 86, 
Hiestand, 50; proclamation of, deceived Unionists — Culler, 371; leader of thugs — War- 
mouth, 504, and O'Conncll, 916; changed police — Hire, 72-1 ; charged with murder of Union 
men — O'Connell, 946; coming with his police to wipe (hem out — Oubrc, 1014; first elected 
mayor 1859-60 ; re-elected in 1866 and not permitted by General Canby to take office 
until pardoned — Earhart, 1842; pardoned by President — Smith, 2183; did not see him on 
Sunday — Pitman, 3179; testimony of, 3298-3303; asks that his statement before grand 
jury be put in, but informed that printed documents cannot go in— 3300 ; riot much against 
bis feelings — idem; statement of, in full, 3301; interview with General Baird — J'oorhies, 
3510, Herron, 3595; informed of plot for revolution — Gregory, 4127 ; was on the ground 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 579 

on day of riot and near the procession — Mott, 4358 ; allow no man in his office who had 
been in favor of government of the United States — Planchard, 4877 ; was a Union man 
and appointed on police by — Dorsey, 4933: enough to scud him td Dry Tortugas — Terry, 
5185; "all these men were my enemies," referring to those who served under Butler — 
Shackleton, 5735; affidavit made against, by Dr. Southworth and others — Soul h worth, 
5907; conference with, before and at time of the not — Baird, pp, 4i_' and 445, question 
6510; last election of, run against by Moore; Tisdale's regiment, how voting — Burke, 
Tool-Too:;, also 7047-7060; popular with thugs — Paige, 7165; as td President's knowl- 
edge ut' character of — Kennedy, 7;;7.">-73dl ; antecedents of — Cu'nby, 7593, 76< 8, and 7610; 
suspended by General Canbj and pardoned by President— 7597-7610; (see also Earhart, 
1842;) how he appointed his police — Mollere, 2395. 

Morell, A., testimony of, 4838-4860; was at Mechanics' Institute and saw Mr. Morton per- 
suading colored people to retire ; windows of hall were shut; armed in the hall were told 
by Mr. Cutler to go to the left and the unarmed to the right, 4840 and 4857 : about fifteen 
went to the left ; describes the shooting in the hall, 4641; police were nearly all in the 
rebel army, 4843 ; had people have control of offices in New Orleans ; was a little while 
in the rebel army, 4S4D; was in favor of convention, 4853; wanted to establish free suf- 
frage,, 4855. 

Morrow, private secretary to President, despatch of General Sheridan dictated to Warden by 
— Warden, 0770. 

Morris, Daniel, testimony of, 71 29-71 39 ; representative; conversed with Judge Howell, but 
gave no advice whatever to him, 7131; expressed sympathy with the loyal men of the 
south, 71:52. See Howell, 628. 

Mott, Thaddeus P., testimony of, 4357-4412 ; saw the procession and noticed when the tiring 
commenced; saw the mayor and chief of police near the procession, and they went to turn 
out the police force, 435^; saw tiring from Mechanics' Institute toward the police; went 
with the police up stairs and broke open the doors ; they were firing down stairs; negro 
fired at chief of police ; rear of building attacked ; full description of attack upon the Me- 
chanics' Institute ; of the finding of Mr. Cutler, &c, 4359; suspected difficulty from hear- 
ing member of ( reneral Sheridan's staff say he feared it ; 4360 ; was with the chief of police 
from curiosity, 4362 ; was at one time a colonel of United States army, but was court- mar- 
tialled and dismissed; afterward reinstated and resigned, 430S ; then' went into rebel lines, 
4376 ; was charged with destroying United States property, 43-."> ; purchased goods from 
blockade runners, and at end of war surrendered as paroled prisoner, 43'J3 ; police were 
armed with clubs on day of riot, 4394; saw some twenty nee-roes shot, but cannot say 
whether by police or citizens ; thinks there was an armed mob in the hall of the convention, 
4396-4407. 

Mower, General Joseph A., testimony of, 4538-4568; in United States army and assistant 
commissioner Freedmen's Bureau, 4538 ; saw the beginning of the riot ; notified General 
Baird and he said he must hurry up the troops, 4540 ; was president of a military board to 
investigate riot ; made a report and have since that seen nothing to change his opiuion, 
4547 ; martial law was needed at the time it was set up, 4549 ; without the military, thinks 
Union people would not be safe in Louisiana, in their property or their lives, 4552; was at 
Shreveport in official capacity, to report as to necessity of troops there ; found a great 
deal of dissatisfaction, and United States government spoken of with contempt, 4551, 4561 ; 
sentiments of disloyalty very frequently expressed on the street before the fall elections, 
456'J ; sent detachment of troops to defend the court at Point Coupee — Cooley, 6251. 

Municipal officers of New Orleans ; character of; all rebels — Durant, 86; city under rebel 
control — idem, 87; feeling of officers of city, arrogant — idem, 92; character of — Cutler, 
377,400; being Union soldier disqualification for office— Fish, 456 ; rebels — Warmouth, 
491 ; no safety for negroes under present — Dunn, 761 ; character of, is bad — Morell, 4S44 ; 
not aware of apprehension of, that a riot would occur — Sheridan, 4998; assessors elected 
who hal been rebels — Waters, 5106; rebels get office — Terry, 5190; can be depended upon 
in good faith — Theard, 5432; took no care of the wounded — Shelley, 6805; character oi 
police and officers of — Conway, 7431 ; character. of Monroe and police — Canby, 751)3 et 
seq. ; names and antecedents "of in full — Mollere, 2391. 

Murrall, John, testimony of, 3197-3244 ; porter at district police station; all police rallied there 
on Monday morning, July 30 ; had eiders to come there from the mayor ; Mr. Charter said 
police intended to kill everybody at convention ; kept close all day, 3207 ; armed with new 
pistols, 3200; Lucien Adams went down to convention at ringing of the bell with 150 
armed police, 320'J ; firemen came out with sticks and clubs, 32J8; bell struck twelve 
times, 3224; never saw^ the police assembled so before, 3229; did not see the mayor there. 

M'Bride, Clara, testimony of, 6285-6331 ; teacher, turned out of public school and employed 
in Freedmen's Bureau, 6290; was dismissed from public schools because of loyal princi- 
ples — 6291; taught the national airs according to the manual of the former board, 6293; 
only knew of 25 teachers who have been removed for their loyalty, 6301 ; gives names, 
which see idem; board of school directors is appointed by the mayor; present board, many 
of them, were not in the city last year, 6311 ; classes in school designated Stonewall Jack- 
son and Eobert E. Lee classes, 6315; the books and singing inquired into, 6316-6322 ; 
has never made a personal application for a position to the board. 

37 N. o. 



580 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

M'Connell, clerk at police station ; said every one of the niggers ought to be killed — Harris, 

3038. 
Marks, Colonel, warned Winfree of intended massacre — Winfree, 1830, 1838, 1848. 

N. 

National airs, teachers dismissed from schools for teaching them — Taylor, 5701 ; what ones 
sung — idem 5702, 5722 and 5725; " Hail-Columbia " and "Star Spangled Banner" no 
longer sung in the schools — idem, 5705; see also Armstrong, 5818-5854, and AV Bride, 
6295 et seq.; Baggy, 6335 to end; hissed in the theatres — Baird, 6543, at end; has heard 
this in New Orleans — Shelley, 6816. 

Nelson, citizen who shot at Jules Desalles — Desalles, 4737. 

Neville, Julian, testimony of, 1238-1302; was State auditor, 1250, also 1262-1264 ; hostility 
to Union men in Louisiana general; in some courts could not get justice ; mure hostility 
than at Lee's surrender, 1244-1247, also 1283; prosecutions for acts of July 30 could not 
be successfully conducted in courts here, 1252-1255; loyal people must be protected by 
the United States or leave, 1256, also 1296-1301 ; letter was written to him from Wash- 
ington, 1259-1261 and 1265; convention of 1864-'66, bow called, 126(5-1277; object was 
to disfranchise rebels and give universal suffrage, 12J78-1282; thinks loyal men should 
hold office and recorstruct the State, 1287; now am in favor of negro suffrage, 1293; no 
chance for Union men to bring rioters to justice, 1294. 

New, Dr. G. W., testimony of, 2435-2542; describes scenes in hall and on street, at conclu- 
sion of riot, 2443-2444; badges, 2448 and 2506; dead carried in carts, 245 2, 2513; saw 
negroes shot at a distance from Mechanics' Institute, 2460; thinks he saw 40 men shot, 
2461 ; saw no friend of convention armed, 2465; feeling in New Orleans hostile to "Yan- 
kees," 2468; wounded men struck, 2444-25(19; saw some 200 killed and wounded; 2474- 
2484; the rioters made it a frolic, 2485; loyal men cannot procure justice in courts if pol- 
itics enter, 2492; some are not well-disposed to United States, 2497, also 2532; policy to 
be adopted, 2500; what police were doing, 2501-2503; character of meeting of July 27th, 
2528; policy of the President, effect of, 2535-2540; feeling of disaffection greater than 
immediately after surrender of rebels, 2542. 

New Orleans, state of political feeling ; number of fire districts in, nine — Hiestand, 12; Hays, 
sheriff of — idem, 47; municipal authorities of, rebels — Durant, 84-92; life and property of 
Unionists not safe in — idem, 112; no Union man can be elected in — Fish, 164; state of 
feeling in, prior to convention — Andem, 179; Brooks, 208,239; cheers for Jeff. Davis in — 
idem, 243; people of, as a mass, were they responsible? — idem, 257; negroes of, intelli- 
gent — Waples, 346; citizens of, opposed to reassembling of convention — Cutler, 368; 
societies of rebels in — idem, 412; people of, could have known peaceable disposition of 
convention — idem, 420 ; offices in, tilled by rebels — Fish, 456; social feeling of, hostile to 
Union men — Warmouth, 493; feeling of people of, against United States — Hart, 526; dis- 
trict judge of — Howell, 559 ; " venom *' among people of — Campanel, 789; national songs 
hissed in theatres of — Dallas, 859 and 884 ; feelings of. very hostile, and people anxious to 
annul laws of Congress — OConnell, 940; no justice in courts of, for Union men — idem, 
945 ; jury could not be empanelled in, to try rioters of July — O' Conned, 947 ; life of wit- 
ness against rioters not sate in — idem, 948 ; in some courts of, no justice to a Unionist — 
Neville, 1244, and 1252-1255 ; people of. more bitter now against United States than at 
Lee's surrender — idem, 1283 ; cheers in, for Jeff. Davis — Statu, 1670 and 1678; people in, 
rebellious — Capltt, 1735 and 1744; majority of free population of, had to enlist in rebel 
service — Gibbons, 1814 ; vindictive feeling, social, in courts, &c. — - Earhart, 1833-1838, and 
1883; majority of people of, profess loyalty — idem, 1869; no Union man can get office in — 
Smith, 2246; people of, bitter against Union — Mollere, 2390: feeling of, hostile — New, 
2468; yet more safety in, than out of, in the State — idem, 2536; authorities of, paid no 
expense of wounded — Harris, 2842; people of, accept the situation in good faith — Barker, 
3371 ; evidence cannot lie procured in, to prosecute rioters — Herron, 3030; free expression 
of opinion tolerated in — lllsley, 3870 ; riot in, an attempt to subvert government of State — 
Abdl, 397! ; notsafein city of, except by federal bayonets — Hood, 4d77 ; held to be a greater 
honor by people of, to have been in rebel than in Union army — Benton, 4220-1227 ; people 
of, would not have disturbed convention if it had met merely for discussion — Dick, 4248; 
people of, would tolerate free expression of opinion — Ktllogg, 4283, 4290; large proportion 
of population colored — Kellogg, 4308; Union men safe in — Taylor, A'.VM ; perfectly safe 
in, for Hiestand. llahn, or any radical — Lewis, 4504 ; wanted to overthrow the government 
j n — Morell, 4853; condition of, on General Sheridan's return, 4981; many respectable 
people of, said they regretted that any one of convention had escaped alive ; peace of city 
has been since maintained — Sheridan, 5012 and 4994 ; notified chief of police of, that in 
case of disturbance in city, he would tight — Sheridan, 5003; feeling against Union men 
very bitter — Haters, 5100 and 5133 ; feelings of, loyal to Union, and nohindrances thrown 
in way of people of Union sentiments — Lapeyre, 5146-5150; men known as Union men 
are marked for vengeance — Terry, 5185; but succeed in business — idem, 5214; thinks 
people of, can now be relied upon — Penn', 5295 ; and there is full freedom to express 
opinion, 5326 ; expression of opinion here perfectly safe, 5425, Buchncr, 5482, 5485 ; 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 581 

courts free tii justice ami Union men may succeed in business in — Fellotces, 5611; two- 
thirds of, were rebels — Jenkins, 5800; federal officers now prosecute business in — South- 
worth, 59l5; Union men in, not looked upon with favor — Field, 5957; courts of, are free 
and just — Fellows, 6068 ; teachers dismissed from schools of, for Union sentiments — Tay- 
lor, 5701, Armstrong, 5826, M'Brirfe, 6301 ; board of school directors in, appointed by 
mayor, (i in;) ; perfect safety to Unionists among people of — Lonsdale, 6432, 6147, 6456; 
controlling power in, in rebel hands — Baird, 6541, and 6588-6596; knows of no one in, 
who has suffered violence for Union sentiments except on 30th of July — Bilden, 6705; 
cheers for Jeff. Davis in restaurants of; also for Andy Johnson — Shelley, 6816; rioters 
could be convicted if courts and people of New Orleans desired it — ShelUy, 6824 ; Union 
men in, are proscribed, 6817, 6892; engines turn out deqprated with rod, white, and red — 
Shelley, 6817 ; conciliatory p ilicy of Governor Wells, how met — Burke, 7007; was driven 
from, by threats— idem, 7009, 7076 ; not much Union sentiment in — Burke, 7096; mayor 
of, in I860 by appointment of Governor Wells — Kennedy, 7319; Southern Cross Associa- 
tion established in — idem, 7325, 7350-7355, and 7382-7389; bottom land, how to be dis- 
posed of — Kennedy, 7325, and page 520 ; elections in, how carried before the rebellion — 
idem ; two classes of Union men in, and their characteristics, Tin."); civil officers of, and 
their antecedents — Canby, 7593; ct scq.; persons in, fell upon and beat — Mollere and Pier- 
son. (See Caliper, 7<>:!2-7676. ) 

Newspapers: Times and Picayune office, number killed posted in front of — Waples, 278; 
New xork Times, correspondent of — Brooks, -JO? : loyal in New Orleans, Tribune and Ad- 
vocate, and in .State, Homer Iliad — Culler, 412; tone of, hostile to Union — Warmouth, 503 ; 
Picayune quoted — idem; general tone of, disloyal — Souvinet, 553; Tribune, Dallas editor 
of, noticed first shot — Hire, 703, 710; New Orleans Tribune advocates doctrines of Repub- 
lican party — Dallas, 886; Times, mayor's proclamation in — Neville, 1243; correspondent of 
New York Herald, and Times, and New Orleans Times — Tisdale, 3S2I ; bitter articles in, 
on convention — Sheridan, 5012; New Orleans Tribune not interfered with inNew Orleans — 
Lapeyre, 5148; the trials of the Homer Iliad, its character, circulation, and teachings — 
Blackburn, 6213-6238; Mobile Tribune, article from, by Jacob Barker in favor of a sepa- 
rate slave confederacy — Lousdale, (iisj ; New York Times, despatches in reference to riot; 
(see Crounse, 6744-6756, and Harden, 6757-6783;) New York Tribune, charge in, of omis- 
sion in telegram — Harden, (5777 : New Orleans Tribune, how preserved — Shelley, 6822 ; 
Daniel Scully, associate editor of Crescent, in crowd on 30th July with revolver in hand — 
Burke, 6996 ; Missouri Democrat, reporter of, and speech of President Johnson — ll'albrir/ge, 
7258 : what they said about General Fullerton — Conway, 7427 ; caucus of Republicans in 
relation- to New Orleans convention — Raymond, 7622; editorial as to — idem, 7(>24. 

Oath, test, not administered in certain case in New Orleans — Eafhart, I860; oath required 
by "civil rights bill;" of allegiance taken by Voorhies and Monroe — Daunoy, 1969, 1972; 
excludes from office — Kellogg, 4312-4318; of office to rebel confederacy taken by Judge 
Howell, p. 388, Fellowes, 5645; would have test oath changed so as to admit "noble and 
intelligent" men who had been in the rebel army to office — Kellogg, 5677 ; of Stevens's 
bill applied to voters — Southworth, 5931. 

O'Connell, J. D, testimony of, 909-1009; was at convention and gives full description of 
scenes in hall, 9l5 ; thinks martial law was. necessary, 916; thinks attack upon conven- 
tion was planned, 917, 918, also, 952-954; fire engines came out at a signal; badges 
worn; Hays's brigade there, 919-924, also 955-965, 966-982, 1006, loo?" heard from 
Richard Carrick that police were "armed for work," 925; thinks most of police force 
rebel soldiers, 927-929; saw negroes use forcible means only in self-defence, 930-O31 ; no 
occasion fqrviolence, 936; thinks killed and wounded number 300, 938; thinks no protec- 
tion in Louisiana for life or property without United States troops ; feeling bitter as in 1862, 
942; no redress for Union men in courts of Louisiana, 945, also 990-997, 1008; was told 
by General Sheridan when asked for assistance, "men I represented weie as bad as the 
lebeis," 946; proof could easily be brought to convict rioters if prosecuted, 917,948; 
United States should give us protection by strong government or Union men must leave, 
949-951 ; Stafford's brigade, 984 ; police no authority to arrest convention, 986, 989; thinks 
the difficulties do not lie in attempt to establish negro suffrage, but because they are con 
quered, 999-1002; instances Bates's and Stafford's declarations of hatred, 1003-1005. 

O'Donnell, Wm. O'C, seen with revolver in hand on oUth July — Sullivan, 2278 ; a noted 
thug and assassin — Burke, 6999. 

O'Neil, Michael, testimony of, 2025-2164 ; was policeman and ordered to report morning of 
July 30 armed, 2032; others also armed, 2040; revolvers to be returned "after the thino- 
was over," 2047; police began to fire aided by citizens, 2052, 2053; was sick two days 
after the deeds; negroes did nothing, 2054, 2055;, fired into Mechanics' Institute; saw 
men jump from the windows ; firing kept up tor an hour and a quarter; heard the alarm bell, 
20U2-2074; no rioting rendering necessary to fire, 207 'J ; found two white and three black 
men hidden in Mechanics' Institute; white men saved but citizens killed the negroes, 2088, 
also 2H)3; street bloody and floor bloody, 2092 ; thinks 150 weie killed, 2096; never saw 
police so armed before, 2106; "no sin to kill a nigger," 2109 ; have been dismissed from 
police, 21 10-2117 ; saw some police try to quell riot, 2118; did not see chief of police do any- 
thing unbecoming an officer, 2123; thinks police caused much bloodshed, 2125 ; crowd of 



582 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

citizens greater than police, 2127 : United States officer appeared when riot was over, 2136 
military could have quelled riot, 2138; saw a white flag in hall; did not see uegroes using 
any weapons, 2143-2154 ; police could have prevented murder if they had desired to, 2162. 

Offices of State of Louisiana, held by rebels — Howell, 593; lieutenant governor and attorney 
general — Hire, 728; auditor of State — Neville, 1262 ; present was confederate ditto — idem, 
1264; all tilled with returned rebels, 1272, also Earhart, at length, 1837; governor re- 
cognized as loyal, 1^72 ; president of senate and United States senator elect number of 
convention — Smith, 2167 ; loyal man can't get — Smith, 2181 ; Union men do desin — idem, 
2252 : rebel stay-at-homes hold offices — Mollere, 2391 ; list of several and their history in 
brief — idem, Union men can be elected to — Barker, 3381 : private secretary to governor— 
Snethen, 3691; Sauve, recorder of sales — Saute, 3717; rebels bold — Leaumount, 3762; 
applicant for federal office — Tisdale, 3826; United States judge — Durell, 3827 ; judge of 
supreme court of Louisiana — III shy, 38? 5 ; Howell, assistant justice of supreme court, 559 ; 
Abell, judge of criminal court of New Orleans — Abcll, 3899 ; only vote for rebel — Sheldon, 
4014; right to hold, entirely with white men — Did;, -1272; part in hands of secessionists 
and part of Union men — Brady, 4457; names of J. P. Welder and others, assessors, given, 
every one of whom were elected and had been in the confederacy — Waters, 5106 ; men who 
have served in rebel army get into office — Terry, 5190; legislature has a rebel majority — 
Crawford, 5283; does not think the power of, in the hands of rebels — Penn, 5304, 5313; 
would exclude leaders from — Ftllowes, 5614 ; rebels in — Jenkins, 57,58 ; all being filled by 
rebels dees not prove disloyalty, but that the people stick to their friends — Wallace, 6123 
et scq. ; nearly all in the hands of the rebels — Zacharie. 64(2 ; Voorhies, Monroe, and 
Heron were rebels — Baird, 6521 ; names of State officers and their political antecedents — 
Belden, 6676-6682. 

Official report of General Baird, page 455. 

Oglesby, J. II., testimony of, 4476-4483; commission merchant; does not believe there is 
any love for government, 4479 ; Union families do not associate with secession ; there is 
no desire for it on either side, 4479-4480 ; there is among the southern people, no real love 
for the Union, 44K!. 

Organizations, secret, exist in Louisiana — CConnell, 967-970; orders against, by General 
Sheridan ; fourth July celebration by — idem ; Hays's brigade relief, notice of — idem, 1006 : 
none to tight for convention — Montieu, 114.': believes there are secret ones — Mollere, 2395 ; 
of rebels in tire department — Jourdain, 31 1 1 ; clubs of rebels to employ no one not in rebel 
service — Planchard, 4^77, 4896; in rebel army — Mithoff, 5342; Durant club — Boquille, 
5576, 5583 ; Southern Rights, Mr. Fish member of — Fellowes, 5649 ; knows of secret organ- 
izations among the rebels — Sh<_l!ei/, 6801-6804; account of — Burke, 7011-7015; both 
secret and open are made in New Orleans, against northern men in the south — Ptiige, 
7217-7219; by-laws of " Southern Cross Association " — Kennedy, 7350-7355) also 7382- 
7389; evidences and character of, in Louisiana, 7429,7499-7520; understood that old 
military rebel organizations kept up— Cutler, 412. 

Oubre, A., testimony of, 1010-1669 ; was at convention and describes in full the slaughter; 
saw a man killed while begging for mercy, 1014,1015; wounds not dressed day 1 was 
wounded, 1016; case of Dr. Dostie and Mr. Horton, 1019-1021 ; preconcerted, 1024-1029; 
office-holders, rebels, 1030, also 1044-1049; did not anticipate a riot, 1032; no difficulty 
in arresting convention if police had desired, 1033-1038; people more rebel than during 
the war, 1039-1043, also 1050-1054; President's policy produced a good effect here, 
because rebels in the majority, and they were pleased, 1055, 1056, also 1065 ; thinks people 
loyal Jo President's policy, 1061 ; thinks in case of foreign war people there would side 
with enemy, 1061,1062; thinks convention intended to establish negro suffrage, 1033, 
also 1066,1067. 



Paig-e, Nathaniel, testimony of, 7154-7234 ; planting in Louisiana ; up to the time when Mr. 
Johnson commenced pardoning rebels the sentiment of loyally was favorable; since that 
northern men have been excessively oppressed and annoyed, 7163, also 7202-7204 ; thinks 
it was a concerted movement; how oppressed, 7169; southern people in New Orleans 
were determined by force or fair means to break up the convention, 7171, 7205-7210 ; 
annoyances of lessees of plantations, what, 7183-7196; Loyal, the guerilla, and his par- 
don, 7188, 7)35; General Banks promised protection to planters in cultivating lands, 7191 ; 
certain members of convention (names given) said they would bold the meeting, blood- 
shed or not, 7213; combinations both secret and open are made in New Orleans against 
northern men in business at the south, 7210, 7^17 ; the reliance of northern men in the 
south is now almost entirely 'upon Congress, 7224 ; many such men desire to remain 
there if protected, but must leave if not, 7^28. 

Panza, S. II., testimony of. 3637-3690; life saved by Charles Caylat, 3611 : policeman put 

pistol to my head ; d d black Yankee republican, 3643 ; mob would have killed me 

but for police, 3653 ; should fear for my life if I said I was a Union man, 3657 ; is a radi- 
cal aud a pilot, 3055-o66l. 

Parker, J. Thomas, testimony of, 3662-3690; surveyor of port and native of New Orleans, 
.' ; do not think riot proceeded from disloyal feeling, 3057 ; people generally for gov- 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 5S3 

eminent, 3668; if admitted to Union, would strengthen loyalty of State, 3672; would be 

secure if troops removed, 3074 ; justice in courts; in foreign war would be for Union, 
3676; freedom of speech exists in New Orleans, 3679; do not know thai Horton, Dostie, 
and Henderson were killed tin their opinions, 3684 and 3690; don't know how it happens 
that scores were killed simply for opinions, 3687 ; holds office under federal appointment, 
3689. 

Paymaster in rebel army ; why resigned and how appointed judge in New Orleans — Fellowes, 
6095-6101. 

Peace, breach of, not to be made by convention — Hiestand, 40-42, Durant, 100, IVuples, 
292-300; cannot say citizens of New Orleans plotted riot at largt — idem, 301 ; not part of 
duty of deputy sheriff to interfere in — Wurtzberger, 3496; Mr, Horton advised colored 
people to retire lest might cause — BSorrell, 4840 ; advised the non-attendance of friends at 
the convention because of threatened breach of peace — Paige, 7212. 

Penn, Alfred, testimony of, 5287-5335; a banker; though! something -would happen from 
what he had heard was said at the public meeting, 5293 ; thinks the people can be de- 
pended upon to obey the laws, 5294 ; there is no danger in the expression of opinion; 
thinks it would strengthen the loyalty of the people to admit Louisiana, 5299 ; the seces- 
sionists now admit that they were -wrong and Unionists right, 5303 ; doesn't know that 
the whoie power of the .State is in rebel hands, 5304; thinks Monroe is not so bad as he 
used to be, 5310; thinks. the rebels ought not to be punished, 5317 ; does not think they 
would secede again if they could, even if they could get slavery back, 5320. 

Pfeifer, William, testimony of, 2595-2616; preconcert, 2599, and "will fight for con- 
federacy," 2602; police all armed and city in uproar, 2602, 2603; is not molested himself 
in New Orleans, 2606; was in Union army, 2608. 

Philips, James, assisted in riot — Hire, 709 and 72:1; said Hahn, Dostie, Shaw, and Fish 
would be hung in streets — G'Connell, 915 and 952 ; captain saved — Duplessis, 1898. 

Pierson, Coolie, pursued witness' for half a block, but did not fire — Pique"e, '1217 ; captain 
beaten by rebels — Cooper, 7639. 

Piqmo, Dr. J. R., testimony of, 1 191-1237 ; went to the hall to see a friend, and while there 
the police made their attack, 1197-1202; thinks people in the hall not aimed, 1214; saw 
the minister go with a white handkerchief in token of surrender, 1215 ; saw citizens armed 
with bowie knives and pistols, 1216; was pursued by Coolie Pierson; was wounded in 
shoulder, 1217-1222; saw no violence except by police and citizens, 1224-1225; at lock- 
up asked for wet cloths, and received water and salt, 1226-1228; attended upon the 
wounded in lock-up, 1230; saw badges, and heard that police had been armed, 1233- 
1236. 

Pistols, where sold on day of riot and to whom — Ward, 2758 ; given in crowd — Bnlcstier, 
2853, 2863; loaded at police station — Harris, 3029, Pitman, 3185. 

Pitman, Albeit, testimony of, 3143-3196; porter at recorder's court had twelve rooms filled 
with prisoners that day ; piled them in, and those that couldn't stand were thrown on 
floor, 3151 ; brought wounded in carts and drays, 3155; turnkey told me not to go to con- 
vention, 3158; police armed; said "there will be hell of a fuss," 3163; police all assem- 
bled at their stations before daylight, 3165; alarm bell started them, 3170; heard pistols 
were brought to office on Saturday, and all were loaded there, 3181-3186. 

Planchard, S. E., testimony of, 4866-4896; description of getting out of the hall, 4868 ; was 
robbed of his cane, spectacles, and money by police, 4870 ; subjected to most opprobrious 
epithets, 4870 ; was against him because he had been interpreter for General Butler, 4872 ; 
Union people not safe if military withdrawn, 4873; people say this on the street, 4-77 and 
4895 : police were from men who had been in the war, 4878 ; has always been in favor of 
the Union ; wants Congress to fix the political business for Louisiana, 4889. 

Police, formed and marched toward Mechanics' Institute at tap of bell — Hiestand, 13; bat- 
band reversed, threatened my life — idem, 14; were in uniform, 19, and extra force, 21; 
police force had been in rebel army — idem, 45, and appointed by mayor — idem, ">1 ; char- 
acter well known — idem, 53 and 162; all armed— Durant, 90; rescue Mr. Fish— Fish, 
J24: special — idem, 136 and 157; saw no effort of, to quiet— idem, 149, Andem, 188; 
special— Brooks, 225; one, wounded— idem, 246; armed, with money from city treasury — 
Waples, 303; in dress of, shot Mr. Horton— Cutler, 363; four to six hundred of, i □ 
in massacre — idem, '375; could have peaceably arrested convention — idem, 389 ; did not 
aid in preserving peace — Fish, 469; came in 'crowds to number of four hundred — War- 
month, 477: one of, died from heat — Warmouth, 489; could have kept the peace— idem, 
490; armed— Hurt, 518; firing into windows of Mechanics' Institute by — Howell, 563; 
all police changed by Monroe and rebels put in— Hire. 725 ; character of, " put forward " 
at Washington— idem, 739 ; saw ten of, to one citizen, fire into hall — Campanel, 7'J6; one 
killed from over-exertion— idem, 804 ; came in squads at signal— DaZZas, 839; saw, dis- 
charge pistols at crowd— G'Connell, 915 ; first attack on hall made by— idem ; may be two 
or three Union men on— idem, 929; police of, nothing to do with arrests; exclusively 
under mayor's control — idem, 986-989 ; fired upon and into hall an hour and a half— Le 
Clfrc, 1076; saw two or three hundred armed— Montieu, 1125 ; all rebels— idem, 1134 and 
1167; saw the police use revolvers and charge the hall six times — Piquie, 1205 ; were 'all 
armed; declared they wanted no prisoners— Hughes, 1306; once chief of— Robinson, 1360; 



584 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 



now made up of rebels— idem, 1 374 ; blockaded tbe building where convention met — 
Thomas, 1661 ; killed men like flies — Capla, 1704 ; police the worst of men — idem, 17-21 ; 
police Nos. 41, 42 said the}- were "going to bang Dostieand Halm" — Gibbons, 1789, '803, 
1807; tried to shoot — Daunoy, 1905, 1907; did not try to protect— idem, 1910; saw 
" thug " in police on day of riot — idem, 1935; police began it— O' Neil, 2052 ami -Jlt)4 ; 
police armed for that day — idem, 2106 ; saw some of, who tried to stop barbarities — idem, 
2118 to ihe end, also Balestier, 2853 ; saw them shoot many — Remoir, 2291 ; mostly re- 
gistered enemies — Mollere, 2392; saw police and others shooting both black and white — 
New, 2443 ; police, boys, and citizens all mingled — New, '2444 ; were making a frolic of 
it — idem, riding on the bodies, 2485, also 2513: saw some act humanely — idem, 2502; 
were armed — Sueur, 2573; very few of, wounded and none killed — Hartsuff, 2668 ; man 
shot by police after he had fallen down — Fisher, 2721 ; threaten to drive out and kill — 
James, 2804; seven upon one man — Balestier, 2853; came in squads — idem, 2870 : 
majority of, rioters — idem, 2881 ; police aggressors — Evans, 2912; object of seemed to kill 
everybody — Evans, 2912 ; said they had been taken from their beats — Fox, 2988; ordered 
to arm — Harris, 3005 to 3030, also 3057 ; declarations of intention to kill — idem, 3038- 
3046 ; said they were going to have hell of a fuss — Pitman, 3163 ; saw police all come to 
headquarters at five Monday morning-, armed — Murral, 3207 ; police shot leg off — Colis, 
3432: rebels— Lynch, 3517,3519,}. 
Police — the other side as presented : 

Think did the best they could to protect lives — Vose, 32444-; Alfred Shaw and Dr. Hire 
saved by — Vose, 3245; one presented pistol at head — Panza, :>t">41 ; police besieged 
Mechanics' Institute — Snethen, 3701 ; might have quelled riot, 37(12 : charge made by, 
on negroes after latter had tired — Sauve, 3716 ; did not anticipate a riot but desired to 
prevent the danger of it — Abell, 3948; warned by brother mason on police not to attend — 
Crozat, 31)89; some police behav.ed badly — Adams, 4045; some saved life — idem : none 
armed but such as armed themselves, 4049-4052; dragged down stairs by, but one 
policeman saved his life — Hood, 4064 ; saw police protect Mr. Halm — Greenwood, 4179, 
also Florence, 4199 ; police, was fired upon from the hall — Mott, 43f>9 ; were armed with 
the ordinary club, 4394 ; none were killed — Mower, 4542; eight hundred extra sworn in 
on July 30 — Todd, 4024, 4635, inflicted fourteen wounds on— Duffy, 4748; police be- 
sieged Mechanics' Institute and fired upon without provocation— Delandes, 4776; two 
shot him in the head — idem ; wounded men said in hospital that police had caused their 
wounds — Campbell, 4800; live polio — two named Cook and Sykes — shot Martin Selff — 
Selff, 4827 ; began to fire in halt without provocation — Morell, 4841 ; assaulted, insult- 
ed, and maltreated by — Ptanchard, 4808; ordered in writing to come in on Monday 
July 30, armed — Dorsey, 4898; under proper authority and with proper feeling, police 
could have preserved peac< — Sheridan, 4988; told chief of, unless he kept peace the 
troops would tight — idem, 5003; it was a "massacre by the police" — idem, 5020 ; police 
did all they could to save life — Clark, 503:!; struck by police on the head — Azaretto, 
5075; saw violence among, but one saved his life — Haters, 5086; police killed a aegro 
and ripped him open — Terry, 5185 ; generally, are returned rebels — Shackleton, 5738, 
Jenkins, 5759; police were armed — Joyce, 5878; police force was rebel — Field, 5969; 
Lucien Adams, William O'C. Donnell, Barney Fox, G. W. Rockwell, Thomas E. 
Adams, W. H. Manning, M. J. Sheehan, J.N. Boylan, Smith Izard, Harry Strong, 
Arthur Gueriu, Oscar Blasco, Win. Lockwood, Aleck Lattimore, all were officers or 
members of police on July 30, and all have been in rebel army— Burke, 6993-6999; see 
also idem, 7026-7041 ; character of, in 1865 — Conway, 7411 and 7475-74^4. 
Polk, President, attorney, United States district under — Durant, 70; at inauguration of— 

Earhart, 1884. 
Poynet, O. H., the only man observed armed of those in the convention— Randall, 5396. 
Prearrangement for riot by police, evidence of ; denunciation of convention — Hiestand, 11; 
blue badges, hat-band of police reversed, pistols in their belts — idem, 11-14, also 37 and 
47; badges appeared early in morning — idem, 34 ; conversation overheard — Durant, 79 and 
106; police armed night before convention — Waples, 303; Washing-ton artillery badges in 
the riot— idem, 304 ; warnings by anonymous letters, &c — Fish, 433 and 438, Howell, 586, 
O'Conntll, 953; printed circulars and threats — Hiestand, 47, Warmouth, 503 ; alarm bell — 
Souvinet, 538, Miller, 745, Cutler, 374, O'Connell, 956, Staes, 1690; badges and white 
handkerchiefs — O'Connell, 915 and 917-926, Staes, 1682, Daunoy, 1907, Sullivan, 2283, 
Renaud, 2330, New, 2448, 2507, 2523; "the niggers and half-niggers to be wiped out" — 
Oubre, 1014, 1024; threats— Montieu, 1099, 1104, 1113. L128, 1150-1163, Piquie, 1232; 
notice from a lady — Hughes, 1308 and 1318; arms distributed ; threat of killing; signal 
bells, &c— Thomas, 1413-1455 and 1497-1597 and 1652-1666, O'Niel, 2063, Snaer, 2576, 
Brooks, 200; "going to hang Halm and Dostie" — Gibbons, 1780, 1808; "no man to 
come out alive" — Winfree, 1829, 1830; "going to break up convention " — Cooper, 1991, 
1994; order to come armed — O'Neil, 2032-2049 ; cartridges distributed— idem, 2092, Ren- 
aud, 2342 and 2358 ; threats by mayor— Smith, 2204 ; police gathered at station — Mollere, 
2429 ; "We will show you to-day" — Pj'eiffer, 2599 ; organized plan to disperse convention — 
Fish, 123 and 145; talk in public places — Brooks, 235 and 241 ; badges and handkerchiefs— 
Cutler, 413; police came in squads at ringing of bell — Dallas, 839; warned by rebe^ 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 585 

woman that Mr. Crane would be killed — Crane, 2620; fire alarm — Fishery 2732,2745; 
badges — Ward, 2755 ; going to clean out convention — idem, 2759 ; will fix the convention — 
James, 2777 and 2788-2793; badges, &c. — Batestier, 2887 ; fire alarm — idem, 2893 and 
2897 ; policeman said on 29th July, unless mayor withdraws his orders, to-morrow will be 
bloodiest day, &c. — Fox, 2983; firemen collected — idem, 2984, Jourdain, 3064 and 3089; 
firemen collected before the alarm — idem, 3095 and 3.1 15 ; fire-bell rang and police assem- 
bled, all arms loaded — Pitman, 3160-3176 ; police left for the convention at ringing of bell — 
Murral, 3209; firemen turned out too — idem, 3218, Panza, 3646; did not expect riot— 
Snetken, 3697 ; warned beforehand by policeman that a riot would occur — Cr >zat, 3989 ; 
arrangements to hurl mayor and all officers from power — Gregory, 4127 ; learned prepara- 
tion for — Matt, 4360; was warned that there would be trouble and kept away from — Mon- 
tamalt, 4608; Soulie dismissed his school stating that there was to be a riot — Todd, 1624 ; 
arms brought to the ground in an engine and thence distributed — Convertier, 4660-4665 ; 
police were all night before the 30th preparing — Desalles, 4738; "convention should not 
meet" — Duffy. 4757 : police reversed hat-band ; fire alarm was rune- — Delandes, 4777, 4778 ; 
said Dr. Dostie's speech would be his last — Campbell, 4791 ; "this is to be a big day" — 
Selff, 4823; "going to kill all you niggers and have orders to — idem, 4823^ ; saw badges 
and pistols sold to citizens — Todd, 4865 ; written order read to police to come Monday 
armed without fail— Dorsey, 489S-4903 and 4944-4952; citizens armed and threatening to 
drive troops from the city — Slieridan, 4983 ; police concentrated for action, 5008, and mayor 
not trying to quell riot, 5020; police said they were to attack convention — Waters, 5091 ; 
■warned by clerk that a slaughter would take place — Tury, 5178; warned Mr. Field, Judge 
Howell, and others of the threatened massacre — idem, 5180; prevented from going to con- 
vention by his little boy, who had heard at school that there, was'to be a riot, — Mithoff, 534] : 
badge of Washington artillery — Randall, 5400; heard before, all were to be killed — idem, 
54(15 ; informed police that the negroes threatened riot and that the police should be there — 
Tilton, 5530; as to first firing upon them see same, 5537 : siw six or seven hundred police 
loading their pistols and said they were going to kill negroes and Union men — Boquille, 
5574; "we've got the convention at last'" — Joyce, 5876-i ; firemen came armed — idem, 
5887-5893 ; fire companies at Biloxi anxious to he hack to be at convention — Sypher, 6354, 
and Fuller, 6374; saw some negroes going towards the hall who appeared to be armed — 
Zacharie, 6388; preparations by buying arms, massing of police, &c. — Shelley, 6795 and 
6856-6863. 

Prearrangement on part of convention, none for violence — Hiestand, 42, Durant, 100, Fish, 
141: no one ever intimated violence — Waples, 292 ; no thought of violence — Culler, 414; 
no armed aid for convention — Fish, 442; bad taken no steps for defence — Warmouth, 484 ; 
no preconcert for defence — Hart, 522; convention unarmed, Howell, 577; no preparation — 
Hire, 733, Dunn, 774, Campanel, 787; no expectation of attack — idem, 802; colored men 
declared themselves unarmed — Dallas, 838; no organization to defend it — idem, 861 : n< -rues 
made use of brickbats after attacked, and two used pistols — O'Conne.ll, 915 and 930; saw- 
no acts of violence by negroes — Montieu, 11-27 ; no organization to fight for convention — 
idem, 1142; people in hall not armed — Pic/nee, 1214; no apprehension of trouble — Hughes, 
1306, and no disposition to fight, 1324; negroes begged for mercy — Staes, 1684-1689; bad 
no arms — Capla, 1713; proportion of conventionists armed, small — Daunoy, 19l'7 ; negroes 
unarmed, 2056, Mollere, 2386; saw no act id' violence by friends of convention — New, 
2464-2465 ; negroes not armed — Evans, 2922 ; negroes had walking sticks — Fox, 2982 ; 
negroes unarmed and begging for life — Jourdain, 3101 ; negroes said they bad been sent. 
for to guard convention — Saute", 3723; no firing by friends of convention — Hood, 4075; 
Warmouth and Shaw did not expect riot— Glenn, 4108; avowed preconcert of negroes— 
Voorkies, 4111, Uregory, 4127, Dostie told '-crowd to come armed," and they responded 
that they would — Brady, 4424-4432; knows negroes were not armed — Desalles, 47 
disposition to fight on part of convention— Duffy, 4754 ; colored people unarmed— Delandes, 
4785; found no truth in reports of arming of negroes — Sheridan, 4981'; convention had 
made no preparation— Waters, 5087; no preparation— Randall, 5404 : negroes were armed 
with clubs and pistols— Tilton, 5530 ; members of convention did not fire— Boquille, 5582 ; 
negroes went to ball entirely unarmed^— Sidney, 5863; members of convention were 
unarmed— Field, 51)74 ; was armed on day of riot and used pistol on the crowd of police 
and mob— Burke, 7066-7075, also 7083. 

President, knowledge of character of city ofiicers aud»police — Hiestand, 54-58, see also Ken- 
nedy entire, 7325, p. 519; present condition of opinion among officers, 6J-64 : know of no 
communication to, as to character of police— Durant, 109; consulted as to reconvoking 
convention— Fish, 122; policy of, discussed— Cutler, 395; policy of, cause of bitterness— 
Hoicelt-, 594, 652,684; consulted as to assembling of convention— idem, 610; telegram 
sent by, to legislature of State— idem, 669; secession principles of— idem, 689, 695 : char- 
acter of police known to— Hire, 739; people of Louisiana say "President with them"— 
Dunn, 762; policy of, makes people quiet, because it encourages the rebel majority— 
Oubre, 1055, 1061; pardon of, for Monroe— Earhart, 1839, Hays, 1850; policy of, repro- 
bated by Union men, and cause of danger— idem, 1855, 1887 ; policy of, would throw 
power in rebel hands — Smith, 2253 ; policy of, would allay bitterness, by driving out Union 
men— Moltere, 2424; people generally in favor of restoration policy of— New, 2535; power 



586 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

of, on rebel side, and would kill all Yankee officers — James, 2781 ; restoration policy of, 
desirabh — JVitkerall, 3237, Vose, 3254, Rozier, 3315; policy of. had a good effect — idem, 
3333; matter of arrest to be submitted to — Voorhies, 3510; ordered military, if necessary, 
to aid in execution of civil process — Flerron, 3619; did not apply to, for aid in prosecuting 
murderers — idem, 3626; adoption of policy of, would have good effect — Parker, 3762; 
Durell, 3838; Abell, 3398; Sheldon, 401 1 ; action of, unfortunate in pardoning politicians who 
took State onl of Union — Sheldon, 4016; adoption of policy of, would strengthen loyalty of 
people — Rosctius, 4024, 4030 ; dare not attempt to prevent convention meeting — Dirk, 4246; 
effect of policy of, what — Kellogg, 4301-4318 ; policy of, is supported by those in Louisiana 
who expect to regain power — Blackburn, 6202 ; telegram from, to Governor Wells, to know 
if it would be proper to call a convention — Wells, 6493; telegram of General Sheridan, Au- 
gust 1, procured at mansion of — Warden, 6765; not interfered with, or directed by, in 
procuring — idem, 6773; exercise of pardoning power of, caused great annoyance to loyal- 
ists at south — Ptiiire, 7185: conferences with — Paige, 7170; speech of, hi reference to 
riot — Walbridge, 7258; correspondence with — Kennedy, 7320; name coupled with Jeff. 
Davis's, 7428; telegram of, to Louisiana legislature, p. 550. 

Prince, T. Maxcy, conference with, in reference to convention and prominent men in Lou- 
isiana — Paige, 7170. 

Procession, number of, sixty to one hundred — Durant, 96; appearance of, and unarmed — 
Bro >ks, 208, 231 ; negroes killed seemed to have nothing to do with — Warmouth, 478; first 
firing was on — Howell, 588 : saw first shot in ; was not armed — Cam-panel, 797, 805 ; fired 
upon without provocation— Dallas, 836 ; entered hall with flag and music — G'Connell, HI.") ; 
saw, coming up, and fir^l upon by some one in crowd — Hughes, 1306; saw, marching, and 
noticed some sticks carried, but no arms in, 1325-1336; man in crowd fired upon — Gibbons, 
1790, 1796, fired upon byCrevon — Remind, 2310; James, 2777 ; shot fired at, by Antony 
Elmore — James, 2775, also Jourdain, 3063; note written to General Baird before arrival 
of—J r oorkies, 3511; headed by flag — Snethen, 3691; Sauve, 371,3; was sixty or seventy 
only — Glenn, 4108; saw procession, and noticed violence of, and was very insulting, 4134, 
414-'; saw procession, and tiring around it — Mo/t, 4358; saw procession fired into — Wrot- 
nowski, 4649; account of — (see Tilton, 5531 ;) first firing upon — Boquille, 5578 ; drummer 
shot while climbing out of window ; saw first shot fired — Sidney, 5858, 5869. See Elmore. 

Proclamations — Judge Howell, president ;>n> tern., for issuing, to recall convention — Fish, 
121 ; calling convention — Howell, 562 ; of General Banks, tor election of 1864 — idem, 631 ; 
Monroe's intended, to carry on war against blacks and Unionists — G'Connell, 915; refer- 
ence to Monroe's — Herron, 3595, near end ; of Governor Wells, for election of members of 
convention, p. 274; of amnesty by Mr. Lincoln, took oath under — Fellowts, 6097 ; Mon- 
roe's July 30, pp. 445, 446 ; Baird's. of martial law, p. 446. 

Property, amount and character of, restored to former rebels in Louisiana — Conicay, 7419- 
7426,*7461-7475. 

E. 

Randall, William L , testimony of, 53S1-5409; was in the hall and describes the events of 
the day, 5392 ; no preparation for defence on the part of the convention, 5394 ; no one 
fired out of the windows, 5397 ; saw the badge of Washington artillery, 5400 ; heard tin eats 
fifteen days before the riot and saw the police collecting preparatory to going to hall, 5408. 

Rapides, parish of; Colonel Frisbie obliged to leave, see Frisbie, 60i0-6059 ; is in a state 
of perfect anarchy — Couley, 6281. 

Raymond, Henry J., testimony of, 7618-7631 ; representative from New York and sent 
an account of the republican caucus and remarks of Mr. Boutwell, 7621 ; account of 
caucus, 7622; extract from editorial in New York Times as to riot, 7624; no action was 
taken at caucus, 7626. See Boutwell, 6933. 

Rebels, John T. Monroe, mayor of New Oilcans, identified vritll-r-Hiestaiid, 50; also police 
— idem, 53; sympathy with, shown by Governor Wells — idem, 58; officers of New Orleans 
reliefs — Dnraitt, 84; arrogance of, increased now — idem, 9:!; Voorhies and Herron known 
as — idem, 110; to break into gun stores on day of riot — Brooks, 2-':'.: disfranchisement of, 
would give power to Union men if negroes vole — Waples, 341; hate by, cause of mas- 
sacre — Cutler, 393; female, very vindictive — idem, 412; Warmouth, 497; local control 
held by — Howell, 591; saw bands of, armed — Hire, 702; rebels on police — O'Conmll, 
928; Sheridan said men represented by O'Connel], no better than — O'Connel'. 946; all 
men in office here are rebels — Oubre, 1030, KM.",; office goes to — Smith, 2181; "Have 
fought for confederacy," &c. — PfiiJ'ir, 2599; mesi of police rebels — Jourdain, 3081; all 
whites in the State were — Leaumount, 3782 ; Believe surrendered in good faith — Ulsly, 
3886; should hi' disfranchised — Kingston, 4603 ; police nearly all rebels — Morrell, 4843; 
Dorsey, 4917 ; majority of police are rebel soldiers — Waters, 5105; some rebels should be 
readmitted to suffrage — Southworth, 5940 ; rejoiced in the coming of General Fullerton, 
7427 ; ami grew insolent when pardons began to increase — Conway, 7408. 

Rebellion, leaders of, ought to be pimished under existing laws — Blair, 4961 ; would not 

. enter upon, again — Pinn, 5319; doesn't know whether, was opposed to. as was in Italy 
during the war — Tilton, 5556-5568; would exclude leaders of, from office; three-fourths 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY 587 

of white population joined iu — Fclloiccs, 5614,5618; Halm at onetime encouraged — Fel- 
lotoes, 5637. 

Reconstruction Committee, letter alleged, written by two members of — Tisdale, 3804 ; thinks 
it. was to Mr, Flanders. 3818 and 3819; did not write any letter to any person concerning 
tlie Louisiana convention — Howard, 6022; Fessenden, 6925; Williams, 6928; Johnson, 
6932; Grimes, 6983; Harris, 7 153; same answer from — Boutwell, 6934 ; has no recollec* 
tion of any such letter — Stevens, 6957 ; never wrote such a letter — Conkling, 7141 ; Bing- 
ham, 7236; Washburn, 6974 ; Hist, 6976; Morrill, 6978; Rogers, 6985; Blow, p. 545 at 
bottom. (The above includes all the members of the Reconstruction Committee. See 
Tisdale, 38030 

Remoir, Anthony, testimony of, 2287-2303; was member of United States, colored regiment, 
2303; jumped from window of Mechanics' Institute and was caught, cut with bowie-knife, 
and beaten by police, 2203 ; saw no violence except by police, 2295. 

Renaud, C, testimony' of, 2304-2350; describes killing or black men on street; firing 1 upon 
them indiscriminately, 2311-2318; policeman "saw a negro and killed him just like a 
dog," 2322; saw twenty negroes killed at back door of Mechanics' Institute, 2323; saw 
badges on police, &c, 2329-2334 : convention might have been arrested without violence, 
2:!:;.") ; orders to police to arm and firemen brought cartridges, 2336-2339, also 2342-2348 
ami 2358; was in federal army during war. 

Report, coroner's, ou twenty-two bodies; hot fire around to prevent stench of putrefaction — 
Hartsuff, p. 182, par. 2750; official of General Baird, p. 450. 

Resolutions passed by, before adjournment of convention of 1864 — Howell, 603 and 610; 
offered by Cutler to adjourn for one hour — <Y Council, 915; voted against in busing seizure 
of forts iii Louisiana — Rozier, 3308; iu reference to Jeff. Davis and General Twiggs — Bar- 
ker, :! ! 1 7-34 19 ; in reference to seizure of forts — Herron, 3604 ; of 1864 superseded by arti- 
cle of constitution, 147; of secession convention in honor of General Twiggs — Roselius, 
4632 ; also as to Jeff*. Davis — idem, 4037 ; also thanks to Governor Moore for seizing United 
States forts, &c. — idem, 4041; in reference to same — Clark, 5(142; in reference to Jeff. 
Davis and A. H. Stephens — Lapei/rc, 5157 ; also Bush's resolution in favor of seizing 
custom-house and forts — idem, 5158. 

Riot, description of—Durant, 81; Fish, 123, 180; Brooks, 208; Cutler, 357; Fish, 433; 
Warmouth, All ; Hoxcell, 563; Hire, 706; commencement of and first shot in — Hire, 721 ; 
description of — Campanel, 783; saw wdiole of it in hall and describes— O'Connelt, 915; 
slaughters of described — Onbre, 1014; did not expect — idem, 1031; shooting and attacks 
of described — Le Clare, 1076; description of massacre— Hughes, 1306; excitement inci- 
dent to and cries of "Hang 'em all" — Staes, 1676; descrintion of and preceding threats — 
Gibbons, 1789; account of— Mollere, 237U ; Ward, 2754 ;" Balestier, 2853 ; full: account— 
Jourdain, 3063; made by boys — Vose, 3258; produced by meetings, &e. — Barker, 3371; 
perpetrators of have not been arrested — idem, 3395 ; not due to disloyalty — Wurtzbcrgcr, 
3471 ; knowledge of causes of it — Voorliics, 3510; unable to procure testimony as to those 
who began — Herron, 3629; first shot seen in, from negro — Snethen, 3690, 37n4 ; disloyalty 
not cause oi^Durcll, 3833; lllsley, 3872; no prosecutions against the inciters or perpe- 
trators of, 3957 et seq. ; convention was cause of— Abell, 3967 ; 30,000 negroes called in 
to sustain — idem, 3071; the understood origin of given — Roselius, 4017-4018 ; description 
of portion of — Grcevwood, 4167; Florence, 4199; most desperate and bloody — Benton, 
4218; commenced by negroes and convention firing upon police — Mott, 4358 and 4359 ; 
saw the commencement of and describes — Mower, 4540; Duffy, 4748; Morrell, 4840- 
4841; Planchard, 4868; saw the mob creating riot by firing from the hall — Clark, 5032; 
describes his escape — Waters, 5086; did not anticipate a riot — Penn, 5292; description 
of — Randall, 5392 ; described as being commenced by convention and negroes — Tilton, 
5530; Southworth, 501':!; no appearance of in early part of day — Baird, p. 444 ; report on 
of General Baird, p. 450; description of— Burke, 6992 ; charged upon the radical Con- 
cress — Walbridge, 725s 1 . 

Rioters, names of ; Lucien Adams known to have committed murder on riot day — Shelley, 
6824 ; Sokoloski, a Polish Jew, armed with a pistol, on staircase — Burke, 6001 ; Daniel 
Scully, editor of Crescent, 6998; (see idem for names of noted rebels and thugs on police, 
6999;) Barnarees shot a negro near Claiborne street— Jourdain, 3068; Oscar Blasco 
stabbed Captain Loup, &v.— IVilliams, 5234-5238; Crevou or Crevaux— Renaud, 2310 ; 
James, 2777 ; Cook, policeman, shot Martin— Self, 4827 ; Antony Elmore fired first shot— 
Jourdain, 3063; Earhart killed Captain Loup— Fox, 2968-2977; Fry, baggage express- 
man, kills a man on a cart — Brooks, 244 ; Fox fires at negroes running from him — Sulli- 
van, 2278; Gullman fired first shot at Captain Loup— Williams, 5231 ; Gilmartin, pistol 
in hand— Burke, 6996; Hyat had used all his cartridges— C Neil, 2092; Lebaire shoots_a 
negro across the_street — Haicksicorth, 2688 ; Lazarus shot Captaiu Loup— Williams, 5235 ; 
Moon orders dead bodies to be thrown in river— Fvans, 2912 ; Nelson shot at—Desalles, 
4737; O'Donnell armed with revolver— Sail i ran, 2278; Burke, 6999; Phillips, citizen, 
assisted in riot— Hire, 709-723 ; O'Connell, 915-952 ; Pierson pursued Piquee with pistol — 
Piqme, 1217; Scully shot a man through the neck— Ward, 2754 ; Sykes shot Selff— Selff, 
4827 ; Taylors — Ward, 2754 ; Thayer shoots a man and boy in a street car — James, 2778; 
Leans, 2917; Renaud, 2318 ; Mollere, 2370 ; Dryden beat "Governor Hahn. 



588 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

Robinson, Boyd, testimony of, 1358-1410; was at one time chief of police in New Orleans, 
1358; thinks the police now generally rebel soldiers, and none others could get on, 1362- 
1377 : was arrested on night of July 31 si and severely injured, 1378 ; and upbraided in in- 
sulting terms, 1379; also 1408—1410; left office in custom-house because afraid of assassina- 
tion mi account of his Union sentiments, 1380-1384 ; was lieutenant of police under 
General Butler, 1387 and 1403; was supporter of convention and advocate of negro suf- 
frage, 1391-1399; insults in street, 1402. 

Rocheblanc street, man living in, shoots from his residence across the street with a fowling 
piece and kills a negro — Hawksworth, 2686. 

Rogers, Andrew J., testimony of, 6984-6985; representative and member of Reconstruction 
Committee; never advised any one in reference to Louisiana convention, 0085. See 
Tisdale, 3803. 

Roselius, Christian, testimony of, 4017-4045 ; advised legal proceedings against convention 
and an indictment under the act for preventing unlawful assemblages ; General Baird, it 
was found, would interfere with military to prevent process of courts; was member of 
secession convention and voted against the ordinance, 4018 ; thinks General Banks had no 
power as general commanding to call a convention : this power is in the people f since 
Lee's surrender have not heard disloyal expressions, 4018; thinks people iu Louisiana as 
h>_\al as in Massachusetts, and more so than in New York, 4019; riot did not spring from 
disloyalty, but from an attempt of convention to subvert the government, 4020 ; people 
would not now overthrow the government, 4021, and loyalty would be strengthened by 
restoration of Louisiana and adoption of President's policy, 4024; military could be safely 
withdrawn and justice obtain in courts, 4025-4(131 ; resolutions of reception of General 
Twigjrs, approval of Jeff. Davis, and Governor Moore, were not voted for by, 4032-4044 ; 
Mr. Roselius voted for resolution approving Governor Moore's conduct — Stocker, 6178. 

Rozier, J. Adolphus, testimony of, 3204-3366; lawyer; was in Washington at time of riot; 
convention of 1864 a sham, 330(5 to 3310; voted against secession, &c, 3307 ; seizure of 
forts and munitions of war voted against, 3308; very little Unionism after Sumter, 3309; 
convention of July agitated public mind ; feared it would result as in Missouri, 3310; riot 
not the result of disloyalty, 3311 ; people of Louisiana can be relied on, 3312 ; it is safe to 
admit Louisiana, 3314; restoration policy of President the best, 3315; troops should be 
withdrawn as best thing for peace, 3316 and 3320; justice can be obtained in courts, 3319; 
do not count negro population iu considering public, sentiment, 3325; no such thing as 
"loyalty," 3327; radical Union men are safe in person and property, 3335; negroes would 
be well treated though military men were withdrawn, 3338 ; General Fullertou's action 
had good effect, 3330 ; President desired the civil authorities should be sustained, 3344 ; 
he did not think military would interfere, 3347 ; object of visit, 3348 ; members of con- 
vention should be arrested, 3340, and so telegraphed to New Orleans, 3351 ; riot excited 
bj r meeting of Friday night, 3353 ; thought meeting of convention would be bad for Union 
cause, 3358; did not know, nor seek to know, what the object of convention, 3300-3361; 
thought there were grounds for arrest, 3364; not now a good Union man — Lynch, 3578 ; 
he refused to sign ordinance of secession — idem, 3585; as to visit to President, see Moore, 
7553-7573. . 

Rugby, case of, failure of justice under civil rights bill — Dallas, 872. 

S. 

Sauve, Pierre, testimony of, 3713-3720; procession of negroes shouting; negro came out of 
Mechanics' Institute and asked for quiet ; they marched into building ; saw a rush ofnegroes 
against a newsboy; police interfered and a negro shot at them, and then the riot extended, 
3713; crowd of some four hundred colored in front of Mechanics' Institute; learned that 
previous a shot had been fired at corner of Canal street, 3714; sure the first shot in 
vicinity of Mechanics' Institute was by the negro, 3716 ; recorder of sales, and was ap- 
pointed by Governor Wells, 3710; took no part during the war, 3720; saw live or six 
negroes armed, but saw them kill nobody ; saw one killed, 3723; did not take the oath of 
allegiance, 3726. 

Sauviuet, C. S., testimony of, 528-556; was an officer in United States army when General 
Butler arrived at New Orleans; was not at convention, but was at meeting of July 27, 
ami think it was orderly, 532-534; fact as to preconcert, 530-530: thinks rebels as inimi- 
cal as ever, and would fight against Unted States, 540-543; colored people loyal. 541; 
intelligence and disposition of colored people, 545-547 ; don't think justice could be ob- 
tained in courts of Louisiana by Union men; hostility increased since Lee's surrender, 
548-550; distrust exhibited iu society, business, tone of press, 551-556. 

Secession, 35,1100 majority opposed to, in Louisiana, Union men forced into — Neville, 1280; 
Barker, 3371; acquiesced in — J'ose, 3255; was an opposer of — Monroe, 3302; voted 
against in convention — Rozier, 3307 ; Roselius, w as a member of convention for — Murker, 
3416; exceptions to amnesty oath of officers in — Herron, 3612-3614; denounced in un- 
measured terms — Roselius, 4018; convention to prevent friends of from grinding us to the 
earth — Hood, 4007; thought it inexpedient, and it was carried by a small majority — Tay- 
lor, 4333-4337, 4345; farewell speech not iu opposition to — Taylor, 4352; believe in the 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 589 

right of — Brady, 4448 et seq.; Cutler, Halm, and Hiestand, were originally in favor of — 
Lewis, 4498; acquiesced in when accomplished — FMeul, 4688; vote in convention for, 
112 to 17; how it was carried through — Clark, 5041, 5058; would not go into secession 
again if chance offered — Penn, 5319; the secessionists more bitter than ever — Mithoff, 
5352; 5367; always opposed to — Buckner, 5479; separate and joint secession, the differ- 
ence — Zacharie, 6399; views of Jacoh Barkerupon, in Mobile Tribune — Lonsdale, 6481. 

Schools, negroes would go to it' nol molested; anxious to read and write — Souvinet, ."> 17 ; 
books in, disloyal; flags of rebels marked on ; children said "they teach us to make that 
flag" — Capla, 1752-1759; names of teachers in ; dismissed for Union sentiments — Lynch, 
3525; national airs not sung in — idem, 3528; also 3561-3570; student at Soulie's, heard 
him say thai riol was to take place on July 30 — Todd, 4624 ; teacher of republican school 
and object of hatred — Boguille, 5580 ; names of teachers dismissed from for teaching pupils 
tn sing national airs, &c. — Taylor, 5701 ; was dismissed from in July last, because of my 
Union sentiments — Armstrong, 5826 ; only Union teachers turned out, 5833; dismissed 
from tor teaching Union sentiments and national airs — Mc Bride, 6293 ; directors of, ap- 
pointed by mayor of New Orleans — McBride, 6309. See Buggy, 6332 et seq. 

Screwmen's Benevolent Association, physician of — Hire, 732. 

Scully, special policeman, seen to shoot a man through the neck — Ward, 2754; Daniel, as- 
sociate editor of Crescent, in crowd with revolver in hand — Burke, 6996. 

Selff, Martin, testimony of, 4821-4S37 ; was told at post office on morning of July 30 that 
it was a big day; that there was to be a riot, 4823; was attacked by five policemen ; was 
knocked down by a gun and shot three times; has two bullets in him yet; two of the 
police who shot him named Cook and Sykes ; Cook shot him in the breast, and Sykes in 
the hip : said they had orders to shoot all the niggers, 4824-4830; this was two miles from 
Mechanics' Institute, ai<d between three and four o'clock, p. m., 4834. 

Seward, Secretary, ordered commission for trial of Syme at solicitation of British minister — 
Syme, 4151. 

Shepley, General, military governor of Louisiana; second regiment of colored troops enlisted 
under, in Louisiana — Hughes, 1354. 

Sidney, John, testimony of, 5855-5869 ; drummer in the procession on July 30, 5857 ; knows 
by sight the man who fired the first shot, 5858 ; riot began, how, 5861 ; after the first shot 
was fired the drummers rallied together and beat the long roll, 5862; blacks defended 
themselves with bricks till the mob closed in on them — idem; weut to Mechanics' Institute 
unarmed, 5863 ; saw Doctor Dostie shot from a window with a gun, 5865 ; witness was 
shot by police in the back while climbing out of a window. 

Shaw, member of convention, waved flag in token of surrender — Morell, 4841. 

Shackleton, William, testimony of, 5730-5749: police officer at one time under General But- 
ler; applied to Mayor Monroe for position on police after he got his pardon, but was re- 
fused, 5735; police under Butler were escorted to their beats by the military to pro- 
tect them from men now claiming to be for the Union, 5737 ; applied to Mayor Monroe for 
a position because he thought right after his pardon he would act impartially, 5745 ; almost 
all police are returned rebels, 5738. 

Sheehan, Lieutenant Michael, of police, read the order to police to come on Monday, July 
30, armed — Dorsey, 4898. 

Sheldon, L. F., testimony of, 4002-4017 ; brevet brigadier general United States army ; since 
muster out, in business in New Orleans, 4005; is a lawyer, and has succeeded well in his 
profession, 4007 ; thinks there is a disposition to obey the laws, 4008; has never been in- 
terfered with to any extent because lie was a Union officer, 4009; have a good effect to 
restore Louisiana at once to Union, 4011 ; many men who have taken the oath, still very 
vituperative toward the United States, 4013; compliments rebel generals Adams and Hays 
— idem; men here wdio advocate negro suffrage offensive, 4014; does not think sentiment 
of excluding from office on account of Union sentiment general, 4015; the large irrespon- 
sible class of men in the south do the shooting and make the trouble — idem ; thinks a 
generous policy most desirable and best, 4016; the great and unpardonable offence of the 
United States is- that these people are now made to work, 4017. 

Sheridan, General P. H., testimony of, 4076-5027; commands department of the Gulf; was 
on Rio Grande frontier July 30, 497:) ; found on his return (31st) martial law proclaimed, 
4981 ; freedmen were much alarmed ; citizens discussing the driving of military out of the 
city, 4081; martial law was needed; put 81st colored troops in position at custom-house 
and intended to fight, if necessary, 4983; investigated the riot, found the police had been 
massed at Mechanics' Institute, and after riot began at the procession the massacre com- 
menced, 4985 : General Baird had ample authority, but he was not to allow the military to 
be involved in political discussions, 4987 ; peace might have been preserved by civil au- 
thorities. 4988 ; thinks the speeches of some leading spirits had tendency to excite violence, 
5005 ; no occasion, as far as negroes or convention was concerned, for military, 4990 ; has 
not changed his views as expressed in his telegrams in August last, 4991 ; believes it ne- 
cessary to retain the military in New Orleans ; salutary effect upon business and secures 
safety of Unionists, 4995-4996; excuses General Baird, 4997; did not apprehend a riot, 
and did not know the city authorities did, 4998 ; arming of citizens caused him to close 
stores, 5004 ; would not himself have used the military except in case of an overt act, 5009, 



590 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

and defines General Baird'e authority, 4997, 5008; citizens of New Orleans ami their part 
in it : defines loyalty of the people as consisting in putting up the rebel flag and American 
side by side and hurrahing for both, 5017 ; still calls the riot a massacre, 5020; anonymous 
letter, 5021, 5022; affidavit charging mayor and others sent to Washington, 5023; tele- 
gram to General Grant and correspondence in relation to garbling it, 5027"; (compare 
Sheridan, ."(127, with Crounse, p. 4?-,'; ) was told by, when applied to for assistance, that 
" the men I represented were as bad as the rebels" — Q'Connell, 946; refused to take notice 
of an affidavit made against mayor and others — idem, 991 ; called the leaders of conven- 
tion bad men — Southworth, 5905 ; contrary to policy of, to interfere with political questions 
or parties — Baird, 6553. 

Shelly, Richard L., testimony of, 6784-6920; was New Orleans correspondent of New York 
Tribune in duly last; was present at the meeting in New Orleans of Friday, July -JTtli, 
and beard all of the speeches, 6791, also 6807-6812, 6835-6846; incendiary appeals, were 
they made by Dr. Dostie? 6792-6794; preparations for conflict, what, 6795, 6856-6863; 
beginning of the fray, 6795, (near the end;) man chopped in the skull with a hatchet, 
6799; (compare Jourdain, 3068;) knows of set-ret organizations among the rebels. 6801, 
6802; chief of police said he would have men in his force who had committed outrages 
arrested, 6804,6824; wounded (about Mint with the killed) were at freedmen's hospital, 
6805 : telegrams in reference to riot to New York Tribune were delayed and suppressed for 
twenty-four hours, 6806, 6899-6910; has been present at theatre inNew Orleans when the 
national airs have been hissed and have heard in restaurants Jeff. Davis and Andy John- 
son cheered, 6816; rebels have grown insolent since Johnson's policy introduced, 6-17; 
loyal men could not live in Louisiana if troops withdrawn; the rebels would side with 
enemy in case of foreign war, 6818, 6871-6874 ; if people and courts desired conviction of 
the rioters competent proof could be found, 6824 ; Dr. Dostie, what did he say, 6837-6846 : 
might not a mob under similar circumstances have occurred in New York, 6847-6850 ; 
Tribune's account of the speeches of Friday evening, was it correct? 6863-6868; the con- 
stitution of Louisiana as regards its amendment, 6878-6682; Union men in New Orleans 
proscribed in business, 6817 and 6892. 

Shots, number of, one thousand, at Mechanics' Institute — Mollere, 2375; saw fifty — New, 
2461 ; " first one I saw, negro fired" — Snethen, 3690, Sauce, 3713 ; first fired by A. Elaiore 
at procession — .In mis, 2775, Jourdain, 3063. 

Sheriff, Harry Hays, writ of arrest indorsed by whom? — Baird, p. 442; and what ? p. 447; 
question, 6519-6520; had sworn in 500 deputies— Todd, 4635; does not discriminate 
against Union men — fl'urtsbergcr, 3487. 

Shreveport, disloyal sentiments prevail in — Moirer, 4551, 4561. 

Slaves in favor of federal cause in Louisiana; free colored were not — Leicis, 4534-4535. 

Slidell, John, less fit for citizenship than even an ignorant negro — U'aplts, 337 ; opinion of — 
Taylor, 4355. 

Smith, Charles, testimony of, 2165-2270 ; member of convention of 1864, and president of 
senate,' 2167 ; was shot through the coat, and saw five or six killed, 2172; convention 
met to obtain a quorum, 2174, also 2208-2213; met to see if something could not be done 
to .lid loyal men, 2180, also 2222-2224 ; office-holders generally rebels, 2183-2188, also 
2246 ; in case of foreign war thinks rebels would take arms again, 2189; think remedy is 
to disfranchise, rebels or enfranchise negro, 2191-2192; no one of rioters have been ar- 
rested, 2193; no preparation for resistance by convention, 2200; convention had not been 
warned not to meet, 2203; measures adopted to secure attendance of members, 2214-2220 ; 
thinks intention of some members of convention was to submit its action to Congress only, 
2225; and to loyal people of Louisiana, 2232; never heard a rebel speak favorably of tin; 
United States, 2234 ; some of members of convention favored negro suffrage, 2236-224^; 
general feeling of hatred to northern men, 2248-2252 ; think rebels would approve Presi- 
dent's policy, 2253; but thinks would not yield to United States in good faith, 2255 ; thinks 
loyal men, black and white, should rule the State, 2250 ; elective franchise, who should 
exercise it, 2262-227(1. 

Snear, ('. S., testimony of, 2568-2594; describes the beginning of riot ; saw police officers 
dash out the brains of wounded man: saw man shot while running away. 257!, also 2592; 
police all armed, 2.">7:s ; saw forty or fifty negroes killed, 2575; firemen participate, 2576; 
favors negro suffrage and against rebels voting, 2588-2589. 

Snethen, N. C, testimony of, 3690-3712; private secretary to Governor Wells ; describes 
the riot ; saw a colored man on Dryades street pull a pistol and fire in direction of crowd 
toward Canal street ; was answered by six or eight shots ; the first shot he saw was by 
the negro, 3704; saw freedman shot from the street upon top of Mechanics' Institute; 
police besieged building and fired into the windows, 3690 ; military could readily have 
stopped riot, 3692; cannot say whether or not traceable to disloyalty, 3694 ; Mr. Shaw of 
convention expected arrest, 3696; had no reason to apprehend a riot, 3697 ; police might 
have quelled the riot and cleared the street, had they tried, 3702 ; as to negro firing first 
shot, 3705, 3712. 

Soulie, school teacher; dismissed school because there was to be a riot — Todd, 4635. 

Southworth, Dr. M. D., testimony of, 5898-5045; was surgeon in the federal army, and is 
a refugee from Texas, 5899 ; was at the convention hall, and saw something of the riot, 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 591 

5903 ; thinks Imt for martial law the massacre would have become general, 6905 ; General 
Sheridan called the leaders of the convention bad mi n, 5905 ; thinks it w ould oot be pos- 

sil iii- to '. aise as many soldiers now fui' the 1 li'mn army, in Louisiana, as wore raised before, 
because their honor has been compromised, 5906, 5919, 5914-5918; remote causes of tin; 
riot is re-encouragement of the rebellion, 5907 ; indications of prearrangement, 5609-5912; 
only two parties in Louisiana, loyal and disloyal, 5927 : present government of Louisiana 

should la- superseded and a new organized by Congress, and how todo it, 5929-5932; 

oath tor electors, and its effect, and how far disloyal should be disfranchised, 5933, 5940; 
witness is a native of New York. 

Speech, President Johnson's, in reference to New Orleans riots — Walbridge, 7258. 

St. Charles Hotel; Union families not waited on, because injurious to their house — Baird, 
top of page 450. 

Stanton, E. M., Secretary of War, telegraphed to by General Baird, 3511; despatch to — 
Baird, p. 443: despatch of General Sheridan, of August I, not procured from — Warden, 
6765; despatch of General Baird to — Moore, 7549; see Baird, p. 456 ; note of, to Presi- 
dent — Moore, 7552 ; of General Grant to — idem, 7552; letter of, to New Orleans Riots Com- 
mittee, j). 546. 

State vs. John A. Hamilton, case tried in Point Coupee, in which military was called in to 
protect the court — Cooley, 6251. 

Stauffer, Mr., attacked ami fired upon three or four times — Neville, 1299. 

Staes, ( ajitain A. E., testimony of, 1667-1697; went to convention to witness proceedings ; 
describes the slaughter in and around hall ; heard shout for Jeff. Davis, and cries of "shoot 
all," "set fire to the building," 1676; saw no violence by negroes, 1680; saw badges, 
1682; saw men shot in hall indiscriminately, Kir 1 -!: thinks killing preconcerted, 1689; 
heard the alarm bell, and saw firemen out, 1690-1695; believes no one unfriendly to con- 
vention was wounded, 1697. 

Stafford's brigade, raised in Rapides parish, and still in existence — O' Council, 1'-:!. 

Steptoe, George, colored preacher, pursued and wounded on the day of the riot — Terry, 5179. 

Stevens, Thaddeus, testimony of, 6955-6972; representative, and member of. Reconstruction 
Committee; has no recollection of having written in reference to Louisiana convention, 
6957 ; Judge Howell stated to, that the intention was to amend constitution to protect loyal 
men of the State, 6961 ; advised that the convention had the right to assemble peaceably, 
6972. See Tisdale, 3803. 

Stocker, W. C, testimony of, 6)55-6178; lumber merchant ; thinks the mass of the people 
are true to the Union, 6160; a man with Union sentiments can succeed in business, and 
opinion is free, 6165-6169; the leading men are unfriendly to the government and control 
the action of the community, 617 1 ; all places are filled by late rebels, 6)73 ; do not think 
any officers except the governor would give an office to a Union man, 6175 ; was defeated 
for office because he was a Union man, 6177; vote of Mr. Roselius, 6178. 

Sureties provided in anticipation of arrest — Fish, O' Council, 931 ; for one thousand dollars — 
Hood, 4068; bond of two thousand dollars — Azaretto, 5075; had prepared — Field, 5975. 

Sykes, name of policeman who shot Martin Selff — SclJ', 4827. 

Sypher, General J. II., testimony of, 6354-6373 ; was at Biloxi, near New Orleans, on Sun- 
m tore riot; fire company No. r> was there on an excursion; members expressed them- 
selves anxious to be back on Monday; that violence would be offered to the convention, 
6362 ; 1 >ostie'S name was mentioned, 6363. See also testimony of Fuller, 6374-6383. 

Syme, J. F., testimony of, 4129-4152; druggist; saw procession of negroes and thought 
their conduct violent, 4J31 ; thinks two hundred in procession, marching in street and car- 
rying a flag, 4134; cheered and jeered, 4134; conduct very defiant, 4141 ; had goods 
seized tor sending into rebel lines, 4143, 4147 ; commissioner was appointed to examine; 
exonerated, 4148 ; was sent to Fort Pickens, 4149 ; is a British subject, 4152. 

Suffrage, qualification for — Hiestand, 67 ; who admitted to right of — Durant,77 '; to give to 
blacks and take from rebels — Brooks, 208; intention of convention to give negro — Waples, 
289; Union people of Louisiana unanimous for negro suffrage — idem, 315, also 332; colored, 
basis of loyal government in Louisiana — Cutler, 410; negro suffrage safe; "can wield 
ballot as well as musket'' — Souvinet, 545 ; universal, advice as to, and reassembling con- 
vention, asked of Reconstruction Committee — Howell, 629; impartial, if advocated would 
draw majority of people in State — idem, 659 ; rumor that convention would grant universal 
— Campanel, 801, 811, 822 ; fear of negro suffrage makes people more bitter — Dallas, 868 ; 
knew object of convention to give negro suffrage — Oubre, 1U33 ; and deprive rebels of vote, 
1034, 1(J41 ; do not think rebels would forgive, but for negro suffragt — idem, 1066; con- 
vention intended to grant universal — Neville, 1281, L287-1293; advocate negro suffrage — 
• Robinson, 1397, 1408; effort to establish negro suffrage cause of dissatisfaction — Earhart, 
1891; advocate of negro suffrage and against rebel — Daunoy, 1949, 1951, 1966; on suff- 
rage, convention not of one mind — Smith, "2177, 2224; majority of people of Louisiana 
opposed to negro suffragi — idem, 2250 ; favors negro suffrage — Mollere, 2413; those who 
advocate for negro, most hated — New, 2530, 2537 ; favor negro suffrage — Snear, 2588; 
might discuss publicly in safety — Leaumount, 3742; will give to negro — Tisdale, 3802; 
should be conferred upon colored people as far as they are intelligent — Abell, 3930; who 
advocate negro suffrage, irritate community — Sheldon, 4014 ; give negroes suffrage — Hood, 



592 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

4097; Waples said negroes to be enfranchised — Greemcood, 4157 ; to negroes must come 
soon or later— Benton, 4235; universal suffrage and universal amnesty — Kellogg, 4313; 
should be given to reputable and intelligent — Taylor, 4345 ; rebels should not lose right of, 
4473; should by all means be given to colored population — Filleul, 1710; object of con- 
vention was to establish free suffrage — Morell, 4855; apprehension of negro suffrage 
makes bad feeling in Louisiana — Blair, 4956 ; thinks negroes should have right of — 
Waters, 5131 ; others are loyal besides those who favor negro suffrage — Terry, 5202 ; how 
to fix right of, in Louisiana — Southworth, 5933-5940; suffrage to negro will not avail to 
remedy evil in Louisiana unless their ballot is left uncontrolled — Frisbie, 6033; universal 
suffrage will produce desired result — Wells, 6494; rebels will not hesitate to enfranchise 
the negro, once they are sure of his political adhesion — idem. ' 
Sullivan, Jere, testimony of, 2271-2286; ex-policeman, 2274; saw and describes shoot- 
ing by Barney Fox and others; saw a negro shot with four balls, and then jumped on, 
2278; saw about sixty negroes wounded and killed, 2279, also 2281 ; police aimed 2281- 
2283. 

T. 

Taylor, brothers, struck negro in their stable, knocked him down, and held him for police — 

Hard, 2754 and 2757. 
Taylor, Miles, testimony of, 4320-4356; Avas a member of United States Congress to 1861 ; 
has seen nothing to indicate a disposition on part of people to rebel again or to keep up 
bad feeling, 4325, 43 - 26 ; decisions of the courts are made entirely without reference to po- 
litical distinctions, 4 328; restoration of Union wcmld have the best effect, 43^9; was 
opposed to secession, thought it was wrong, cannot say it was wicked, 4333-4337 and 
4347-4356; does not know whether or not colored people were loyal, 4341 ; does not be- 
lieve the control of affairs should be with the rebels, 4343; the reputable and intelligent 
should vote, 4345, colored or otherwise, 4346 ; farewell speech in Congress did not take 
ground against secession, 4352 ; expressed the desire in farewell speech that all should 
meet again iii a united republic, 4356. 
Taylor, N. Maria, testimony of, 5685-5729; school-teacher; dismissed from service as, and 
knows no reason except that she was always for the Union, 5691 ; one hundred and ten 
teachers Mere dismissed ; do not know of one now employed who is favorable to the Union, 
5696 ; thinks cause of dismissal was teaching national songs; 5699; list of names of Union 
teachers dismissed given. 5701 ; sang " Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia," and "John 
Brown's body;" sang all the Union songs ; was originally from New York, 5702-5729. 
Teachers, dismissed from city schools for teaching national airs. See Schools. 
Telegraphing and telegrams: 

To Mr. Stanton, not answered — Voorhics, 3511 ; in reference to, for President — Herron 
3595; telegram of Judge Durell to Reconstruction Committee- Durell, 3848; telegrams 
from President to Louisiana legislature, to whom sent — Howell, 670-674 ; telegram to 
General Grant — Sheridan, 5020; garbled telegram and correspondence about — idem, 
5027; all telegrams to Governor Wells from President have been published but one in 
reference to calling convention — Wells, 6493; General Baird to E. M. Stanton, p. 443; 
President Johnson to Vcorhies, p. 443; Adjutant General Townsend to Baird, August 
1; to New York Times in reference to riot — Crounse, 6751, and Harden, 6757 ct seq. ; 
telegram to General Sheridan, August 1, procured at executive mansion — Warden, 6765; 
(compare telegram, Sheridan, 5027, with Crounse, p. 472, at bottom;) nothing in cir- 
cumstances of procuring or action of President indicating any change in — II arden, 6778 ; 
telegrams to New York Tribune about riot delayed in New Orleans twenty-four hours — 
Shelley, 6806; between President and Mayor Kennedy, 732J ; telegrams of General 
Sheridan to General Grant and refers to change of same — Moore, 7552 ; of General 
Baird and Adjutant General Townsend; also of P. II. Sheridan, p. 54? et seq., to 
Louisiana legislature relative to interview with President, p. 550. 
Terry, J. Randall, testimony of, 5171-5225; had warning that there would be a slaughter 
from his clerk, who had been in the rebel army; closed his store when the alarm bell 
rang; negro preacher named George Steptoe concealed in Terry's "store, 5178; heard that 
young men of town were arming, and that firemen were to come out at bell tap ; warned 
Apr. Dostie and others not to go, 5180; called in military for protection ; Union men in 
•New Orleans are marked for vengeance, 5185; "sugar is to succeed to vinegar," is now 
>the word, 5215; men are threatened now if they go before this committee; saw a negro 
"shot and ripped up by two policemen, 5185 ; five baggage wagons of wounded and killed, 
5189; no prominent Union men safe in New Orleans, 5189; the police are from rebel 
army, 5191 ; tried to burn him out, 5192; considers other men loyal than those who favor 
negro suffrage; never did contribute to the rebel cause, 5^06; was in the rebel review of 
1862, carrying a black flag — Fellowes, 5655. 
Theard, Paul E., testimony of, 5410-5475; judge of fourth district ; has been a Union man 
since he returned to his allegiance, 5414 ; justice is administered properly in all the courts, 
5415and5467; Union men maylive in safety in New Orleans, and there is a free expression 
of political opinion, 5421 ; thinks the civil authorities of the city may be relied upon, 5423; 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 593 

the assembling of the convention was an illegal act, 5429; thinks the riot owing to the* 
speeches of Friday oight, 5434-5441 ; in reference to the reconvocation of convention, 
5450; was in the confederate army, but was not guilty of anything, 5456; those who 
composed the convention and took the State out are the guilty ones, r> -4 1 > 4 ; how could 
such an enormous slaughter have taken place and no one be punished 1 5471. 

Theatre, national airshissedin — DaMas,859; do not attend because provocation would be 
made — idem, 881-884; Union airs played in, received in silence: rebel, with applause — 
Baird, 6543 and 6602; national airs hissed in — Shelley, 6816 ; Hag not on — Conway, 7441. 

Thomas, James, testimony of, 1411-1666; was porter of gas-light company, and his duty 
took him to City Hall 1434, also 1419-1420 and 141)7; massacre by police prearranged, 
1414; orders for arming given by chief of police, 1433, also 1500-1553; saw the arms given 
out, 1427; police ordered to meet ou Monday morning, July 30, at nine o'clock, 1431- 
1432; was warned not to go to Mechanics' Institute, 1439; all said they were going to 
kill members of convention, 1441, also 1554-J574 and 1663-1666; heard signal bell and 
saw engine "14" turn out, 1444-1455, also 1587-1603; describes in detail killing of four 
men, 1456-1486, also 1603-1608: saw one cart and two drays loaded with dead and 
wounded piled crosswise; saw police sit upon pile of dead and wounded in cart and insult 
them, 1490, also 1623-1640; those "police could not kill firemen would take," 1575; did 
not stop to talk to police that day; heard them say what they were going to do as they 
passed, 15^4; warned many that day not to go to Mechanics' Institute, 1642; arming 
police was done openly, 1647 ; did not see badges, but saw white handkerchiefs over neck 
of many, 1657-1660. 

Thornhill, John, pardoned rebel, expelled the wife of a Union soldier from a house of his 
because she was the wife of such soldier — Baird, 6611. 

Thugs, character of — Durant, 107 ; murder for rive dollars — Brooks, 259; Hiestand, 48, 
Fish, 163, Warmouth, 504, Fish, 452; many of, in rebel army — Hire, 726; Monroe, 
leader of — O'Connell, 915; thugs among the police — Monticu, 1136; go about to kill — 
Montieu, 1171 and 1179; all are on police — Daunoy, 1929; in know-nothing times thugs 
were hired to kill or prevent people voting — idem, 1978 et seq. ; profession is to kill — Jour- 
ddin, 3084; police are organized as — idem, 3130; Lucien Adams, W. O'C. Dounell, G. 
W. Rockwell, H. Strong, A. Guerin, W. Lockwood, A. Lattimore, are noted thugs and 
assassins, and policemen — Burke, 6999, also 7084-70^9 ; Monroe's strength in this element 
— Paige, 7165 ; character and practices of, in times of know-nothings; letter of Wells to 
President, page 520. 

Tier, or Thayer, Billy, policeman; shoots a boy and a man in a street car — James, 2778, 
2796, 2800; shot two or three negroes; supplied with ammunition by citizens — Evans, 
2917, also as to shooting in car — Kenaud, 2318; called "Thayer," and had a revolver — 
Mollere, 2370. 

Tilton, F. W., testimony of, 5514-5568; merchant; heard the speaking of Friday night and 
it .was very incendiary, calling on them to come prepared to vote and fight, 5522 ; the 
stones of the streets of New Orleans cried out for the rebels' blood, 5524 ; then came torch- 
light procession with hooting and yelling, 5526 ; thought there would be difficulty and 
warned the chief of police ; saw the negro procession on Dryades street, and saw a negro 
knock a white man into the gutter; then the long-roll was beat, 5530; the negroes began 
the difficult}' : saw shots fired from the Mechanics' Institute ; police fired and then the 
negroes fired right and left, 5531 : then white flag was hung out of the hall and police were 
fired into from building, 553'.!, also 5558, 55(50 ; police did all they could to keep the peace, 
5539; they were armed, 5541 ; a great man}' of the negroes were armed with clubs and 
pistols, 5544 ; he is a good constitutional man, and was in Italy during the war, 5568. 

Tisdale, Eugene F., testimony of, 3799-3826 ; was captain under General Butler, and after- 
wards colonel of Thirteenth Connecticut, 3799 ; some members of convention used intem- 
perate language; that would disfranchise rebels and enfranchise negroes, 3801-3802; 
Cutler and Henderson said they had received instructions from two members of Recon- 
struction Committee to assemble convention at all hazards, 3803, 3808 ; do not know who 
the members were, 3804 ; programme to give the negro right of suffrage, 3806 ; never read 
the letter of Reconstruction Committee ; understood it was written to Mr. Flanders, 3818 ; 
have been correspondent of New Orleans Times and other papers, and am an applicant for 
office, 3821-3826; in uniform of United States, insulting remarks in presence of— Shelley, 
6816. See Reconstruction Committee. 

Todd, Samuel M., testimony of, 4861-4865 ; saw citizens buying pistols on the day of the 
riot, 4864 ; saw badges, &c. 4865. 

Todd, R. W., testimony of, 4619-4641 ; student; Mr. Soulie's school was dismissed on the 
30th July, because, as he said, there was going to be a riot and scholars ought to be at 
home, 4624 ; Mr. Soulie was a lieutenant colonel in rebel army, 4628 ; there were forty 
scholars present when he said this, 4632 ; said Hays had sworn in many extra officers, 
&c, 4635. 
Treason, do not think it should be made odious — Vose, 3285 ; rebellion did not constitute — 
— idem, 3297 ; should be punished, 3777 ; men who have committed, not made to forget — 
Durcll, 3855 ; how to make odious — Benton, 4235, 4242, 4245 ; ought to take steps to make 
odious — Kellogg, 4309 ; did not commit, in war against United States — Lupeyre, 5163 ; 



594 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

thinks war against United States is treason — Penn, 5314; those who carried State out of 
Union are guilty of, but not others — Theard, 5464 ; do not think the secession war was 
treason — Zacharie, b4 li>. 

Troops, what time they arrived — Baird, 6501 : were delayed in coming by captain of boat, 
6538, 6502 it seq.; " will they be white troops '" 6509 : thinks an hour was lost in bring- 
ing them, 6502; person who brought message about, what he said, 6533, also as to time 
of bringing, 6581-6587. See also Military. 

Twiggs, General, reception of in New Oilcans — Barker, 3420; vote of Mr. Roselius as to — 
Lapeyre, 5152 ; voted against resolution indorsing — Rozier, 3307, Clark, 5048, Lapeyre, 
5152. 

U. 

Unlawful assemblages, what constitutes — Herron, :'..".'.).">: duty to prosecute — idem, 3615; 
military to execute processes against — idem 3619; legal definition of — .Hull, pages 278- 
279; see specially page 270, definition of Sergeant Hawkins; an indictment prepared 
against members under act for — Rosetms, p. 282; convention was — Theard, 5426; no Law 
rendering criminal the assembling, 5976-5981 ; people of this countiy have a right to as- 
semble peaceably and consider their grievances — Boutwell, 6937-6939, Stevens, 6972, 
Ktlly, 7127; right to assemble peaceably and discuss grievances considered — Bingham, 
7242-7250. 

V. 

Vose, 11. J., testimony of, 3245-3297; police did the best they could; saw Governor Halm, 
Mr. Shaw protected, 3245; people well disposed to the United States now, 3250; restora- 
tion would have g I effect, 3253; military could be withdrawn, 3254 ; acted to some 

extent with rebellion, 32"r6; mostly young men and hoys in riot, and city authorities tried 
to suppress it, 3258; men not proscribed lor Unionism, 3259; in foreign war people would 
side with government, 3261 ; business with north; never heard of any one suffering for 
Union sei timents, 3267 ; took oath of allegiance with General Butler, 3268; think people 
would not at any rate side with England or France in event of war, 3280 : do not think 
rebels should "take a back seat;" do not think treason should be made odious, 3283, 
3285, 32i — !, 3293; do not think treason has been committed against the United Stales in 
the rebellion, 3297. 

Voters : number of negro, in Louisiana thirty-five thousand — Cutler, 410; not safe to trust 
rnment to — Souvinet, 542; inimical to United States — Hire; ditto — Campanel, 791 ; 
object to take away vote from rebels — Oubre, 1034; six thousand in parish of Orleans — 
Earhart, 1847; "confederates ought not to be voters" — Daunoy, 1963; driven away from 
polls by tHPugs — idem, L986; those who in good faith accept the situation — Smith, 2263 ; 
thirty-five thousand majority against secession — Neville, 1280; only white men are voters 
in Louisiana. 3781 : make negro voters cause of excitement — Dwell, 3833; should not he 
merely rebels — Dick, 4269; right to vote with whites — idem; would make every free-born 
male twenty-one years old — Fellowes, 5621 ; would exclude as, till who above certain rank 
had been in rebel ai in v — Southtcorth, 5931 ; all must take the amnesty oath before n 
in the last Monroe election — Kennedy, 7356-7362; qualifications ot — Canhy, 759fc 
ordi rs relating to, 7017. 

Voorhies, Martin, testimonj of, 4111-4121 ; carried message from Lieutenant Governor Voor- 
hies to General Baird between ten and half past ten, July 30, 4111 and 41vM ; general 
came and said he was expecting the troops every minute, 4113; told General Baird a 
squad of federal soldiers in vicinity of Mechanics' Institute would prevent trouble. 111 I: 

(■allied another message bet ween twelve and One o'clock, and received same answer, 4 1 16 ; 

General Baird did not say he thought ci mention was to meet at six o'clock p. m. 
Voorhies, Albert, testimony of, 3510 351 I : was not present at Mechanics' Institute on day of 
riot; advised with General Baird as to proposed meeting of convention; desired to avoid 
bloodshed; made suggestion that sheriff should arrest with consent of General Baird; he 
telegraphed to Secretary Stanton but received no reply; notified General Baird of (hanger 
of not by letter. 3510-3511; expected troops before they arrived, and anxiously i 
their coming; called on General Baird at. ten o'clock on 30th. See General Baird's testi- 
mony its to this point. See O'Connell, 946. 

W. 

Walbridge, L. L., testimony of, 7251-7273; reporter of Missouri Democrat and reported 
speech of President Johnson at St. Louis on 10th of September last, 7256; first extract 
from that speech, p. ">I2; second extract from same, p. 513. 

Wallace, I »a\ id, testimony of, 6102-6154 ; a merchant and Scotchman ; thinks the great ma- 
jority of people are loyal to United States, 01 1 1 ; is Union man, but succeeds well in busi- 

, 6115j thinks there is safety in free expression of opinion, GUI) ; thinks that the fact 

■ •: electing rebels exclusively to office is no proof of disloyalty, but simply an evidence that 
these pe ipie stick to their friends, 6123 ; believes the rebellion was treason, 612^ ; partner 
did not contribute to the rebellion. 



INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 595 

Waples, Rufus, testimony of, 266-349; was not at convention of July 30 at all, 273; was 
at the meeting: of the 27th July ; ohject of it peaceful and meeting good tempered, 281- 
285; object of convention was to meet and adjourn; intended when convention full to 
disfranchise the r< bels ami enfranchise blacks, 289 : speeches at meeting of Friday pi ar- 
able, 292 ; all whom lie knows killed or wounded friendly to the convention, 2! !. 295; 
nothing in statutes of Louisiana authorizing arrest of convention, 299 ; no ground given 
by convention to apprehend a breach of peace, 300; Hays's brigade, manj wi re in police, 
303; did not think well of convention of 1864; origin and history of, 307-313; all rebel 
population oppos< d to its reassembling in 1866; Union people almost unanimous in favor 
of negro suffrage, :!I7: elections in Louisiana turned upon service in rebel army, 320; 
riot result d' opposition to Congress, 321-323 ; quorum of convention, 76 ; all white males 
above twenty-one years of age electors ; no one can be elected to office or appointed in 
Louisiana, w l:o is a known Unionist, 329; think in a foreign war rebels would side with 
enemy, 331; think United States should "ignore present constitution of Louisiana and 
give a new government and military support, " 332, 333 ; think negro population of Louisi- 
ana would vote more in the interest of government than rebels, 334-337; disfranchise 
rebels and negro vote will be larger than white, :>4J ; thinks freedmen's law, if properly exe- 
cuted, would be very beneficial, 349; was a violent Union man and left New Orleans for 
safety — Felloioes, 5641. 

Ward, A Victor, testimony of, 2751-2770; description of riot, 2754; saw citizens, firemen, 
and police in riot; saw badges of various kinds of marks known in rebel army, 2755; 
police hat-band reversed, 2757; heard threats before riot and saw police buy pistols: men 
and boys with pistols in both bands, 2758 and 2768; "going to clean the negroes and 
convention out," 2759 ; fireman Earhart said firemen would turn out at tap of bell, 2761 ; 
warned General Laird of preparations seen, but got no answer, 2763 ; soldiers by steamer 
could have been brought in ten minutes; twenty would have quelled riot, 2764^-2765; 
saw twenty-seven dead taken from workhouse, 2766; atrocities enumerated, 2768-2770. 

Warden, W. W., testimony of, 6757-6783; New York Times correspondent, and had sole 
charge on 30th July, 6700; telegrams relative, to riot (shown witness) were procured at 
the White House, 6764 ; applied to President for any news from New Orleans, and was re- 
ferred by him, as usual, to his private secretary; he dictated from a book the despatches 
as they were written by witness. 6766 : were sent at once to telegraph office and published 
in Times as received ; Colonel Morrow was the private secretary; 6767-6770 ; despatch was 
received by witness, as usual, and President interfered in no way to restrict or discrimi- 
nate, 6771-6774; despatch not given out from memory, 6775, and nothing connected 
with its reception indicating that it was garbled or changed in any way, 6777-6782. 

Warmouth, Judge H. C, testimony of, 471-509 ; saw riot on 30th July and describes it ; saw 
the police come double-quick in companies at alarm given and indiscriminate killing, 477 ; 
saw negro killed near the artillery after it had arrived, and no notice, of it ; saw Mr. Fish 
struck by a club while in hands of police ; saw some five thousand people standing with 
folded arms around the cannon in the street, 480 ; saw police and citizens armed and in 
large numbers, 481-485; members of convention would have submitted peaceably to arrest, 
485, 486; one citizen (Cenas) unfriendly to convention killed, 489; municipal offices in 
New Orleans filled by men most prominent in rebellion, 491-493; hatred to United States 
prevails in religious and social circles, 495-497, 505-509 ; thinks Congress should pass an 
act establishing temporary military government in Louisiana; that in foreign war most in 
Louisiana would side with enemy, 499, 500; was opposed to convention of J 864, 502; 
knows that the "thugs" was an organization before war, 504; no one who was in riot 
arrested, I 

Washburne, E. !>., testimony of, 6973-6974 ; representative and member of Reconstruction 
Committee ; never advised any one in reference to Louisiana convention, 6974. See 
Tisdule, ;;- 13. 

Washington visited by Howell in reference to convention — Hoiccll, 611 ; committee appointed 
to visit — Neville, 1258-1261; also 1266; went to get aid to prevent convention — Rozier, 
3343-3351 ; Waples said they had assurances from, that Congress would sustain action of 
convention — Greenwood, 4157 ; desired to have government in Louisiana turned over to 
government in — Felloioes, 5628 ; Voorhies thought administration at, with him — Baird, 
6526; conferences at, in reference to convention — Paige, 7170. 

Waters, W.H., testimony of, 5078-5139; describes the riot and the attempts to hang him, 
5086; members of convention were unarmed; city physician paid no attention to Dr. 
Horti n or Mr. Fish: said if "we joined the Yankees we must expectwhat we got," 5089; 
heard that the crowd was allowed' to help themselves to arms at Hyde & Gutridge's store, 
5094 ; no care was taken of prisoners at. the jail, 5096; feeling against Union men is very 
bitter, 5 1 en Union officers insulted by rebels ; heard rebel major say would not 

walk on the same sidewalk with ad — d Yankee, 5104; they would fight against the Union 
in a war, .Mi -7 ; not safe to withdraw the military ; was in the rebel service ; had to turn 
out or be impressed, 5125; sympathized with the convention, and thinks it had the power 
to disfranchise rebels and enfranchise negroes, 5129. 

Wells, Governor,). Madison, testimony of, 6488-6496; governor of the State: returned to 
New Orleans on Friday before the riot ; was not present at and saw but little of it, 6490; 
3S n o 



596 INDEX TO TESTIMONY. 

inch' rs expected an arrest; saw the collection of blacks, bat felt no uneasiness; was 
out on • ss, and (ben heard that a terrible riot was in progress; went thereupon 

to bis bouse in Jefferson City, near New Oilcans. 6491 : all i tween him and 

Washington in relation to the riot have been published, 6493; the legislatu e were anxious 
to get rid of che constitution of 1864; in reference to movements to that end and cor- 
respondence with President, (>!'.):'>; view and motives of people and parties in Louisiana in 
reference to universal suffrage and disfranchisement of rebels, 6494; life not safe in 
Louisiana or in parts of it, 6495 ; was opposed to calling the convention as proposed by 
the legislature, because that body was mostly rebels: believed that the adjourning reso- 
lution gave authority for calling the convention of 1864, 6496; correspondence with IV 
denl — Kennedy, 7325, p. ">iy ; also idem, ~i'-V'>2. 
Williams, Bernard, testimony of, 5226-5261 ; lias been threatened and o fret 

him to leave town since congn ssi »nal committee cam aw Captain Lou 

one Gullman and Oscar Blasco, 5231-5246; was offered $600 to leave the city, and said 
would be killed if be staid., 5260, 5229. 
Willi mis. Georgi II., testimony of; United States senator from Oregon and member of IJe- 
con. ittee; never advised any one in writing in reference to the Louisiana 

convention, (>'.*. 1 letter, but made no reply, 

Windows of convention hall: closed during meeting — O'Connell, 915; closed and fired 
through; one hundred shots fired into them — Hughes, 1346; closed by — Mollrre, 2370: 
men jumped out of and fired upon — Balestier, 2853; fired into — Jourdah beard 

speech oi Waples through — Greenwood, 4157, 4 Hi 1 ; jumped out of and was shot at — De- 
sail.es, 4735; negroes dropped from — Chirk, 5032; were not closed — Ttlton, 
Winfree, Philip, testimony of, 1825-1853; custom-house officer, 1834; was warned not to 
attend convention by Colonel Marks, 1830, 1841 ; was not generally known as friendly to 
convention, 1837; was in the rebel army, 1844 ; tried to warn my friends not to attend 
con $49-1853. 

Witherall, W. H. H., testimony of, 3232-3244; merchant. 3234; cannot give opinion as to 
public senMmeut, '.V2M : have been co-operationist ; voted for Bell and Everett, 3241; 
thmks majority of whites are Union people here, 3243. 
Wounded and kiiled: Governor Halm, S. S. Fish, Revs. Horton and Jackson, Dr. Dostie, 
Mr. Henderson — Fish, 127; between three and lour hundred — idem, lo:>: saw forty — 
Ande.ni, 192;. saw Dr. Dostieat hospitaland fifty others — Waples, - iptbm of wound- 

ing Dr. Jackson and others — Culler, 358; about one bundled and fifty — idem, 392; num- 
ber killed, one hundred — Howell, 570; two or three hundred — Hire, 714; saw sixty or 
seventy and many not in procession — Camyanil, 784 ; cart-loads taken away — D lias, 
840; three hundred persons killed or died subsequently of wounds — O'Connell, 938; 
wounded by police club — Piqvee, 1223; saw and attended twenty in one room— idem, 
1229; carried away in carts and drays, police on them. 1490-1494; were all of 

convention — St.ms, 1697; one hundred and fifty taken away in wagons — O'Neal, 2096; 
sixty colored lying in street — Sultiwa i, 2279; fifteen killed at d -' Institute 

and nine at coiner of Baronne street — Renitud, 2328; saw twenty dead or wounded — 
Mollere, 2371; killed and wounded about two bundled and ninety live — idem; many 
killed of whom no account obtained — idem, 2378 ; two hundred dead and wounded, of 
dead twenty — New, 2484; forty or fifty killed or wounded — Snaer, 2575; synopsis of 
killed and wounded — Hartsuff, 2666 ; and full list of — idem, 2750; twenty-seven taken 
out of workhouse dead — Ward, 2766; one hundred and eight received at the freedmen's 
hospital — Harris, 2815; no application to bring to hospital — Grisioold, 2817 ; about two 
hundred— Jourd/UM, 3076; woum ed broughl in carts to recorder's court, three hundred in 
number — Pitnum, :JJ5U; one bundled and fifty wounded — Delandes, 4785; three or four 
wagon loads — Dorset/, 4908; thrown into baggage wagons^- Terry, 5189; "throw them 
(the wounded) into the rivet" — Evans, 2912; wounded cared for by I »«Wi 

591)7: would number with the killed three hundred persons — Shelley, 6806; many of 
wounded covered with bruises; no assistance offeied by city authorities, 6805, 679 i. 
Wrotnowski, S., testimony of, 4642-4655; secretary under Governor Halm; was near Me- 
chanics' Institute on day of the riot ; saw two or three hundred confederates standing there; 
saw the proci - a shot into it: I tot ol the day, 4648; 

finally got into the governor's room, and tl ed himself, 4650 ; is bound by bis word 

not to tell what he knows of the preparation for that day, 4652. 
Wurtzberger, E. S., testimony of, 3465-3509; is deputy sheriff, and has been, through all 
panics for twelve years, 3468, 3473-3509; riot not caused by disloyalty of people t i I nited 
.States. :tl7J; am considered a Union man, and have suffered no inconvenience thereby, 
3501, 3472; good effect to admit State to Union, :5 !77 ; policy of the Presidenl popular, 
3480; th nk forces could be withdrawn from the city, 3483; General Hays, sheriff, does 
not discriminate against Union men, 3487,3491; case of foreign war would aid United 
States. 3488 ; went to scene of riot with military, 3499 ; never took oath to support rebel 
government, 35U6. 

38*0 90 



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